Box Score PARKLAND, Wash. – A 17-0 run that spanned both halves and a dominating defensive effort led 19th-ranked Whitworth to a 68-39 win at Pacific Lutheran on Friday night.
The Pirates improved to 21-3 overall and 14-1 in the Northwest Conference, moving within one win of their sixth consecutive outright NWC regular season championship. The Bucs finish the regular season at Puget Sound on Saturday night.
Christian Jurlina led a balanced Whitworth scoring effort with 14 points. Derek Isaak came off the bench to make four three-pointers for his 12 points.
After Dylan Foreman scored for PLU to tie the game at 24 with five minutes left in the first period the Pirates closed the half on an 8-0 run. Isaak made back-to-back three-pointers during that spurt. Whitworth then opened the second half by outscoring the Lutes 7-0 over the first five minutes. That run was capped by another Isaak trey. Over that 17-0 run PLU went scoreless for more than ten minutes of game time.
"Our guys did a terrific job tonight on the defensive end," said head coach Matt Logie. "We applied great pressure on the ball and also stayed disciplined with our technique, which was great to see."
Leading 32-24 at the half, Whitworth outscored PLU 36-15 in the second half. The Pirates held the Lutes to 11.8% (4-34) shooting from the field in the half, 22% (13-59) in the game overall. Kionte Brown had nine rebounds and Adam Wilks added eight, both off of the bench, as Whitworth finished with a 45-32 edge on the backboards.
"Our bench gave us a great lift - specifically Derek's offensive spark off the bench and Kionte defending and rebounding," Logie said.
Whitworth was a model of consistency on offense, making exactly 12 of 25 shots (48%) in each half. The Pirates made 10-22 from three-point range (45.5%).
Whitworth extended its winning streak against Pacific Lutheran to 20 in a row.
The Pirates lead Whitman (19-5, 13-2) by one game in the standings. If Whitworth defeats UPS tomorrow night, the Bucs will become the first NWC school since Linfield (1965-7) to win six straight NWC crowns, and the first to make them all outright titles. A win would also clinch the top seed in the upcoming NWC tournament.
