Box Score TACOMA, Wash. – George Valle converted a three-point play with 2.7 seconds left to lift visiting Whitworth to a 66-63 win at Puget Sound, clinching a Northwest Conference men's basketball regular season title for the Pirates.
Whitworth finishes the regular season 22-3 overall and 15-1 in the NWC, earning its sixth consecutive outright league championship. The Loggers, who were fighting for their tournament lives, finish the year 12-12, 7-9 and out of the playoffs.
The 19th-ranked Pirates will host Willamette (10-15, 8-8) in the conference semifinals on Thursday night at 7:00 pm. Second-seeded Whitman will host Lewis & Clark in the other semifinal on Thursday. Willamette earned its spot in the league playoffs with a 70-63 win over Pacific tonight.
"Every championship is unique and special because of the journey you take together as a team," said head coach Matt Logie. "I couldn't be prouder of our two seniors for helping this group mature and for withstanding the target that comes with playing for Whitworth University. This program is bigger than any of us involved individually and it's just a special, special thing to be a part of."
After leading 36-24 at halftime, Whitworth opened a 20-point lead early in the second half when Valle's layup increased the advantage to 44-24 and forced a UPS timeout. But the Loggers refused to go away on their senior night and came all the way back to tie the game in the final minute. After Kohl Meyer hit a pair of free throws to get the Loggers within 63-60, UPS forced a turnover near midcourt and James Osorio drained a three-pointer from the corner to tie the game with 26 seconds to play.
At that point the Pirates were also playing without both point guards as Kenny Love and Matt Staudacher had already fouled out. So Logie turned to Valle to take over at the point. Valle dribbled out near the top of the arc for 13 seconds before driving the left side of the key. He drew contact from a pair of Loggers before muscling in his shot off the glass. Valle then made the free throw to convert the three-point play. Whitworth intercepted a long inbounds attempt by Puget Sound to secure the win.
Valle led Whitworth with 13 points and four assists, while Love finished with 12 points. Forrest Baker came off of the bench for 10 points and Taylor Farnsworth scored nine while pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds. The Pirates made 44.8% of their shots from the floor, including 37% from three point range. But Whitworth went only 1-7 from beyond the arc in the second half.
Nick Holden scored 25 points in his final game for Puget Sound. He made it a double-double with ten rebounds. Erin Barber added 15 points as the Loggers were held to 36.5% from the floor. Osorio's three-pointer in the final seconds that tied the game was one of the two that Puget Sound made as the Loggers went only 2-16 from beyond the arc.
The winners of Thursday's semifinals will meet on Saturday at the highest-remaining seed for the tournament championship. The winner of that game will claim the NWC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.
Whitworth has tied Linfield (1965-70) for most consecutive regular season conference titles in the league's history. The Pirates are the only school to have made all six crowns of the undisputed variety.
