Box Score WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Whitman held 18th-ranked Whitworth to season-lows for points and field goal percentage while rolling to a 68-44 win over the Pirates on Tuesday night at Sherwood Center.
Whitworth dropped to 17-3 overall and 10-1 in the Northwest Conference and the Bucs saw their 16-game winning streak come to an end. The Missionaries improved to 15-5, 9-2 and moved within a game of Whitworth in the NWC standings.
The Pirates' previous low point total this season came in a 62-47 win at Lewis & Clark on January 3rd. They shot only 28.6% from the floor.
Whitworth led only once in the game and that came on an opening basket by Taylor Farnsworth. Whitman then outscored the Bucs 16-3 to open an 11-point lead six and a half minutes into the game. The Pirates were able to cut the margin to 24-18 on a three-pointer by Matt Staudacher with 3:39 left in the half. But that's as close as the Bucs got the rest of the night. The Missionaries outscored the Bucs 15-3 over the next three minutes and took a 39-24 advantage into halftime. Matt Mounier scored all 15 of his points in the first half, making 4-5 from three-point range for the Missionaries.
Whitman forced Whitworth into ten first half turnovers and held the Pirates to only six baskets.
The Missionaries opened the second half with four straight points to go up 43-24. Whitworth got back within 45-31 on a three-pointer by Kenny Love with just over 14 minutes to play. But just over two minutes later Whitman had opened a 55-33 lead on a basket by Peter French. The Missionaries eventually led by as many as 27 points (60-33) after a three-pointer by Phillip Chircu with nine minutes left in the game.
Love led Whitworth with 11 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Staudacher finished with ten points. No other Pirate reached double figures. Whitworth's shooting woes extended to the free throw line where they made only 61% (14-23).
Mounier was Whitman's leading scorer, Jackson Clough scored 12 and Chircu finished with 11. Whitman made 46.4% (26-56) from the field in the game, 52.4% (11-21) from three-point range.
Whitworth will try to get back on the winning track when the Pirates travel to Linfield College for a game on Saturday night (6:00 pm).
