TACOMA, Wash. – Garrett Hull made a pair of free throws with five seconds left to clinch an 81-79 win for visiting Whitworth over Puget Sound in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Friday night.

Ben College scored 22 points for the Pirates (14-4, 8-1 NWC), who escaped a road upset to the Loggers (9-9, 3-6) for the second straight year. 

Puget Sound hit its first four shots to jump out to a quick 9-2 lead after a three-pointer by John Misel.  Trailing 19-11, College scored eight straight points – including a pair of threes - to pull Whitworth into a 19-19 tie.  The Loggers led 26-21 when the Pirates went on a 10-2 run, capped by a Sam Lees jumper, to take a 31-28 advantage.  But UPS scored the next seven points and eventually led 42-41 at halftime.  The Loggers shot 51.7% (18-35) from the floor in the first half and outrebounded the Bucs 20-15, including a 7-4 advantage in offensive rebounds.

Trailing 48-45 early in the second, the Pirates used a 9-2 run to take a 54-50 lead.  Puget Sound fought back to go ahead 65-61 on a CJ Geathers layup.  Whitworth grabbed momentum with a 13-5 spurt, going ahead 74-70 on a Lees lay in.  The Loggers answered with five straight points to take their final lead (75-74) on a Misel three-pointer with 2:25 left.  College answered with a three of his own and Whitworth never trailed again.  After UPS tied the game, College made a pair of free throws with 1:13 to play.  Then after an exchange of two possessions each, including missed free throws by Liam Fitzgerald and College in the final 25 seconds, Hull was fouled with five seconds left and hit both shots.  Stellan Roberts scored the final basket of the game for the Loggers, but only one second remained.

College went 7-14 from the floor, including 5-8 from beyond the arc, and added six rebounds.  Isaiah Hernandez contributed 17 points and Lees finished with 14 for the Bucs.  Fitzgerald led Whitworth with nine boards and four assists.  After shooting 46.7% in the opening 20 minutes, the Pirates made 57% (16-28) in the second half.

Roberts led UPS with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Cal Hansen had 17 points and Misel finished with 16.  The Loggers' shooting dropped to 44% (16-36) in the second period.  Puget Sound was unable to complete a repeat of its 87-72 upset of Whitworth last season, which ended a long losing streak to the Pirates.

Whitworth will try to complete a sweep of the weekend's trip to Tacoma with a game at Pacific Lutheran on Saturday night.