SPOKANE, Wash. – JT McDermott scored a career high 23 points and dished five assists to lead 15th-ranked Whitworth to an 82-71 win over visiting Whitman in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Tuesday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
The Pirates (7-1 overall, 2-0 NWC) survived a game of surges with the Blues (2-6, 1-1) and won the first "Battle of Whits" of 2021-22 and at home against Whitman for the first time since Jan. 5, 2016.
The Blues made their first three shots from the field to take a 7-4 lead two minutes into the game. Whitworth answered with 13 straight points, including consecutive three-pointers by Miguel Lopez, to jump out 17-7 and the Pirates never trailed again. Jordan Lester's layup increased the margin to 28-12, the Bucs' largest lead of the first half, matched later at 37-21 on a basket by McDermott. Nikola Trifunovic drained a three-pointer to get Whitman within 37-27 and the Blues were still within 42-32 at the break.
Whitworth made 58.6% (17-29) from the field in the first half, despite making only 25% (3-12) from three-point range. The Pirates had a 17-12 edge in rebounds.
Whitworth opened the second half on a 12-0 run, including McDermott's three-pointer, followed by his three-point play. The 54-32 lead was the Pirates' largest of the game. Whitman was able to fight back to within 66-57 when Xzavier Lino hit a free throw with 8:15 left. McDermott answered with a basket inside and Liam Fitzgerald followed with a steal and breakaway layup to stretch the margin back to 70-57. Whitworth never led by less than ten the rest of the way.
McDermott made 9-15 from the field for his career high, surpassing the 18 he scored two weeks ago at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Fitzgerald and Lopez both scored 14 and Lester finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and five assists for his third double-double of the season. Whitworth cooled off only slightly in the second half, finishing the game with a shooting percentage of 56.9 (29-51). The Bucs were better from beyond the arc in the second half, and finished the game 7 of 20 (35%). Whitworth ended with a 37-25 advantage on the boards.
Trifunovic tied McDermott for game-high scoring honors with 23 points. Weston Crump scored 11 of his 14 points after halftime. Lino finished with 13 points and five boards. Whitman made 44.8% (26-57) from the field, 11-27 (31.3%) from three-point range.
Whitworth returns to action on Sunday afternoon when the Pirates host Colorado College in a non-conference Division III game.
