WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Xzavier Lino's three-pointer with 5.7 seconds to play lifted Whitman to a 69-67 win over Whitworth in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Saturday night.

The Blues (3-5 overall, 3-5 NWC) defeated the Pirates (8-5, 6-2) one night after Whitworth led wire-to-wire in a 21-point victory over Whitman.

Lino paced Whitman with 19 points.  After the Blues made a defensive stop with 20 seconds to play and the game tied 66-66, Lino was open on the left wing and drained his shot from 24 feet.

Garrett Paxton had a good look at a game-tying three-pointer from the corner, but his shot rimmed out.  Liam Fitzgerald got the rebound and was fouled with 0.4 seconds to play.  He made the first free throw and missed the second on purpose.  The Pirates could not corral the rebound as time expired.

Whitman shot 54% from the field in the game, while holding Whitworth to only 37%.  However, the Pirates stayed in it by forcing 17 turnovers from the Blues and committing only eight.

Mamane Yaou added 18 points for Whitman, while Walter Lum scored 12 before fouling out late in the contest.  Weston Crump finished with 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Rowan Anderson led Whitworth with 15 points, while Paxton and Fitzgerald scored 13 points apiece.  Fitzgerald had 11 rebounds for the second night in a row and posted his second consecutive double-double.  Jake Holtz came off the bench with ten points for the Bucs.

Whitworth trailed 37-34 at halftime and by six points twice in the second half, the final time coming after the Blues went up 55-49 with nine minutes left.  The Pirates answered with a 9-0 run, capped by Brad Lackey's three-pointer, to give themselves a chance at the end.

Whitworth will return home to host George Fox University in a pair of late-scheduled games next weekend.