Box Score WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Walter Lum blocked a potential game-tying shot with two seconds left to allow Whitman to hold off visiting Whitworth 71-69 in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Saturday night at the Sherwood Center.
The 13th-ranked Pirates (9-2 overall, 2-1 NWC) took their first conference loss in game that was arranged at the last minute after neither Pacific or Linfield were able to play at Whitman and Whitworth this weekend due to COVID-19 protocols. The Blues (4-7, 2-1) evened the Battle of Whits for 2021-22. This game was played in place of the originally-scheduled game on January 25th.
Whitman jumped to a 10-3 lead on a three-pointer by Jai Deshpande before the Pirates tied the game 10-10 on a basket by Jake Holtz. Weston Crump made back-to-back three-pointers to give the Blues a 20-14 lead. The Pirates used a 9-3 run, capped by Liam Fitzgerad's three-pointer, to go up 23-22. It was Whitworth's only made three-pointer of the half. The teams traded leads five times over the final four minutes before Whitman took a 35-33 lead into halftime. Holtz led the Bucs in the first half with nine points and Whitworth shot 48% (14-29) from the field despite going only 1-9 (11%) from three-point range.
Trailing 42-39 four minutes into the second half, the Pirates played their best stretch of basketball to surge to a 50-44 lead. The Bucs had a chance to extend the lead on their next possession but could not convert and Xzavier Lino drained a long three-pointer to cut the lead in half. Lino hit another trey on the next possession to tie the game.
Whitworth had one more run, using a 10-2 spurt to take a 66-59 lead on Jerry Twenge's basket with 4:58 left. But the Pirates scored only three points the rest of the way as Whitman closed on an 11-3 run of its own. Nikola Trifunovic's three-pointer with 1:27 left gave the Blues a 68-67 lead, but Rowan Anderson answered with a driving layup to put the Pirates back up 69-68 with :54 to play. Crump converted a pair of free throws with 33 seconds left to give his team the lead back. After Anderson's next shot did not fall and no foul was called, Lum made one of two free throws with 12 seconds left for the final margin. Whitworth worked the ball up court and Lum blocked Anderson's final shot.
JT McDermott led the Pirates with 14 points and four assists, while Holtz totaled 11. Anderson scored 10 and Miguel Lopez finished with ten points and nine boards. Whitworth finished the game 27-63 (42.9%) from the floor, including 3-17 (17.6%) from beyond the arc. The Bucs finished with a 33-28 edge in rebounds.
Lino led Whitman with a game-high 21 points and seven rebounds. Trifunovic finished with 13 points. The Blues made 50% (27-54) of their shots, including 44% (11-25) of their three-point attempts.
Whitworth will try to bounce back next Friday night against Puget Sound at the Fieldhouse.
