SPOKANE, Wash. –Whitworth University goes into the final weekend of the regular season knowing the men's basketball team will play in the 2022 Northwest Conference tournament. What seed Whitworth takes into that tournament depends on results from Friday night against George Fox and (8:00 pm) and Saturday against Lewis & Clark (6:00 pm). SWX will televise Friday's doubleheader vs. GFU and both men's games can be heard live in Spokane on KSBN 1230 am and on the internet at KSBN.net.
Whitworth University requires the wearing of masks at all indoor events, regardless of vaccination status. Please plan accordingly. Fans unable to attend can check out the Whitworth men's basketball schedule for live links for the games.
The Pirates: Whitworth (18-4 overall, 11-3 NWC) split a pair of games in Tacoma last week and now sits in second place tied with Linfield (16-6, 11-3), one game behind Pacific Lutheran (17-6, 12-2) in the NWC standings.
Pacific Lutheran's defense held Whitworth to its lowest scoring output since 2015 in Friday's 64-48 loss to the Lutes. The Pirates made only 33.3% (20-60) from the field and only 20.8% (5-24) from three-point range. The field goal percentage was a season-low and the primary reason the Bucs scored their fewest points since a 68-44 loss at Whitman on Feb. 3, 2015. Jerry Twenge had 12 points off the bench to lead the team, while JT McDermott finished with 11 points. Liam Fitzgerald had nine rebounds, but the Pirates were outrebounded 34-30. PLU split the season series with Whitworth.
The Pirates bounced back on Saturday night to win 81-69 at Puget Sound. Whitworth built a 15-point lead in the first half, survived a 25-1 run by the Loggers that spanned the first and second periods, then outscored UPS 19-6 down the stretch. The Pirates shot 50.9% (29-57) from the field, including 47.9% (10-21) from three-point range. Whitworth also finished with a 34-27 edge on the boards. McDermott scored 19 points and Rowan Anderson had 16. Jake Holtz had a big night off the bench with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Whitworth swept the season series with UPS, extending the winning streak over the Loggers to eight in a row.
Taking Offense: Whitworth is second in the Northwest Conference in scoring average at 83.3 points per game, which ranks 35th in NCAA Division III. The Pirates are doing it with efficiency, making 51.0% of their field goals, which leads the NWC and ranks 3rd in NCAA DIII. JT McDermott leads the way, making 60.4% of his field goals, which is second in the conference and ranks 24th in NCAA DIII.
Share and Share Alike: Whitworth leads the Northwest Conference (and ranks 23rd in DIII) in assists per game in 2021-22, averaging 17.7. In the season opener the Pirates set a team record for assists in a single game (47) in a win over Greenville. The Pirates not only pass well, they take care of the ball, ranking second in the NWC (and 35th in DIII) in Assist-Turnover ratio (1.33).
The Opponents: George Fox University is 11-12 overall and 6-8 in the NWC. The Bruins are still in the hunt for the final NWC playoff spot, trailing Whitman (9-13, 7-7) by one game. Last weekend George Fox lost 85-66 at Linfield, but defeated Willamette 108-94 in its home finale. Senior guard Zac Schmerber is the team's leading scorer at 13.1 points per game and he makes 45.3% of his three-pointers. Junior guard Davon Walker adds 11.4 points per game and leads the team with 54 assists. Whitworth and George Fox played a tight game in Newberg on January 22nd and the Pirates pulled out an 80-78 victory when Jojo Anderson hit a jumper in the final seconds. JT McDermott had 19 points and Miguel Lopez posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Whitworth has won 16 straight in the series.
Lewis & Clark College is 10-12 overall and 4-10 in the NWC heading into a game on Friday night at Whitman. After starting the league schedule 0-10 the Pioneers have won four in a row, including last weekend's home victories over Willamette (81-75) and Pacific (87-76). Junior guard Brendan Patrick leads his team in scoring average at 16.6 points per contest. Junior wing Jack Henderson contributes 14.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Whitworth beat L&C 92-67 in Portland on January 21st after making 58% of its shots from the field. The Pirates had eight players in double figures in that game. Whitworth has won the last 15 games in the series.
D3hoops.com Poll: The Pirates dropped out of the top-25 and are now listed third among "others receiving votes" in today's (Feb. 14) D3hoops.com top 25 regular season poll.
Whitworth has appeared in the D3hoops.com top-25 poll 181 times since it was created during the 1999-00 season. Very few teams have appeared in the rankings more than Whitworth has. Heading into 2021-22, the Pirates were eighth on the list among schools ranked in the top-25 the most times.
1. Wooster 249
2. UW-Stevens Point 240
3. Amherst 234
4. Washington U. 203
5. St. Thomas 199
6. UW-Whitewater 194
7. Augustana 185
8. Whitworth 172
9. Williams 171
10. Illinois Wesleyan 164
Over the poll's 20-year history, 32 programs have reached the top spot at least once. UW-Stevens Point has reached that spot in seven different seasons. Whitworth has been there in two seasons: 2010-11 and 2015-16.
20=15: With its win at Whitman on February 20, 2020, Whitworth extended its school record for consecutive seasons with at least 20 victories to 15 in a row. Prior to this current streak, the most 20-win seasons in a row the Pirates had ever had was two (on three different occasions). The NCAA statistics office is granting waivers for streak records that were interrupted by Covid-19 in 2020-21.
Only Wooster (Ohio), with 24, has a longer run of consecutive 20-win seasons in NCAA Division III men's basketball.
Best of the Decade: Whitworth University concluded the decade of 2010-11 through 2019-20 as the winningest program in NCAA Division III men's basketball, by winning percentage. The Pirates posted a record of 245-43 for a winning percentage of .851. In addition, Whitworth's winning percentage ranked fourth among the top schools in all of NCAA basketball, behind West Liberty (Div. II - .895), Lincoln Memorial (Div. II - .874) and Gonzaga (Div. I - .858). Two of the winningest men's basketball teams in the nation are located within six miles of each other.
The decade included three head coaches for the Pirates, beginning with Jim Hayford in 2010-11, continuing with Matt Logie for eight seasons and concluding with Damion Jablonski in 2019-20.
More Than A Decade of Dominance: Since the beginning of the 2005-06 season (over 15 seasons) the Pirates are 386-79 (.830), an amazing run of success matched by few other college teams at any level. Within the Northwest Conference, Whitworth has won 194 of its last 218 (.890).
Home-Sweet-Home: Whitworth has been stellar in the Whitworth Fieldhouse since the 1990's. During the decade of the 1990s and 2000's Whitworth won more than 84% of its home games. However, since the beginning of the 2005-06 season, the Bucs are 195-21 (.903) at home. Whitworth has won its last 13 games at home.
The Pirates have had two home-court winning streaks of more than 40 games since 1990. A 41-game home court winning streak from early 2009 until December of 2011 was the second-longest in Pirate history. The school record for consecutive home victories is 43, beginning during the 1994-95 season and ending during the 1997-98 season.
Road Warriors: As good as Whitworth is at home, the Pirates have been almost as good away from the Whitworth Fieldhouse over the last decade. Since the start of the 11-12 season, Whitworth is 108-28 (.794) away from home, 80-22 (.784) in true road games.
On the Air Again: Whitworth's men's basketball games are once again carried live this season on KSBN 1230am in Spokane. The relationship between Pirate athletics and KSBN goes back to 1994, a span of more than 25 years. Bud Nameck is in his seventh season as the voice of Whitworth basketball. Nameck has more than 30 years of experience calling college basketball at Gonzaga University and Washington State.
The Coach: Damion Jablonski is in his 11th season on the Pirate coaching staff in 2020-21, and his third as head coach of the Pirates. He is currently 37-11 as Whitworth's head coach. His first year was a rousing success. He went 23-6, led the Pirates to a share of the Northwest Conference championship and to a pair of victories in the NCAA Division III tournament. The Bucs were slated to face top-ranked Swarthmore before the tournament was cancelled. Jablonski was named D3hoops.com West Region Coach of the Year and he coached Ben College to NWC Player of the Year and NABC All-America recognition. Whitworth went 12-5 during the COVID-19 season in 2020-21, including games against NCAA DI Montana, NCAA DII Seattle Pacific and NAIA playoff regular College of Idaho.
Jablonski spent eight years as the top assistant at Whitworth, including six seasons with the title of Associate Head Coach. Over the course of his tenure as an assistant, the Bucs won 215 games, seven Northwest Conference titles and seven NWC tournament crowns. As the head recruiting coordinator, Jablonski was instrumental in continuing the Bucs' tradition of success by helping to recruit high quality student-athletes to Whitworth. His efforts over the past several years have included the addition of First Team All-American Kyle Roach, third team All-American and NWC Player of the Year Kenny Love and First Team All Northwest Conference selection Christian Jurlina.
Coming Up Next: Whitworth will play in the NWC men's basketball tournament, but the location is still to be determined by this weekend's results. The top two seeds will host the semifinals on Thursday (Feb. 24) with the highest remaining seed hosting the championship on Saturday Feb. 26.
