FOREST GROVE, Ore. – JT McDermott and Garrett Paxton each scored 17 points and visiting Whitworth bounced back from a tough loss to defeat Pacific (Ore.) 71-58 on Saturday night.
The 14th-ranked Pirates improved to 17-3 overall and 10-2 in the NWC and remain tied for first place with Linfield and Pacific Lutheran. The Bucs will play at PLU next Friday.
The Boxers (8-13, 4-8 NWC) jumped ahead 4-0, but Whitworth took a 10-8 lead on Jerry Twenge's layup. With the game tied 10-10, the Pirates used a 16-4 run to open a double-digit lead that would remain for the rest of the game. Garrett Paxton and Rowan Anderson hit three-pointers during that run. Whitworth eventually led 38-20 before going to the locker rooms with a 38-23 advantage. The Pirates made 46.7% (14-30) from the field in the first half and had a 20-16 edge in rebounds.
Whitworth kept the lead between 15 and 18 points over the first seven minutes of the second half until JT McDermott scored in the point to give the Bucs their first 20 point lead (52-32) with 12:47 left in the game. Whitworth's largest margin was 21 points (58-37) halfway through the period. The Boxers got within 65-51 on a layup by Lucas Winkler, but only 3:44 remained in the game. Mario Mora hit a three-pointer in the final seconds to narrow the final margin to 13 points.
McDermott scored 15 of his points after halftime and added seven rebounds. Paxton had 12 of his points in the first half. Rowan Anderson added 11 points and dished seven assists. Miguel Lopez had 10 rebounds and Liam Fitzgerald had nine boards as Whitworth finished with a 40-29 edge in rebounding.
Jacob Bolger led Pacific with a game-high 20 points and six rebounds, but he was the only Boxer in double figures.
