BELTON, Texas – Cold-shooting Whitworth University lost in the first round of the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament on Friday, 77-52 to Trinity University at the Belton, Texas Pod hosted by the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Whitworth's offense never got into a rhythm against Trinity's zone defense. The Pirates finish the season 22-5 while the Tigers (23-5) advance to the second round.
"Obviously it was a tough night for us," said Whitworth head coach Damion Jablonski. "We had a hard time getting good looks and then had a hard time making those looks when we got them."
Whitworth never led as the Tigers jumped out to an 8-0 lead, including six points by Kaleb Jenkins. Trailing 12-2, the Pirates pulled within 12-9 after consecutive baskets by JT McDermott. Rowan Anderson's three-pointer made it 14-12. Whitworth then went ice cold as Trinity used a 15-3 run to go up 29-15 on Ben Haley's basket. Anderson answered with a three-pointer and Garrett Paxton followed with a trey to spark a 10-0 Pirate run that got Whitworth within 29-25. After Paxton scored in the paint to pull Whitworth within 33-30 at halftime, the Pirates appeared to have some momentum heading to the locker rooms, despite shooting only 32.3% (10-31) in the first half, including 25% (4-16) from three-point range.
Anderson hit a short jumper to get the Bucs within 34-32 early in the second half. It's as close as Whitworth would get. Trinity used a 7-0 run, capped by Tanner Brown's put back, to go up 41-32. The Pirates got back within 45-40 on a basket by Miguel Lopez before the Tigers used an 8-0 run to retake a double digit lead (53-40). Whitworth was still within 59-50 on Liam Fitzgerald's alleyoop dunk with 5:40 to play, but the Pirates could only score two more points the rest of the game as they got increasingly desperate to make plays down the stretch. Trinity steadily pulled away to the final margin over the final five minutes.
"We made a good run at the end of the first half, but Trinity played really well in the second half and made it hard for us, and the ball didn't go in," Paxton said after the game.
Anderson led Whitworth with 13 points, Paxton scored 11 and McDermott finished with 10. Whitworth's total of 52 points was the second-lowest scoring output of the season. The Pirates' shooting woes continued in the second half, dropping to 29% (9-31), including 20% (3-15) from beyond the arc. Whitworth came into the game ranked third in NCAA Division III in team field goal percentage (51.5%).
"The zone was definitely a different look than we've seen this season, and it was just not our night," said Anderson.
Liam Fitzgerald led Whitworth with a game-high 12 rebounds, but Trinity had a 43-36 edge on the boards. McDermott and Anderson dished four assists apiece.
Brown scored 20 points and grabbed seven boards for Trinity, while Jenkins scored 15 and Enzo Sechi finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. The Tigers made 48% (29-60) of their shots in the game.
Whitworth's appearance was its 15th in the NCAA Division III tournament. The Pirates also suffered first round losses in 2003, 2017 and 2018.
"It is a tough way to end the season, but we have a lot to be proud of this year," Jablonski said.
