SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth held off visiting George Fox 78-74 in a Northwest Conference men's basketball contest on Saturday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
The Pirates improved to 10-5 overall and 5-1 in the NWC, tied for first place in the standings with Whitman. The Bruins dropped to 3-11, 2-4 after a pair of close losses in Eastern Washington.
Whitworth stumbled out of the gate for the second game in a row, falling behind the visitors 8-0 after a pair of three-pointers by Adam Damian and a layup by Momo Stokes. The Pirates rebounded with a 14-2 run to take a 14-10 lead, thanks in part to five early points by Michael Smith. The teams traded baskets over the next three minutes and George Fox took its final lead when Chris Nickelberry's bucket made it 20-19 with nine minutes left in the first half. Whitworth used a 14-2 run to open a lead (33-22) the Pirates would never relinquish. Smith and Sullivan Menard hit consecutive three-pointers and JT McDermott capped the run with a jumper in the paint for a 33-22 lead. The Bruins answered back, closing within 35-31 on a jumper by Charlie Powers.
Neither team scored in the final two minutes of the first period, as shooting percentages suffered for both squads. Whitworth shot 39% (13-33), but held George Fox to only 29% (10-34). Smith had eight first half points for the Bucs.
Whitworth scored the first seven points of the second half to open another double-digit lead (43-31) on Rowan Anderson's three-pointer. The Pirates stretched it to 47-34 at the first media timeout, their largest lead of the game. But as they did all night, the Bruins fought back, getting within 55-51 on a three-pointer by Nick Greenwood and three free throws from Austin Clark. Whitworth re-established a 66-55 margin on McDermott's basket with just over seven minutes to play and eventually led by 13 once more (73-60). The Bruins had one final rally, pulling within 77-74 on Nickelberry's pull up in the paint, following a three-pointer by Clark, with 29 seconds left. McDermott made one of two free throws for the final margin with 14.4 seconds left and GFU could not score on three tries at the other end.
The Pirates improved their shooting to 50% (15-30) in the second half and finished the game with a 54-28 advantage in rebounds. That margin helped overcome a 12-2 turnover deficit to the Bruins.
Smith led Whitworth with 21 points, one off his season-high. McDermott posted his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds and also dished five assists. Anderson added 12 and Menard and Jake Holtz scored 10 apiece off the bench.
Nickelberry led George Fox with 16 points, while Clark scored a dozen. More than half of the Bruins' field goal attempts (38 of 71) came from beyond the arc and they made 11 of those (29%). George Fox finished the game 25-71 (35%) from the floor.
Whitworth will close out the first half of the NWC schedule with road games at Willamette and Linfield next weekend.
