SPOKANE, Wash. – Jake Holtz and JoJo Anderson led Whitworth to its first win of the young season with 23 and 22 points despite foul trouble, and the Pirates beat St. Olaf 88-81 on Saturday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
With the Pirates (1-1) clinging to a slim lead in the second half, Holtz picked up his fourth foul and had to take a seat with 13:12 left to go in the game.
But Whitworth didn't skip a beat.
With Holtz out, Sullivan Menard stepped up to the plate and knocked down a crucial pair of and-ones to give Whitworth its largest lead of the game. Menard converted a four-point play right in front of the Pirates' bench before finishing through contact the following possession for an and-one basket that put Whitworth up 72-66 with 7:45 remaining. He finished the night with 17 points.
With four fouls, Anderson and Holtz remained in the game for the final seven minutes and helped Whitworth secure the win. The two contributed to each of the Pirates' 14 points in the final six minutes to help Whitworth secure the win.
Kobe Kirk and Connor Martin led St. Olaf with 25 and 21 points, but the Oles came up short for the second night in a row.
St. Olaf (0-2) led for 17 minutes of the first half and held a 32-23 lead (their largest of the night) with 4:53 left to go. Whitworth stuck around as Holtz scored on five of the following six possessions to give Whitworth a brief 41-40 lead, but the Oles took the lead back going into the break when Ryan Warren knocked down a three in the closing seconds.
Whitworth shot an astounding 66% from the field in the second half as they outscored St. Olaf 47-38 down the stretch. Whitworth led for 15:56 of the second half after trailing for nearly all of the first half.
The Pirates will be at home against Schreiner on Sunday while the Oles will return home to play Wisconsin Stevens-Point on Wednesday.
