Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. – Jake Holtz scored 20 points, including 17 in the second half, and Sullivan Menard added 16 as Whitworth ran away from Schreiner 88-71 in a Sunday shootout at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

Whitworth (2-1) caught fire in the second half after trailing by one point at halftime. The Pirates buried six threes down the stretch, opening up a 17-point lead in a game that featured nine lead changes and six ties.

Holtz was a major spark in the Pirates' big second half, after being held in check early.

"He had foul trouble early, so he was limited in minutes, and I think that hamstrung us a bit," said coach Damion Jablonski. "He's a load in the paint, and his effort helped us tremendously."

Deadlocked at 51, the Pirates took control with a 13-2 run over the next 2:56. Jerry Twenge and Diego Jaques hit threes on consecutive possessions before Holtz finished a layup, and the Pirates led 64-53 with 8:30 remaining.

But the barrage continued.

Jaques sank another contested three moments later to the delight of the crowd, Menard buried a pair of pull up jumpers before Jacques finished with a break-away layup as Whitworth took a comfortable 78-61 lead with just 4:37 left.

Jacques finished with 10 second half points, Garrett Long added 13 as four Pirates scored in double figures.

Dylan Mackey led Schriener (3-3) with a season-high 27 points, his third game of the season with 20 or more. Cristian Rodriguez and Jalen Ned added 15 and 11.

Each team put together runs in what was a back and forth first half.

The Pirates jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half after putting together a 13-2 run to go up 27-17. The run was fueled by Menard who knocked down two threes in that stretch, one of which became a four-point play. Menard led the Pirates with 10 points at the half.

But Schreiner tightened up defensively holding Whitworth scoreless for nearly four minutes while it put together an 11-0 run of its own. Ned knocked down a corner three to give them a slim lead, and Schreiner took a 38-37 lead going into halftime before getting outscored 52-34 in the second half.

"It's not often you win a game in the first half, it's a forty minute game so we made some adjustments at the break and our guys did an excellent job staying together and executing in the second half," said Jablonski.

The Pirates have outscored their opponents 99-72 in the second half of their last two games. Whitworth is 3-0 against Schreiner all-time, including an 88-70 win last season at home, and has now won two straight following a narrow loss in the opener.

The Mountaineers came into the day averaging 92.5 points per game but were held to their second-lowest scoring output of the season despite shooting 50% from the field.

"Against those guys you gotta do your best in transition but you've also got to take care of the ball. We took care of the ball and that limited some of their chances," Jablonski said. "Credit to our guys, I thought they were poised."

Whitworth will host Northwest on Tuesday before opening conference play against Pacific on Dec. 2. Schreiner will be back in Texas but on the road against Sul Ross State on Nov. 27.