SPOKANE, Wash. – For the second time this season the Whitworth Pirates are looking to dig out of a two-game Northwest Conference losing streak. The Bucs also hope to build momentum heading into the 2023 NWC tournament when they host Linfield on Friday (8:00 pm) and Willamette on Saturday (6:00 pm) in this week's 2023 regular season finales. Both games can be heard on KSBN 1230 am as the second half of a women's-men's doubleheader.
Check the Whitworth men's basketball schedule for other live links to this weekend's games.
Tickets: Digital tickets are required for entrance to the Whitworth Fieldhouse for all fans. Tickets can be purchased in advance using the Hometown Ticketing App. Follow the Tickets link on the schedule for access. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for senior adults, non-Whitworth students and children. Whitworth students, as well as faculty and staff, get free admission by using an ID number.
The Pirates: Whitworth (14-9 overall, 9-5 NWC) lost twice last week and was eliminated from contention for the 2023 Northwest Conference regular season title.
Visiting Whitman took a big step toward clinching the NWC crown when the Blues dominated the first half of an 85-67 win over the Pirates last Tuesday. Whitman made 70% of its shots in the first period and held Whitworth to only 28% on the way to a 48-24 halftime lead. The Pirates were able to cut the margin to 13 points late in the second half, but never truly threatened the Blues. Jake Holtz had 17 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Stephen Behil (10 points) was the only other Pirate in double figures. Whitworth and Whitman split the regular season series, with each winning on the other's home court.
George Fox used a decisive 14-2 run early in the second half to claim a 90-84 win over visiting Whitworth on Friday night in Newberg, Oregon. The Bruins ended an 18-game losing streak to the Pirates by making 54% of their shots, including 11 of 26 (42%) from three-point range. Whitworth was only 33 of 80 (41%) from the floor, offsetting a 50-29 edge in rebounds. Rowan Anderson had 23 points for Whitworth in his return from a minor concussion. Jake Holtz had 16 points, while JT McDermott posted his second double-double of the season with 13 points and ten rebounds. The Pirates and Bruins split the season series.
The Playoff Picture: Whitworth will be in the NWC tournament. The main question is with what seed. The Pirates (9-5) are currently in third place behind Whitman (12-2) and Puget Sound (10-4). The top seed will host the entire tournament on Feb. 24-25 and Whitman needs only one victory to clinch that honor. Lewis & Clark and Linfield, both 7-7, are tied for fourth in the standings. Pacific Lutheran and George Fox, both 6-8, are each one game out of fourth place and still alive for the final tournament spot.
The Opponents: Linfield (10-13 overall, 7-7 NWC) can finish as high as the number three seed in the NWC tournament with two wins this weekend. The Wildcats lost 80-60 at Puget Sound last Friday, but earned an important 75-69 win over Lewis & Clark in their home finale on Saturday. Shanan Rosenberg, a two-time NWC Coach of the Year, is in his 10th year as head coach. Trey Bryant (So., G) is having an All-NWC kind of season, averaging 14.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. Senior guard Carson Bonine adds 9.5 points per game and is the team's leading three-point threat. Linfield defeated Whitworth 86-79 in McMinnville on January 21st after building a 23-point lead early in the second half. Rowan Anderson and Michael Smith scored 20 apiece for the Pirates.
Willamette (5-17 overall, 1-13 NWC) is hoping a win in its final weekend will help build momentum for next season. The Bearcats have dropped 11 games in a row, including setbacks last weekend at Pacific (99-69) and at home against PLU (89-61). Kip Ioane is in his 14th season as head coach. Senior guard Jack Boydell averages 19.4 points per game and makes 42% of his three-point attempts. Sophomore Josiah Frank adds 12.8 points per contest. Whitworth won 104-64 at Willamette on January 20th as 14 different players scored points for the Pirates.
JT Mc "Does" it: JT McDermott (Gr.) was Whitworth's top scorer the last season and currently is second on the team in scoring average (13.0 points per game) this year. The starting post also leads the team in rebounds (6.3, tied for first), assists (64, 2.8 apg), blocks (13) and steals (33).
McDermott was a first team All-Northwest Conference honoree in 2021-22 after he averaged 14.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: Michael Smith, a former high school teammate of McDermott, has transferred to Whitworth from Sonoma State (NCAA DII), where he started 47 games in two seasons. Smith currently tops the team in scoring (13.4 ppg), including 30 in a win over Puget Sound on Jan. 28 and 27 in a win at Lewis & Clark on Feb. 4.
No Holtz Barred: Jake Holtz is third on the team in scoring (12.8 ppg) and tied for first in rebounding (6.3 rpg). Holtz is making 59.8% of his field goals (second in the NWC).
The Point Man: Rowan Anderson is in his third season as Whitworth's starting point guard. He averages 9.3 points per game and is second on the team in assists (60, 2.8 apg).
Jerry, As Needed: Jerry Twenge averages 9.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Twenge has stepped up in a variety of ways this season. Twenge has led the Pirates in scoring (25 vs. UMHB), rebounding (14 vs. George Fox), assists (twice, including 5 vs. CLU) and steals (twice, including 4 vs. PLU). He leads the team in three-point percentage (42%) and in free throw percentage (84.4%).
Pirates picked to win: Whitworth was at the top of the 2022-23 Northwest Conference coaches preseason poll with seven first place votes and 63 points. The Pirates are coming off a 22-5 record in 2021-22, including a share of the NWC regular season title (13-3). Whitman, who Whitworth defeated in the NWC tournament championship game, is second in the poll with two first place votes and 56 points.
Sweet 16: With its win over Lewis & Clark in the 2021-22 regular season finale, Whitworth extended its school record for consecutive seasons with at least 20 victories to 16 in a row. Prior to this current streak, the most 20-win seasons in a row the Pirates had ever had was two (on three different occasions). The NCAA statistics office is granting waivers for streak records that were interrupted by Covid-19 in 2020-21.
Whitworth's streak of 20-win seasons is the current longest in all of NCAA Division III.
Best of the Decade: Whitworth University concluded the decade of 2010-11 through 2019-20 as the winningest program in NCAA Division III men's basketball, by winning percentage. The Pirates posted a record of 245-43 for a winning percentage of .851. In addition, Whitworth's winning percentage ranked fourth among the top schools in all of NCAA basketball, behind West Liberty (Div. II - .895), Lincoln Memorial (Div. II - .874) and Gonzaga (Div. I - .858). Two of the winningest men's basketball teams in the nation are located within six miles of each other.
The decade included three head coaches for the Pirates, beginning with Jim Hayford in 2010-11, continuing with Matt Logie for eight seasons and concluding with Damion Jablonski in 2019-20.
More Than A Decade of Dominance: Since the beginning of the 2005-06 season (over 16 seasons) the Pirates are 404-89 (.819), an amazing run of success matched by few other college teams at any level. Within the Northwest Conference, Whitworth has won 207 of its last 236 (.877).
Home-Sweet-Home: Whitworth has been stellar in the Whitworth Fieldhouse since the 1990's. During the decade of the 1990s and 2000's Whitworth won more than 84% of its home games. However, since the beginning of the 2005-06 season, the Bucs are 207-24 (.896) at home.
The Pirates have had two home-court winning streaks of more than 40 games since 1990. A 41-game home court winning streak from early 2009 until December of 2011 was the second-longest in Pirate history. The school record for consecutive home victories is 43, beginning during the 1994-95 season and ending during the 1997-98 season.
Road Warriors: As good as Whitworth is at home, the Pirates have been almost as good away from the Whitworth Fieldhouse over the last decade. Since the start of the 11-12 season, Whitworth is 114-35 (.765) away from home, 86-26 (.768) in true road games.
On the Air Again: Whitworth's men's basketball games are once again carried live this season on KSBN 1230am in Spokane. The relationship between Pirate athletics and KSBN goes back to 1994, a span of more than 25 years. Bud Nameck is in his seventh season as the voice of Whitworth basketball. Nameck has more than 30 years of experience calling college basketball at Santa Clara, Gonzaga and Washington State. He has called more than 1,100 games on the radio during his career.
The Coach: Damion Jablonski is in his 12th season on the Pirate coaching staff in 2022-23, and his fourth as head coach of the Pirates. His record was 58-16 as Whitworth's head coach heading into this season. Jablonski has led Whitworth to the NCAA Division III tournament twice in his previous three years, the only non-tournament year was due to Covid-19. His first year was a rousing success. He went 23-6, led the Pirates to a share of the Northwest Conference championship and to a pair of victories in the NCAA Division III tournament. The Bucs were slated to face top-ranked Swarthmore before the tournament was cancelled. Jablonski was named D3hoops.com West Region Coach of the Year and he coached Ben College to NWC Player of the Year and NABC All-America recognition. Whitworth went 12-5 during the COVID-19 season in 2020-21, including games against NCAA DI Montana, NCAA DII Seattle Pacific and NAIA playoff regular College of Idaho. Whitworth finished 22-5 overall and 13-3 in the NWC in 2021-22 to once again share the regular season title before winning the conference tournament.
Jablonski spent eight years as the top assistant at Whitworth, including six seasons with the title of Associate Head Coach. Over the course of his tenure as an assistant, the Bucs won 215 games, seven Northwest Conference titles and seven NWC tournament crowns. As the head recruiting coordinator, Jablonski was instrumental in continuing the Bucs' tradition of success by helping to recruit high quality student-athletes to Whitworth. His efforts over the past several years have included the addition of First Team All-American Kyle Roach, third team All-American and NWC Player of the Year Kenny Love and First Team All Northwest Conference selection Christian Jurlina.
Coming Up Next: The NWC tournament will be held on Feb. 24-25, most likely in Walla Walla. Semifinal matchups are still to be determined.
