WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Whitworth University advanced to the Northwest Conference tournament championship game for the 19th straight year with a 70-51 win over Puget Sound in the NWC semifinals on Friday night at Whitman College.
The third-seeded Pirates improved to 17-9 while the second-seeded Loggers end their season with an 18-8 record.
JT McDermott had 19 point and six rebounds for a Whitworth team aiming for its 15th NWC tournament championship, but the Pirates will have to knock off top-seeded Whitman (22-4) on the Blues' home floor to accomplish that goal. Whitman defeated George Fox 86-64 in the first semifinal game on Friday night.
Whitworth jumped to an 11-2 lead, including five points by Rowan Anderson, five minutes into the game. The Loggers recovered and took their first lead at 19-18 on a three-pointer by Liam Ruttledge, but JT McDermott answered with a three for Whitworth and the Pirates never trailed again. Anderson's driving layup capped a 12-2 run and put the Bucs up 30-21. Another McDermott three-pointer in the final minute of the half gave Whitworth a 37-23 lead at the break. The Pirates were 16 of 33 (48.5%) in the opening period, while UPS was 9 of 25 (36%). Whitworth had a 21-7 edge in rebounding at halftime.
UPS would cut the margin to single digits four times in the second half, but a different Pirate would answer with a big shot on each occasion. Starting with another three by Ruttledge, the Loggers scored the first six points of the second half to get within 37-29, but Ty Edwards ended the run with a layup from Anderson's assist. The Pirates then took their largest lead to that point (50-35) on a turnaround jumper by Jake Holtz with 12:41 to go. After UPS pulled within 53-45, Sullivan Menard answered with a three-pointer with 8:22 to go. Grant Erickson pulled the Loggers within 56-48 with 6:48 to go, but Whitworth outscored UPS 14-3 the rest of the way, beginning with Jerry Twenge's three-pointer from the wing.
McDermott was 8 of 12 from the field, including 2 of 3 from three-point range. Anderson finished with 14 points and six assists, while Edwards added 10 points. Whitworth had 19 assists on 29 made baskets, effectively sharing the ball throughout the game. The Bucs ended the contest 29 of 60 (48.3%) from the floor, 8-26 (31%) from beyond the arc. Whitworth only got to the free throw line six times, making four.
Ruttledge scored 15 points to lead the Loggers, while Taj Phillips added 11 points, six rebounds and five assists. UPS finished the game 17 of 52 (32.7%) from the field, 4 of 23 (17.4%) from three-point range.
Whitworth and Whitman will meet in the NWC title game for the sixth straight tournament. The Pirates and Blues split during the regular season, each winning on the other's home floor. Saturday's championship game will tip off at 8:00 pm. The winner earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Div. III tournament.
