MCMINNVILLE, Ore. – Sullivan Menard scored 15 points including a dagger from three with 42 seconds left and Whitworth stayed unbeaten in the Northwest Conference, surviving Linfield 66-62 on Saturday in McMinnville.

Whitworth (10-5 overall, 6-0 NWC) never trailed as they outshot and outrebounded Linfield (5-10 overall, 0-6 NWC). But the 'Cats hung tough nonetheless as they threatened to pull out a surprise deep into the second half.

With 2:26 to go, Linfield had trimmed the Pirates' double digit lead to 59-57. But having scored just three points over the last six minutes, Whitworth mustered up enough to preserve the win.

With 1:19 left, Ben Nyquist banked in a heavily contested floater as the shot clock expired, and on the next possession Menard sunk the dagger, drilling a three from the top of arc to put Whitworth up 64-57 with 42 seconds to play.

In just 10 minutes, Nyquist contributed six points and five rebounds. Nyquist played the final 4:36 after subbing in for Anderson who had 14 points. Menard finished 3 of 6 from deep.

Linfield tied the game 22-22 with 6:13 in the first half after Chase Bennett knocked down a three, but they never grabbed the lead as the Pirates responded with a 14-3 run. Stephen Behill sparked the run with threes on consecutive possessions, Jerry Twenge and Anderson buried treys to cap the run and give Whitworth a 36-25 lead.

Whitworth hit 9 of 20 from deep, and finished  49.1% from the field while outrebounding the Wildcats 49-35.

Whitworth will return home to play Puget Sound on Friday riding a five-game win streak.