SPOKANE, Wash. – JoJo Anderson scored 22 points, Sullivan Menard and Jake Holtz added 20 and 17, and Whitworth outlasted Puget Sound 79-70 on Sunday afternoon in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
Whitworth (12-5) is 8-0 in conference play for the first time since 2015 when it started 10-0 and were the top-ranked team in Division III before ultimately falling in the second round of the national tournament.
The Pirates have rattled off seven straight wins since losing four in a row in December.
"I'm just proud of our resilience. After what we went through during the non-conference, we were working hard to fix some things and just kept believing. Seeing the fruits of that labor has been awesome," said coach Damion Jablonski. "Obviously we've got a long road ahead with the second half of conference, I hope the guys continue to stay in the moment and keep growing here as we look to finish strong."
After Puget Sound took its final lead of the game (59-58), the Pirates used an 11-2 run to take a 69-61 lead with 2:27 remaining and then went 10-10 from the free throw line in the final minutes to finish off their eighth NWC win of the season.
"We were able to buckle down and make some stops down the stretch, and our players just started making some plays, and we were excellent from the line there to close it out. If you don't do that, it's a whole different story," said Jablonski.
Whitworth shot 61.9% from the field in the second half to outlast the Loggers (8-9 overall, 4-4 NWC) after shooting just 36.4% (12-33) in the first half.
The Pirates jumped out to a 9-0 lead early on a three from Jerry Twenge and a pair of jumpers from Anderson. But Puget Sound responded with an 8-0 run of their own to pull within one, and the half was back and forth from there.
Menard sparked the Pirates' offense in the first half with 14 points. With the game tied at 18, Menard knocked down three free throws before converting a four-point play on the following possession to help the Pirates to a 27-21 lead. With 15 seconds left in the half, Menard finished a layup in traffic to give Whitworth a 35-33 lead at the break.
With 8:13 to go in the game, Liam Ruttledge converted a three-point play and Jack Bailey drilled a three to put the Loggers in front 59-58. But the Pirates found their rhythm.
Ty Edwards came up with a steal and took the ball coast to coast for a two-handed slam to put Whitworth in front again, Holtz buried a hook shot in the post and Anderson scored four straight before finding Ben Nyquist for a triple in the corner to put Whitworth up 69-61 with 2:54 left.
Zane Miller buried a pair of impressive jumpers in the final minutes trying to will the Loggers to a win, but the Pirates' excellence from the line put the game on ice. Miller finished with 16 points on 6-7 shooting, Liam Ruttledge led the Loggers with 17 points.
Whitworth will begin its second run through their conference schedule on Friday and Saturday, hitting the road against Pacific and Willamette.
