Box Score

SALEM, Ore. – Jojo Anderson, Jake Holtz, and Ty Edwards scored 18 points each and the Pirates shot 53% but were outlasted by Willamette 85-78 in Salem on Saturday night in their second loss of the weekend.

Whitworth (12-7 overall, 8-2 NWC) came into the weekend undefeated in Northwest Conference play and riding a seven-game win streak but they will leave Oregon having lost two straight. The Pirate bench was outscored 31-5 as Willamette (11-7 overall, 6-4 NWC) overcame a 14-point deficit to get the win.

Willamette beat Whitworth for the first time since January of 2019, snapping a seven-game skid versus the Pirates to move into third in the NWC standings.

Whitworth jumped out to a 16-4 lead in the first six minutes, shooting 8-9 during that stretch. Holtz, Anderson, and Edwards combined for 12 points during that run. Whitworth never trailed in the first half and led by as much as 14 (32-18).

But Willamette closed the first half with a 9-0 run to cut Whitworth's lead to 37-34. Jack Boydell buried a jumper to start the run, Josiah Frank hit a triple before Kahiau Bruhn came up with a steal to set up a breakaway dunk as the Bearcats drew within a possession.

The Pirates shot 53% in the first half (16-30) and never trailed, but they couldn't shake Willamette who used depth to stay in the game. The Bearcat bench outscored Whitworth's 16-0 in the first half to spark the eventual comeback.

Ryder Hsiung's trey two minutes into the second half gave Willamette a 41-40 lead (their first of the game), but the game was back and forth from there. Carson Talbert hit a point-blank shot to put Whitworth up 58-52 at one point, but Willamette swung things back with a 16-5 run.

With 6:56 to go, Jerry Twenge hit a jumper to put Whitworth in front 71-70. It would end up being Whitworth's last lead of the game. The Pirates stalled down the stretch, shooting just 2-9 in the final five minutes adding six turnovers to seal their fate.

With 2:56 to go, Anderson was turned over on back-to-back possessions with a chance to tie the game. Trailing 79-75 with 1:11 left, Menard's triple was waived off due to a questionable illegal screen called on Ty Edwards. Josiah Frank knocked down free throws on the following possessions as Willamette sealed up their sixth conference win of the year.

Whitworth had hit the century mark in three of the past four games against Willamette, but the Bearcats defense came up big in the final minutes to hold off the Pirates.

With the loss, Whitworth now shares first place with Whitman. The winner of Tuesday's game will hold sole possession of first place going into the home stretch of NWC play.