By: Caden Frank
Box Score SPOKANE, Wash. – Jake Holtz scored 24 points, Sullivan Menard scored 19 and Whitworth handled Puget Sound 80-59 in the semifinals of the 2024 Northwest Conference Tournament on Friday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse to punch a ticket to the NWC championship for the 20th straight season.
"There's high expectations at Whitworth, it comes with being part of the program and our guys have gone through ups and downs this season, but they've just kept believing through it all and now we've got a chance to secure an automatic bid tomorrow," said coach Damion Jablonski.
Whitworth (18-8) has ended Puget Sound's season in the semifinals two years in a row, and for the second time in six days it handled the Loggers (13-13) without 2024 NWC Player of the Year Jojo Anderson.
The Pirates shot 57% (7-13 from three) and nine players scored as they held the Loggers at arm's length for most of the night, using a 13-2 run down the stretch to seal it.
"We had a lot of guys step up tonight and do the job we needed them to do, our bench production was fantastic," said Jablonski. "And credit to our seniors, they played like seniors should, and we needed that."
Menard and Holtz were the focus early as the pair combined to score the first 14 points for the Pirates, but the game remained close at 14-11.
Carson Talbert floated in a pair of buckets to give Whitworth a 20-13 lead, the second came on a beautiful feed from Diego Jaques who made his second start of the season in place of Anderson.
Stephen Behil sparked a 10-0 run with a 3-pointer from the tip of the Pirate flag, Holtz found his way into the paint for back-to-back scores and then Behil buried another three to cap the run and give Whitworth a 36-21 lead.
Whitworth outshot Puget Sound 59.3% in the first half, Holtz led all scorers with 12 points on five of seven shooting, and the Pirates led 39-29 at the break.
Puget Sound had their best chance to mount a comeback when Taj Phillips buried a jumper to cap an 8-2 run, cutting the lead to 43-37. Desman Baker also scored on that run and led Puget Sound with 23 points.
But Whitworth responded again and again.
Menard buried a triple off the dribble, and Ben Nyquist added six points as part of a 9-2 run that put Whitworth up 52-39. With 9:00 to go, Colton Looney hit a trey to kick-start the 13-2 run that put the game away. Garrett Long sank a long two, and Holtz added his last two buckets of the night on that run.
Whitworth will take on rival Whitman in Saturday's conference championship for the seventh consecutive season. The Pirates are 2-0 against Whitman this season, and they will be seeking to three-peat as tournament champions with a win on Saturday.
