SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth University is headed to the NCAA Division III tournament for the third year in a row and 17th time in school history. The Pirates will take on 12th-ranked California Lutheran in the first round on Friday night (6:05 pm) in Thousand Oaks, California. Whitworth's games can be heard live in Spokane on KSBN 1230 am and on the internet at KSBN.net.
Check the Whitworth men's basketball schedule for other live links to this week's games.
Ticket Information: Prices for this weekend's games are $15 for adults and $10 for students, senior adults and children 5-18. Children under 5 will be admitted free. Tickets will be available at the door. They are also available online on the CLU ticket app.
NCAA Tournament Info: The NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament features a 64-team field with 42 automatic bids and 22 at-large spots. Sixteen teams advance to March 8-9 for the sectional semifinal and sectional final rounds at on-campus sites. The survivors of those games move on to Fort Wayne, Indiana for Division III Final Four on March 14/16. Click the link above for the full NCAA Div. III bracket (interactive).
Watch Party: For those who cannot make the trip to Thousand Oaks, fans are welcome to gather at McClain's Pizzeria and watch together. Whitworth students and faculty/staff get a discount with their Whitworth ID.
The Pirates: Whitworth (19-8) won its 16th Northwest Conference basketball tournament in its 26th appearance over the weekend to secure the NWC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament. To do so the Pirates had to beat a pair of opponents for the third time in one season.
Whitworth shot 58% from the field (30-52) and 54% from three-point range (7-13) to defeat Puget Sound 80-59 in the semifinals on Friday night. The Loggers scored the game's opening basket and never led again and Whitworth was ahead 39-29 at halftime. After UPS got within six (43-37) early in the second half, Whitworth answered with a 9-2 run to retake control. Jake Holtz led the Bucs with 24 points and seven rebounds, while Sullivan Menard added 19 points and six boards. Ben Nyquist tied his career-high with ten points off the bench.
Whitworth and Whitman met in the NWC tournament final for the seventh time in a row and the Pirates won their third straight of those contests 81-75 on Saturday night in a packed Whitworth Fieldhouse. The first half featured eight lead changes before the Pirates took a 45-48 lead into the locker rooms. The Blues were never able to regain the lead in the second period but did briefly tie the game 67-67 before Menard answered with a three-pointer. Holtz put together a masterful performance with a double-double of 32 points and 10 rebounds. Menard scored 21 and Garrett Long, making his second start of the season, added a dozen points. The Bucs outrebounded Whitman 35-29, including a 13-6 edge in offensive boards.
Whitworth comes into the tournament averaging 79.1 points and allowing 72.4 points per contest. The Pirates rank second in the NWC in team field goal percentage (48.6) and in team three-point percentage (37.9).
All-NWC Recognition: Jojo Anderson was voted by Northwest Conference coaches as the 2023-24 NWC Player of the Year. Also a first team All-NWC honoree, Anderson led the NWC in scoring average when conference games only are factored into the statistics (18.9 ppg). Sullivan Menard was another first team All-NWC selection and averaged 18.3 ppg in NWC contests. Jake Holtz (13.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg) was a second team honoree after picking up honorable mention status last season.
NCAA Tournament History: Whitworth is making its 17th NCAA Division III tournament appearance this season. The Pirates are 14-15 all-time in the NCAA DIII post-season. They have advanced to five Division III sweet 16s since 2009, with an Elite 8 berth in 2011. Four times the team that eliminated Whitworth has gone on to play in the national championship game (UMHB in 2013, Wooster in 2011, Washington Univ. in 2007 and Gustavus Adolphus in 2003). Whitworth reached the round of 16 in 2020 before the tournament was cancelled by Covid-19.
Prior to its history in the NCAA Division III tournament, Whitworth had a post-season history as a member of the NAIA. The Pirates played in the 1996 and 1998 NAIA Division II tournaments, hosted by Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa, Idaho. In 1996, Whitworth advanced to the championship game before losing in overtime to Albertson (now College of Idaho) College. In 1998, Whitworth lost on a last-second basket to eventual champion Bethel College (Ind.) in the quarterfinals. Prior to the splitting of the NAIA into divisions in 1992, the Pirates played in the NAIA tournament in Kansas City five times. Whitworth advanced to the quarterfinals in 1952 and then suffered first-round losses in 1954, 1955, 1961 and 1991.
The Opponents: California Lutheran University had a breakthrough season in 2023-24, building on the end of last year. In 2022-23 the Kingsmen stormed through the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament as a fourth seed to win the league's automatic bid to the NCAA DIII tournament. CLU pushed host Rowan (N.J.) to the brink before losing a close first round game. With virtually the entire team back this winter, the Kingsmen rolled to a 24-3 overall record and a 15-1 mark in the SCIAC. There was a school-record 19-game winning streak along the way. CLU, which averaged 74.4 points per game and allowed a league-best 63.8 points per contest in 2023-24, fell to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 61-55 in the SCIAC tournament championship but was awarded an at-large berth to the NCAAs.
Head coach Russel White, a CLU alum, has completely turned around the program in his five seasons, going from 4-21 in 2019-20 to 23-4 this season. The 2024 SCIAC Coach of the Year, he is 57-47 as the Kingsmen's head coach. At his disposal are three All-SCIAC honorees. Desi Burrage (Jr.) is the 2024 SCIAC Defensive Player of the Year. The main defender against every opponent's top scorer, Burrage averaged 5.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg and 1.3 steals per game. He was joined on the first team by 6-5 Brock Susko (Jr.) who put up 11.0 ppg this season while making 39% of his three-pointers. Big man Tommy Giffits (6-7, Sr.) also averaged 11.0 ppg and made 59% of his field goals to earn second team recognition.
Whitworth last play CLU early in the 2022-23 season and the Pirates built a big halftime lead on the way to a 71-56 victory in Spokane. The Pirates and Kingsmen have played five times since 2005, but never in Thousand Oaks. This is the first NCAA tournament match-up between the schools.
The Other Half: The other half of the NCAA 1st/2nd round pod features 2nd-seeded St. Thomas (Texas) vs. #3 seed Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.).
The University of St. Thomas, from Houston, are members of the Southern Collegiate Athletics Conference (SCAC). The Celts are making their second straight NCAA Div. III tournament appearance. St. Thomas is 20-6 and went 12-4 in the SCAC to finish second. The Celts lost to host Centenary 64-51 in the semifinals of the SCAC tournament last weekend. Head coach Anthony Medina, a UST alum, has led the Celts since 2015. UST averages 77.9 points per game and allows 68.2. Junior guard Calvin Williams IV scores 18.0 ppg and earned first team All-SCAC. Sophomore guard Nick Anderson puts up 15.9 ppg and is a second team All-SCAC selection. Whitworth and St. Thomas have never played in men's basketball.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps is making its 11th appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament after earning the SCIAC's automatic bid with the 61-55 win at Cal Lutheran last weekend. The Stags are 21-6 overall and finished 13-3 in the conference. CMS has handed CLU two of its three losses this season and averages 76.2 ppg while allowing 67.0. Head coach Ken Scalmanini is 453-197 in his 25th year. Senior guard Josh Angle is the 2024 SCIAC Player of the Year and a three-time first team All-SCIAC honoree. He scores 18.9 ppg and makes 42% of his three-pointers. Center Rhett Carter (Gr.) averages 13.0 ppg and 6.1 rpg to claim second team All-SCIAC. Whitworth and CMS have played six times since 2009, three in the NCAA tournament. The Stags knocked out the Pirates in the first round in both 2017 and 2018.
Welcome Back Jojo: Jojo Anderson's return to action in 2023-24 was as hoped-for by Pirate fans. The 2024 NWC Player of the Year led the team lead in scoring average (17.7 points per game, second in the NWC) and scored a career-high 33 points in a win over Northwest University on November 21st, the sixth-highest single game total in the NWC this season. He made 49.5% of his field goals (5th in the NWC) and led the team in assists (65) and assists per game (2.8). Anderson was the NWC men's basketball student-athlete of the week twice this season – November 27th and February 5th. The guard from nearby Mt. Spokane HS missed the 2022-23 season with an injury.
No Holtz Barred: Jake Holtz seemed to do everything for the Pirates in 2023-24 and earned second team All-NWC. He averages 15.9 points per game, which is tied for second on the team and ranks fifth (tied) in the NWC. He also leads the Pirates in rebounding (6.5 per game, fifth in the NWC) and steals (36). He is making 57.5% of his field goal attempts (third in the NWC) and was selected as the NWC's men's basketball student-athlete of the week on November 13th. On Feb. 10th Holtz became the 30th Pirate in school history with 1,000 career points and he now has 1,096.
Jerry, As Needed: Jerry Twenge, in his fifth year as a Pirate, averages 6.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Twenge has stepped up in a variety of ways throughout his Whitworth career, at different times leading the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. His latest highlight was the game-winning basket vs. Pacific on December 2nd with 1.4 seconds to play.
The Long Road Home: Sullivan Menard's road to Whitworth and a 2024 first team All-NWC selection was a long one. A Gatorade Player of the Year as a high school senior in Alaska, Menard initially went to NCAA Div. I DePaul (Ill.) before transferring to Western Wyoming CC, where he suffered a season-ending knee injury that prevented him from playing the 2021-22 season in Spokane. Menard averages 15.9 points per game (tied for second on the team and fifth in the conference). He leads the NWC in three-pointers per game (2.7) and ranks fourth in three-point percentage (39.4%). He posted his first career double-double on Feb. 10th during a win over George Fox with career-highs in points (39) and rebounds (12) on Senior Night. Menard averages 5.1 rebounds per contest, second on the team. Menard is also a member of the Pirates' men's golf team.
Nearly Two Decades of Dominance: Since the beginning of the 2005-06 season (almost 18 full seasons) the Pirates are 427-98 (.813), an amazing run of success matched by few other college teams at any level. Within the Northwest Conference, Whitworth has won 226 of its last 258 (.876).
Home-Sweet-Home: Whitworth has been stellar in the Whitworth Fieldhouse since the 1990's. During the decade of the 1990s and 2000's Whitworth won more than 84% of its home games. However, since the beginning of the 2005-06 season, the Bucs are 223-27 (.892) at home.
The Pirates have had two home-court winning streaks of more than 40 games since 1990. A 41-game home court winning streak from early 2009 until December of 2011 was the second-longest in Pirate history. The school record for consecutive home victories is 43, beginning during the 1994-95 season and ending during the 1997-98 season.
Road Warriors: As good as Whitworth is at home, the Pirates have been almost as good away from the Whitworth Fieldhouse over the last decade. Since the start of the 11-12 season, Whitworth is 121-41 (.747) away from home, 92-29 (.760) in true road games.
On the Air Again: Whitworth's men's basketball games are once again carried live this season on KSBN 1230am in Spokane. The relationship between Pirate athletics and KSBN goes back to 1994, a span of more than 25 years. Bud Nameck is in his ninth season as the voice of Whitworth basketball. Nameck has more than 30 years of experience calling college basketball at Gonzaga University and Washington State.
The Coach: Damion Jablonski is in his 13th season on the Pirate coaching staff in 2023-24, and his fifth as head coach of the Pirates. He is 94-34 as Whitworth's head coach and has led the Pirates to a third regular season title in his tenure. Jablonski led Whitworth to the NCAA Division III tournament three times in the previous four years, the only non-tournament year was due to Covid-19. His first year was a rousing success. He went 23-6, led the Pirates to a share of the Northwest Conference championship and to a pair of victories in the NCAA Division III tournament. The Bucs were slated to face top-ranked Swarthmore before the tournament was cancelled. Jablonski was named D3hoops.com West Region Coach of the Year and he coached Ben College to NWC Player of the Year and NABC All-America recognition. Whitworth went 12-5 during the COVID-19 season in 2020-21, including games against NCAA DI Montana, NCAA DII Seattle Pacific and NAIA playoff regular College of Idaho. Whitworth won NWC tournaments in both 2022 and 2023, despite the fact that the Pirates were not the top seeded team.
Jablonski spent eight years as the top assistant at Whitworth, including six seasons with the title of Associate Head Coach. Over the course of his tenure as an assistant, the Bucs won 215 games, seven Northwest Conference titles and seven NWC tournament crowns. As the head recruiting coordinator, Jablonski was instrumental in continuing the Bucs' tradition of success by helping to recruit high quality student-athletes to Whitworth. His efforts over the past several years have included the addition of First Team All-American Kyle Roach, third team All-American and NWC Player of the Year Kenny Love and First Team All Northwest Conference selection Christian Jurlina.
Coming Up Next: The winner of this weekend's pod will advance to the round of 16 next weekend at a location still to be determined.
