By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth men's basketball team will head to Oregon this weekend for its first Northwest Conference road trip of the season. The Pirates visit George Fox on Friday at 6:00pm before playing Pacific (Ore.) on Saturday at 4:00pm. Both games are scheduled as the first half of men's-women's doubleheaders.
Check the Whitworth men's basketball schedule for live links to this week's games.
The Pirates: Whitworth (12-1 overall) earned two more wins last weekend to improve to 3-1 in the NWC and jumped two spots up to #15 on the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll.
The Pirates cruised to an 88-65 win over Willamette on Friday at Whitworth Fieldhouse. Whitworth made six of its first seven shots and opened the game on a 15-2 run. The Pirates kept their foot on the gas and led at halftime 52-23. A fastbreak layup three minutes into the second half gave Whitworth its largest lead of the game 64-30. The Bearcats outscored Whitworth the rest of the way but could not gain much ground. The Bucs shot 55.2% from the field and forced 18 turnovers that turned into 22 points. Jake Holtz and Garrett Long each scored 27 points to lead all scorers and Diego Jaques added 12.
The Pirates stole a 76-75 overtime win over visiting Lewis & Clark on Saturday after Ben Nyquist tipped in a missed shot at the buzzer. Whitworth led by 10 with just under three minutes to play before L&C went on a 10-0 run to tie the game and force overtime. The Pirates again led by four early in the overtime period before the Pioneers answered with an 8-1 run. A pair of free throws put L&C up 75-74 with eight seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, Long drove to the basket for a potential game-winning shot and his floater bounced off rim but Nyquist was there to tip the ball up and in as time expired. Long led the Pirates with 16 points, while Stephen Behil added 14 and Jaques again scored a dozen.
The Opponents: George Fox hosts Whitworth with a 6-7 overall record and 2-2 start in the NWC. The Bruins suffered a close 74-71 loss to Pacific on Tuesday before defeating Pacific Lutheran 75-70 on Saturday. George Fox is a strong offensive team that produces 82.0 points per game, second in the NWC. The Bruins' fast-paced dribble-drive style has resulted in the most shot attempts (862) and second most field goals made (385) in the conference along with a 44.7% field goal percentage. Defensively, George Fox gives up 82.9 points per game, last in the NWC, but disrupts opposing offenses with conference-high averages in blocks (4.62) and steals (10.77) per game. They are led by senior guard Momo Stokes, a 2024 first team All-NWC selection, who leads the NWC in scoring at 21.5 points per game. Senior guard Stewart Samual is also a player to watch as he leads the team with 4.8 assists per game and puts up 14.5 points per contest. On February 10th, 2023, the Bruins defeated the Pirates 90-84, their only win over Whitworth since 2014.
Pacific has three conference wins (3-1 NWC) under its belt and an 8-5 overall record. The Boxers hosted George fox last week and came out on top 74-71 before a high scoring 101-90 road victory over Puget Sound on Saturday. Pacific will host Whitman on Friday before Whitworth on Saturday. The Boxers play with a similar dribble-drive style to George Fox, resulting in the second most field goal attempts in the conference (854) but rank last in field goal percentage (42.4). They do a good job of moving the ball and taking care of it, leading the NWC in assists per game (18.17), turnover margin (4.08) and assist/turnover ratio (1.3). Pacific is led by three experienced seniors. Forward Devin Fortune leads the team in scoring with14.4 points per game and is coming off a season-high 27 points at Puget Sound. Guard Lucas Winkler averages 13.7 points and leads the NWC with 3.3 steals per game. Guard Jake Blazona is also coming off a season-high 21 points and was an All-NWC Honorable Mention last season. Whitworth had won 12 straight matchups with the Boxers leading up to their second battle last season on January 26th in Forest Grove, when Pacific beat the Pirates 89-74 for the first time since 2017.
NWC Standings: After the first two weeks of conference action, Whitman (4-0 NWC) sits in first place with Whitworth (3-1) and Pacific (3-1) close behind. George Fox, Lewis & Clark, and Linfield are all 2-2 in conference and tied for fourth place. Puget Sound (1-3) and Pacific Lutheran (1-3) are tied for seventh and Willamette is searching for its first conference win (0-4).
Starting Hot: The Pirates finished their nine game non-conference schedule unbeaten for the first time since the 2016-17 season. Whitworth's 9-0 start was its longest winning streak since the 2015-16 season, when the Pirates won 19 straight games to start the season, won the NWC tournament and finished the season with a 26-2 overall record
During the Pirates' win streak, they posted an impressive 49.1% field goal percentage and a 17.4 average scoring margin, each ranking first in the NWC. During that stretch, Whitworth also ranked first in the NWC in three-point shooting at 39%.
An Unstoppable Force: Jake Holtz, in his fifth year as a Pirate, is poised to build on a stellar 2023-24 season in which he averaged 16.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists and was named second team All-NWC. This season he ranks second in the NWC in scoring at 17.2 points per game while posting 7.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. He has made 42 straight starts for the Pirates and been named NWC men's basketball Student-Athlete of the Week two times this season. Holtz has scored 1,359 points during his Whitworth career as he continues to stuff the stat sheet and be problematic for opposing defenses.
Long Time Coming: After two seasons at Carroll College and an injury riddled 2023-24 season, senior Garrett Long is coming into his own as a leader at point guard for the Pirates. Long showed his potential after four starts in the 2024 postseason after being inserted into the starting lineup due to an injury. He posted 12 points in the NWC Final against Whitman and had 11 points and seven rebounds at Cal Lutheran in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Now in the full-time starting point guard role, Long is third in the NWC in scoring at 16.1 points per game to go along with 4.6 rebounds, and a team-leading 3.1 assists per game. He is also second in the NWC in assist/turnover ratio (2.1). In the win over Cal Lutheran on November 21st, he scored a career-high 29 points on 11-16 shooting. Long also leads the Pirates' effort to pressure opposing ballhandlers on defense, grabbing 1.8 steals per game.
Junior Leaders: The Pirates continue to reload after losing key contributors from last season such as NWC Player of the Year Jojo Anderson and seniors Jerry Twenge and Sullivan Menard. This year, the load falls on the shoulders of five juniors who have stepped into impactful roles. Junior sharpshooter Stephen Behil stepped into the starting lineup and is averaging 10.6 points per game on 39.7% shooting from beyond the arc. Diego Jaques has proved to be a strong attacker for the Pirates, averaging an efficient 10.6 points per game. Junior Ty Edwards has made 62 straight starts for Whitworth and is posting 6.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while shooting 62.3% from the field.
The production hasn't just come from the starting lineup, as Colton Looney and Ben Nyquist have demonstrated the depth of the Pirate rotation. Nyquist averages 1.4 steals per game and has been strong on the glass at the off-guard position. Colton Looney is shooting 51.3% from beyond the arc while averaging 6.2 points and 2.2 rebounds. Caden Bateman, a transfer from the University of Montana, provides size and athleticism off the bench and averages 3.3 rebounds per contest.
Pirates picked to win: Whitworth is listed at the top of the 2024-25 Northwest Conference coaches poll with six first place votes and 61 points. The Pirates are coming off a 20-9 record in 2023-24, tying Whitman for first place in the regular season but defeating them to win the conference tournament championship. Whitman is tied for second place with Puget Sound with 52 points each. Puget Sound received two first place votes to Whitman's one.
Nearly Two Decades of Dominance: Since the beginning of the 2005-06 season (over 17 seasons) the Pirates are 440-100 (.815), an amazing run of success matched by few other college teams at any level. Within the Northwest Conference, Whitworth has won 223 of its last 253 (.88).
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 223-28 (.89) 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 125-40 (.757) away from home, 96-26 (.787) in true road games.
Tune in: Whitworth's home men's basketball games are streamed live at whitworthpirates.com from the "watch link" for home games and the "listen link" for road games on the men's basketball schedule page. Pirate basketball games are called by Bud Nameck who is in his tenth season as the voice of Whitworth basketball. An Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Famer, Nameck has more than 30 years of experience calling college basketball at Gonzaga University and Washington State.
The Coach: Damion Jablonski is in his 14th season on the Pirate coaching staff in 2024-25, and his sixth as head coach of the Pirates. He is 107-36 as Whitworth's head coach. Jablonski has led Whitworth to the NCAA Division III tournament in each season as the head coach, 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 canceled. 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 finished 22-5 overall and 13-3 in the NWC in 2021-22 to once again share the regular season title before winning the conference tournament.
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. Jablonski is joined by assistant coaches Nick Sullivan, a former graduate assistant at Gonzaga, and Seth Hall, a former NWC Player of the Year at Pacific Lutheran.
With the win over Belhaven on December 6th, Damion Jablonski earned his 100th win as a head coach.
Coming Up Next: Whitworth will return to Spokane to host Whitman on Tuesday, January 21st and Linfield on Friday, January 24th.
