FOREST GROVE, Ore. – Stephen Behil scored a season-high 19 points to lead the Whitworth Pirates to an 82-74 win over Pacific (Ore.) in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Saturday.
The Pirates (13-2 overall) outscored the Boxers (8-7, 3-3 NWC) 47-33 in the second half to grab their fourth NWC win (4-2).
Whitworth started the game slow on offense and knocked down just one of seven shot attempts, while Pacific started seven of eight and jumped out to a 15-2 lead. After a scoring drought of over four minutes, Garrett Long knocked down a mid-ranger jumper that sparked a 14-5 Pirate run. Colton Looney scored all of his 11 first-half points during that run and his three-pointer shrunk the Boxer lead to 22-18 midway through the first half.
Pacific went up by nine with 5:29 remaining in the half after a pair of Lucas Winkler free throws. Whitworth battled back to a four-point deficit after a Diego Jaques floater, but Zachary Bates got a shot to fall at the buzzer to give the Boxers a 41-35 advantage at halftime. The Pirates shot 41.9% to the Pacific's 44.4% from the field in the first 20 minutes. Looney led all scorers and made three of four three-point attempts.
Both offenses came out firing in the second half. Jake Holtz converted a three-point play on the first possession and Long followed with a three-pointer, but Lucas Winkler caught fire and scored nine points before the first media timeout. The Pirates responded and tied the game with a Dylan Westermeyer fadeaway jumper. On the next possession, Long capped off a 7-0 run with a layup and gave the Bucs a 56-54 lead with 13:18 to play, their first of the game.
Both teams battled down the stretch, with Whitworth holding onto a slim lead with their defense. After a key stop, Behil nailed a pull-up jump shot to give the Pirates a 72-66 lead with just over three minutes remaining. Two minutes later, Holtz went to work in the post and made a tough layup to put Whitworth up nine. Caden Bateman was sent to the foul line nine times in the final two and half minutes and he knocked down seven of those shots. The Pirates held the Boxers to just three made field goals in the final four minutes of game time to secure the win.
Whitworth shot 48.4% (30-62) from the field and 54.8% in the second half. The Pirates edged the Boxers with a 41-36 advantage on the glass and got 33 points from the bench. Pacific shot 40.6% (28-69) from the field and made 11 three pointers.
Five players scored in double figures for Whitworth, led by Behil. Looney and Long each had 13 points while Long grabbed eight rebounds and had five assists. Holtz put up 12 points and blocked two shots. Bateman scored 11 points with nine of them coming at the charity stripe.
Winkler led Pacific with 22 points and two steals. Joel Meske scored 12 points and grabbed a team high six rebounds.
The Pirates will back at Whitworth Fieldhouse on Tuesday with a matchup with Whitman before Linfield visits on Friday.
