By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth men's basketball team returns to Spokane to wrap up the first half of Northwest Conference play with a split schedule this week. The Pirates host Whitman on Tuesday before playing Linfield on Friday. Both games tip-off at 6:00pm and are scheduled as the first half of men's-women's doubleheaders.
Tuesday's game will be televised on SWX. Check the Whitworth men's basketball schedule for live links to this week's games.
Tickets: Digital tickets are required for entrance to the Whitworth Fieldhouse for all fans. Tickets can be purchased in advance using the Hometown Ticketing App. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for senior adults, non-Whitworth students and children. Whitworth students, as well as faculty and staff, get free admission by using an ID number.
The Pirates: The 18th ranked Pirates (13-2 overall) split a pair of games on their first NWC road trip of the season.
Whitworth fell to George Fox 87-81 on Friday night. The Bruins opened the game in a full-court press that forced a season-high 21 Pirate turnovers. The Bucs erased an early 14-point deficit and took the lead late before heading into the break tied at 42. George Fox started the second half hot and stretched their lead. The Pirates continued to battle and kept the game close in the second half but were unable to break through. Every player that entered the game for Whitworth scored. Garrett Long led with 17 points while Jake Holtz and Ben Nyquist each had 10. Dylan Westermeyer scored a season-high 11 points. This was just the second time that the Bruins have beaten the Pirates since 2014.
The Pirates bounced back with an 82-74 win over Pacific (Ore.) on Saturday. Whitworth started slow offensively which resulted in a quick 15-2 lead for the Boxers. Colton Looney got the Pirates back in the game by scoring 11 points during a 14-5 run. Whitworth trailed at halftime 41-35 but came out firing in the second half. Westermeyer tied the game with a fadeaway before Long made a layup to give the Pirates their first lead of the game with 13:18 to play. The Bucs tightened up on defense and held the Boxers to just three made field goals in the final four minutes. Caden Bateman put the game on ice by knocking down seven free throws down the stretch. Stephen Behil scored a season-high 19 points while Looney and Long each added 13.
The Opponents: Whitman visits Spokane as the only unbeaten team in conference play (6-0, 8-7 overall). Last weekend, the Blues snuck by Pacific 73-71 before handling George Fox 95-75, both games on the road. Whitman plays solid, controlled basketball on both ends of the floor. The Blues are led by junior guard Ali Efe Isik, an All-NWC honorable mention last season, who leads the team in both points (14.3) and rebounds (5.9) per game. Whitman returns the 2024 NWC Defensive Player of the Year Grant Hunt, who is tied for the team lead with 2.3 steals per game. Hunt is third on the team in scoring (10.1) and leads the NWC in three-point percentage (.432). The Blues are coached by 2024 NWC coach of the Year John Lamanna. Whitworth has won six of the last seven games against Whitman, including three wins last season that concluded with an 81-75 victory in the NWC Tournament championship.
Linfield (6-9 overall, 3-3 NWC) makes the trip after splitting two conference matchups last weekend. The Wildcats lost to Lewis & Clark 63-61 on Friday before cruising past Willamette 97-76 on Saturday. Linfield moves the ball well and shoots a high percentage. They are second in the NWC in team three-point percentage (.360) and three-pointers made (121). Sophomore guard Cade Collins leads the Wildcats' offensive attack with 13.9 points per game and leads the NWC in free throw percentage (.981). Eleven different players average over 10 minutes per game for the Wildcats, who will look to keep their energy high on the court. Linfield's last win over Whitworth came on January 21st, 2023, in McMinnville by a score of 86-79.
NWC Standings: Whitman (6-0 NWC) sits in first place with Whitworth (4-2) alone in second place. Lewis & Clark (3-2) lands in third spot while Pacific, George Fox, Linfield, and Pacific Lutheran all are 3-3 and fighting to separate. Puget Sound (1-4) and Willamette (0-6) round out the standings at the bottom.
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 16.4 points per game while posting 7.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. He has made 44 straight starts for the Pirates and been named NWC men's basketball Student-Athlete of the Week twice this season. Holtz has scored 1,381 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 15.9 points per game to go along with 4.9 rebounds, and a team-leading 3.1 assists per game. He is also fourth in the NWC in assist/turnover ratio (1.9). 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 12.1 points per game on 38.5% shooting from beyond the arc. Diego Jaques has proved to be a strong attacker for the Pirates, averaging an efficient 9.9 points per game. Junior Ty Edwards has made 64 straight starts for Whitworth and is posting 6.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 60.0% 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 51.1% from beyond the arc while averaging 6.6 points and 2.3 rebounds. Caden Bateman, a transfer from the University of Montana, provides size and athleticism off the bench and averages 3.6 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 441-101 (.814), an amazing run of success matched by few other college teams at any level. Within the Northwest Conference, Whitworth has won 224 of its last 255 (.878).
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 126-41 (.754) away from home, 97-27 (.782) 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 108-37 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 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 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 head to Tacoma with matchups against Puget Sound on January 31st and Pacific Lutheran on February 1st.
