COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Whitworth completed a road sweep of co-defending conference champions with a 74-58 win over Saint John's on Saturday night in Sexton Arena.

Two days after winning 62-60 at Gustavus Adolphus, the Pirates (4-0) completed the sweep of defending Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference co-champions thanks to a smothering defense against the Johnnies (2-2).

Whitworth held SJU to only 30.4% (21-69) from the field and 21.3% (10-47) from three-point range.  The Pirates also forced the Johnnies into 16 turnovers.

Whitworth needed that defense because the Bucs only made 23.3% (7-30) from beyond the arc.  The Pirates were far more effective at getting good shots at the basket, scoring 34 points in the paint to 20 for SJU.

After the Johnnies took their only lead of the game at 6-4, Whitworth went on a 13-0 run for a 17-6 lead and never trailed again.  Caden Bateman scored six of those points and Stephen Behil had five.  The Johnnies cut the margin to 21-17 on a basket by Luke Farniok before the Pirates stretched the advantage out to 31-19 on a basket by Nate Krohn that capped a 10-2 run.  The Bucs led 40-29 at the break.

Whitworth opened the second half with a 9-2 spurt, taking a 49-31 lead on Behil's layup, and led by double figures the rest of the way.  The Pirates' largest lead came at 53-34 with 13:28 to play after Ben Fried converted a three-point play.

Behil led all players with 20 points, adding three assists and two steals.  Bateman scored 11 and Ben Nyquist finished with 10 points, six rebounds and five steals.  The Pirates made 40.3% (25-62) from the floor and 81% (17-21) from the free throw line.  Ty Edwards grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.

Noah George led SJU with 13 points off the bench, while Charlie Theis scored a dozen.

Whitworth will be off for the Thanksgiving holiday and will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 6 at home vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor.