CLAREMONT, Calif. – A hot start in each half was not enough for visiting Whitworth to overcome 25 turnovers in a 73-62 loss at 18th-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in a non-conference men's basketball game on Tuesday night at Roberts Pavilion.
The Pirates fell to 5-3 with their second straight loss in California. Whitworth will try to salvage a final game of the Golden State trip on Thursday at Chapman.
The Bucs stormed out of the gate to a 10-1 lead against the unbeaten Stags (10-0), thanks to consecutive three-pointers by Colton Looney and a three-point play by Ben Nyquist. Leading 20-15 with just over six minutes left, Whitworth went cold and only scored three points the rest of the way on another trey by Looney. CMS took its first lead on a jumper by Will Householter with 1:24 to go and led 25-23 at the break. The Bucs made only 31% of their shots in the opening period, but held the Stags to 25% (7-28). Whitworth committed 13 first half turnovers.
The Pirates started the second half with three straight three-pointers, two by Ben Nyquist, and three free throws by Looney, to open a 35-30 lead three minutes into the period. CMS responded with a 7-1 run to go back in front before Stephen Behil's three-point shot gave Whitworth its final lead of the game (39-37). The Stags then used a 12-0 run over the next four minutes to open a 49-39 lead with 10:57 to go. The Pirates fought back to within 57-55 on a three-point play by Behil and two free throws from Looney with just over four minutes left. They could not get over the top and CMS scored six straight to retake control. Leading by six, the Stags went 6-6 at the free throw line in the final minute and got a breakaway dunk with two seconds left instead of running out the clock to grab their largest lead of the night.
Whitworth had its best three-point percentage night of the season, making 13 of 27 (48%) from beyond the arc. But the Pirates were only 5 of 21 on two-point tries and finished the game with an overall percentage of 37.5. In addition, Whitworth committed 12 more turnovers in the second half and was called for 25 fouls to only 14 for the hosts.
Behil scored 21 points, 18 in the second half, and Looney finished with 20 to lead the offense. Behil also led the team with nine boards. Nyquist added 13 points and dished five assists.
Householder and Joey Kennedy led CMS with 17 points apiece. Householder added six assists, while Kennedy had four assists and three steals. The Stags made 40% of their shots from the field and had a 40-35 edge in rebounding.
