By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth men's basketball team returns to Whitworth Fieldhouse this weekend to host Pacific (Ore.) on Friday (6:00pm) and George Fox on Saturday's senior night (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.
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 15th ranked Pirates (19-2 overall) continued their winning ways over the weekend with two more conference victories. The Bucs extended their winning streak to seven and now sit at 10-2 in the Northwest Conference.
Whitworth came away with a 74-71 win on Friday night in another intense and hotly contested game with Lewis & Clark. The Pirates fought to a six-point lead at halftime behind Jake Holtz's 14 points. Both teams traded runs in the second half. Whitworth led by seven twice and the Pioneers tied the game once and cut the lead to one later in the game. Ben Nyquist scored two consecutive baskets that aided a final 9-3 run that gave the Bucs the cushion they needed. L&C battled back once again, but three free throws and a missed Pioneer heave closed the Whitworth victory. Garrett Long led the Pirates with 19 points and added five rebounds and four assists. Holtz finished with 16 points and Stephen Behil scored 15, all in the second half. Whitworth shot 45.7% (32-70) and turned the ball over just once.
On Saturday, the Pirates defeated Willamette 81-63. Whitworth grabbed a six-point lead with over 11 minutes to play in the half but then hit a cold stretch that allowed the Bearcats to claw back to a one-point lead. Both squads battled the remainder of the half before two free throws put Willamette up 34-32 at the break. The Pirate offense came alive in the second half and outscored the Bearcats 49-29 in the final 20 minutes. Their lead stretched to 18 after three consecutive buckets from distance and Colton Looney's layup gave the Bucs their largest lead of the half with 5:30 to play. The Bearcats could not close the gap any closer than 16. Whitworth shot 50% (32-64) from the field and 58.8% in the second half. Stephen Behil stuffed the stat sheet with a season-high 23 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, all team-highs. Ben Nyquist also scored a season-high 16 points to go with seven rebounds and four steals.
The Opponents: Pacific comes to Spokane at 10-11 overall and 5-7 in the NWC. Last week, the Boxers suffered a 92-89 loss to George Fox on Tuesday before another close 81-76 loss to Puget Sound. Pacific pressures opposing offenses with a full-court press that generates 9.3 steals per game, second in the conference behind George Fox. The Boxers keep the ball moving and lead the conference in both assists (17.75) and turnover margin (4.15). Their league leading 12.2 offensive rebounds per game often result in kick-out three-pointers, which Pacific knocks down eight of per game. Senior forward Devin Fortune leads the team in both points (15.6) and rebounds (7.1) per game. Fortune did not play in the first matchup against the Pirates. Senior guard Lucas Winkler is another impactful player who has put up 13.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game this season. Whitworth defeated Pacific 82-74 on January 18th in Forest Grove and have won 13 of the last 14 matchups with the Boxers.
George Fox (10-11) earned two conference wins last week to land at 6-6 in the NWC. The Bruins beat Pacific 92-89 on Tuesday and handled Pacific Lutheran 80-65 on Friday. Whitman will host George Fox on Friday before heading to Spokane on Saturday. GFU leads the conference in steals per game (10.9) due to a disruptive full-court press, similar to Pacific. The Bruins handed the Pirates one of their two losses (87-81) on the season on January 17th in a game where Whitworth turned the ball over a season-high 21 times. To compliment the defense, GFU leads the conference in scoring at 83.2 points per game with the help of conference leading scorer Momo Stokes (22.0 ppg). Senior guard Stewart Samuel IV leads the team with 6.2 rebounds per game to go along with 14.6 points per game. Whitworth swept the season series with the Bruins last season and have won two of their last three matchups.
Senior Night: Saturday's game vs. George Fox will include pre-game recognition of three Pirate seniors as they play in their final regular season home game at Whitworth Fieldhouse. Craig Mueller, Garrett Long, and Jake Holtz will each be recognized for their contributions throughout their Pirate basketball careers.
NWC Standings: Whitworth (10-2 NWC) now holds a three-game conference lead with four games remaining. Lewis & Clark, Pacific Lutheran, and Whitman are all 7-5 and tied for second place. Puget Sound and George Fox are both 6-6 and fighting for a spot in the top four. Pacific (5-7) and Linfield (4-8) are still alive while Willamette fell to 2-10.
Whitworth can clinch the NWC regular season title and host the NWC Tournament as the #1 seed with two wins this weekend.
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 is second in the NWC in scoring at 16.0 points per game while posting 6.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. He has been named NWC men's basketball Student-Athlete of the Week twice this season. Holtz has scored 1,454 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 fourth in the NWC in scoring at 15.8 points per game to go along with 4.6 rebounds, and a team-leading 3.5 assists per game. He is also fourth 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 1.5 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 12.7 points per game on 39.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Ty Edwards has made 70 straight starts for Whitworth and is posting 6.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while shooting 56.3% 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 has taken advantage of his opportunities in place of injured Diego Jaques, averaging 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game at the off-guard position. Colton Looney is shooting 47.4% from beyond the arc while averaging 7.4 points and 2.5 rebounds. Caden Bateman, a transfer from the University of Montana, provides size and athleticism off the bench and averages 3.2 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 445-101 (.815), an amazing run of success matched by few other college teams at any level. Within the Northwest Conference, Whitworth has won 230 of its last 261 (.881).
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 225-28 (.889) 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 130-41 (.760) away from home, 101-27 (.789) 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 114-37 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: The Pirates wrap up the regular season with the second iteration of the Battle of Whits on Tuesday, February 18th in Walla Walla before visiting Linfield on Saturday, February 22nd.
