SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth University men's basketball team returns to the state of Oregon this weekend for a pair of Northwest Conference road contests. The Pirates will play at George Fox University on Friday night (7:30 pm). On Saturday the Bucs will travel to Lewis & Clark College (5:00 pm). Both games will video stream through FloSports and live radio will be available through WhitworthPirates.com.
The Pirates: Whitworth (10-3 overall, 4-0 NWC) won its first two NWC road games last week.
The Pirates never trailed in an 87-57 win at Whitman on Tuesday night, jumping ahead 39-25 by halftime. Whitworth made 48% (32-67) of its field goals and 42% (10-24) from three-point range, meanwhile the defense held the Blues to only 29% (18-62) from the field and 23% (7-30) from three. The Bucs outrebounded the Blues 43-35 even though Whitman came into the game with the conference's best rebound margin. Stephen Behil posted a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds, his second of the season. Ben Nyquist contributed 14 points, three assists and two steals. Kobe Parlin had 13 points and five rebounds off the bench.
Whitworth won 83-66 at Linfield on Saturday night. The Pirates were even more efficient on offense than they were on Tuesday, making 51% (34-67) from the field and 50% (10-20) from beyond the arc. Whitworth was active on defense as well, coming away with 11 steals, only one short of the season-high (12 at St. John's). The first 15 minutes were highly competitive before the Pirates closed the first half on a 19-4 run to take a 46-33 lead into the locker rooms. Behil scored 20 points, making 4 of 5 from three-point range. Nyquist added 16 points and generated a career-high five steals. Colton Looney totaled 11 points.
Behil Back-to-Back: Stephen Behil has been selected as the NWC's men's basketball Student-Athlete of the Week in back-to-back weeks. He won the award on January 5th after averaging 20.6 points per game in Whitworth's previous five contests, including a game-winning jumper at the buzzer vs. Pacific. The NWC renamed him the winner on January 12th after he averaged 22 points and 9.5 rebounds in road victories at Whitman and Linfield.
Statistically speaking: Through 13 games Whitworth is averaging 82.4 points per game (third in the NWC) and allowing 70.0 points per contest (tied for first). The Pirates lead the league in scoring margin (+12.4).
Whitworth has been strong on the defensive side of the ball. The Pirates lead the conference in field goal percentage defense (37.8%), which ranks 8th in Division III. They also lead in three-point field goal percentage defense (27.2%), 17th in DIII. Whitworth also leads the conference in rebounds per game (43.2), in defensive rebounds per game (30.7) and ranks second in rebound margin (+6.4).
Iron Man: Whitworth senior post Ty Edwards (Sumner, Wash.) has started 88 consecutive games for the Pirates. It is the longest active starting streak since Whitworth Heritage Gallery Hall of Fame member George Valle started all 116 games of his career from 2013 through 2016.
Be(hil) the Ball: Stephen Behil is having a breakout senior season. The 6-6 wing from Camas leads the team in scoring average at 18.5 ppg, which ranks fourth in the NWC. He is also sixth in the conference in rebounds per game (6.8). Behil is second in the NWC in three-pointers made per game (3.0) and, after a slow start to the season, is sixth in three-point percentage (39.8).
Energizer: Ben Nyquist has made a successful transition from sixth man to key starter in 2025-26. The senior guard from Kirkland, Washington leads the team in assists with 40 (3.1 apg) and steals with 35 (2.7 spg). He averages 14.0 points per game, second on the team and eighth in the NWC, while making 56.9% of his field goals (first in the NWC).
Reload: Whitworth did not return either of its All-NWC honorees from 2024-25 when the Pirates won the conference regular seaon title with a 13-3 record. Despite the graduations of Jake Holtz and Garrett Long, both first team All-Conference selections last season, the Pirates are right back in the hunt for another NWC crown in 2025-26. Ben Nyquist, Colton Looney and Caden Bateman stepped into full-time starting roles this season, along with returning starters Stephen Behil and Ty Ewards.
Watch on FloCollege: Like the rest of the Northwest Conference, Whitworth's home athletic events are steamed through FloCollege in 2025-26. Fans can sign up to watch Pirate sports on the FloCollege portal. Registration is $116 for an annual subscription or $20 per month. Those who register with a .edu email address get a significant discount.
Inland Northwest Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Bud Nameck, familiar in Spokane as the KXLY channel 4 sports director for over 20 years and the longtime host of the KXLY 920am Morning News, is in his 11th season as the voice of the Pirates in 2025. He was the voice of Washington State University men's basketball for 22 years and spent that same amount of time on the Cougar football broadcasts – the final three on play by play. He is a longtime resident of the Inland Northwest who began his career as the Sports Information Director and radio voice of Gonzaga University basketball and baseball in the 1980s.
Listen to Road Games: Fans can tune in online to listen to Pirate ROAD games for free at WhitworthPirates.com. Bud Nameck will provide play by play when Whitworth is away from the Fieldhouse.
The Opponents: After heavy losses to graduation following the 2024-25 season, including 2025 NWC Player of the Year Momo Stokes, George Fox University comes into Friday's game 1-12 overall and 0-4 in the NWC under 13th-year head coach Maco Hamilton. However, in their last three NWC contests the Bruins have either led or been tied in the second half. In GFU's only game last week, the Bruins fell behind L&C by 22 points in the second half before rallying to within six points with over three minutes to play. L&C held on to win 96-86. First-year guard Sydney Natche leads the team in scoring at 17.8 points per game. Junior guard Donovan Cooks has recently returned to the lineup and adds 17.7 points and 3.0 assists per contest. The Bruins defeated the Pirates 87-81 in Newberg last season before Whitworth won 92-87 in Spokane.
One year removed from its dramatic run to the 2025 NWC tournament championship, Lewis & Clark College is back in the conference hunt at 7-6 overall and 3-1 in the NWC while riding a three-game winning streak heading into Friday's game vs. Whitman. Shawn Carson took over as the interim head coach in December and directed L&C to its win over GFU last Friday and a 70-65 win at Pacific (Ore.) on Saturday. The River Otters average 80.8 points per game and lead the conference in team three-point percentage (36.9%). Senior guard Andre Treadwell is having a special season, averaging 19.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while making over 50% of his field goals. Senior swing man Justin White adds 15.9 points and 8.0 boards per contest. In 2024-25, Whitworth won two close regular season matchups – 76-75 in OT in Spokane and 74-71 in Portland. L&C handed the Pirates their first-ever home loss in the NWC tournament, 71-64 in the semifinals and the River Otters went on to win the tournament.
Pirates picked to win: Whitworth is listed at the top of the 2025-26 Northwest Conference coaches poll with eight first place votes and 64 points. The Pirates are coming off a 22-4 record in 2024-25 and a Northwest Conference title with a 13-3 mark. Whitman got one first place vote and has 53 points for second in the poll. PLU and Puget Sound (44 points apiece) tied for third.
Two Decades of Dominance: Since the beginning of the 2005-06 season (over 19 seasons) the Pirates are 458-106 (.812), an amazing run of success matched by few other college teams at any level. Within the Northwest Conference, Whitworth has won 237 of its last 269 (.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 231-30 (.885) 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 14 seasons. Since the start of the 11-12 season, Whitworth is 136-44 (.755) away from home, 107-30 (.781) in true road games.
Coming Up Next: Whitworth will close out the first half of its conference schedule when the Pirates host Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran on Jan. 23-24.
