SPOKANE, Wash. – Stephen Behil hit a tightly-defended jump shot as time expired to let Whitworth escape with an 81-79 win over visiting Pacific University in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Saturday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
The Pirates improved to 8-3 overall and 2-0 in the NWC heading into Tuesday night's first Battle of Whits at Whitman.
Anthony Hrboka, the conference's leading scorer, poured in 30 points to lead the Boxers (5-7 overall, 1-2 NWC) back from a 14-point second half deficit.
Whitworth missed its first eight shots of the game and committed two turnovers, allowing Pacific to take a 6-0 lead. Trailing 8-2, the Pirates caught fire and made five three-pointers in an 18-5 run that put Whitworth ahead 20-13 after a three by Dylan Westermeyer. Ben Nyquist's three-point play gave the Bucs their first double digit lead (31-20). After the Boxers cut the margin to 37-29 on a basket by Hrboka, Whitworth got the final two buckets of the half, including Nate Krohn's put-back, to take a 41-29 lead into halftime. After missing their first eight shots, the Pirates finished the half 16 of 33 (48.5%). Whitworth's defense limited Hrboka to only eight points in the first half on 4 of 11 shooting.
Hrboka found his groove early in the second half, making six of his first eight shots, including all three from three-point range in the first nine minutes, scoring a quick 15 points to help Pacific cut a 43-29 deficit to 63-59. Whitworth rebuilt a 67-59 lead following another three-point play from Nyquist before Pacific pulled within 71-69 on a three-point shot from Lucas Gray. The Boxers eventually tied the game 75-75 on Max Vacco's jumper with 1:49 to go.
The final minute was frenetic. Caden Bateman put Whitworth up two with 51 seconds left and the Pirates forced a Hrboka miss for a defensive stop. But Vacco's steal led to a breakaway layin by Hrboka with seven seconds to go. The Bucs quickly moved up court and the ball was briefly loose in the corner when Westermeyer tracked it down and fed Behil for the winning shot as time expired. Behil was well defended but the ball hit nothing but net.
Behil led Whitworth with 21 points, while Nyquist totaled 16 with seven rebounds and seven assists. Bateman finished with ten points and nine boards. The Pirates made 32 of 58 (55.2%), including 16 of 25 (64%) in the second half. Whitworth also finished with a 37-30 edge on the boards.
Hrboka scored 22 of his 30 points after halftime, making 9 of 16 from the field in the second half. Ryder Mackay added 18 for the Boxers, who finished 34-74 (45.9%) from the field.
