Box Score FOREST GROVE, Ore. – Brody Baumgartner's layup with 12 seconds left lifted Pacific University to an 86-85 come-from-behind win over visiting Whitworth in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Friday night at the Stoller Center.
Kobe Parlin's jumper just before the buzzer bounced off the back rim for the 24th-ranked Pirates (14-4 overall, 8-1 NWC), who saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end. The Boxers (8-11 overall, 4-6 NWC) won their second straight game and avenged a last-second 81-79 defeat in Spokane on January 3rd.
Whitworth came out on fire, beginning the game with a 13-0 run that included a pair of three-pointers by Colton Looney and one by Stephen Behil. Another 6-0 run, keyed by three straight Pirate steals, extended the lead to 25-5 after a lay up from Nate Krohn. Whitworth took its largest lead when another Looney trey extended the margin to 36-15 with eight minutes left in the half.
Pacific fought back, outscoring Whitworth 24-10 over the rest of the period. The Boxers scored the final 12 points of the half to get within 46-39 at the break.
Pacific continued its momentum into the second half, using a 10-3 spurt out of the locker rooms to tie the game 49-49 on a three-pointer by Anthony Hrboka. The Boxers took their first lead of the game at 56-55 on a basket by Jett Birdsall. The game was tied 64-64 with 10 minutes left when the Pirates used a 13-2 run over the next five minutes to take a 77-66 lead. It wasn't enough.
Trailing 83-74 with just 1:40 to play after Ben Nyquist stole the ball and scored on a breakaway, Pacific outscored Whitworth 12-2 down the stretch. Hrboka began the run with a three-pointer. After a turnover on the inbounds, Lucas Gray converted a three-point play to pull his team within three. Parlin scored the Pirates' final basket with 60 seconds to go. After another turnover on an inbounds, Max Vacco converted a three-point play to get his team within one with 41 seconds left. Nyquist missed a three and Baumgartner scored a layup on the run out for the winning basket.
The Pirates could not overcome 26 turnovers against the Pacific full court press, despite making 50% (36-72) of their shots and holding a 49-25 edge on the boards. After Whitworth made eight of its first 13 three-pointers, the Bucs finished the game only 9-29 (31%) from beyond the arc.
Caden Bateman and Looney posted double-doubles for Whitworth. Bateman scored a career-high 18 points and grabbed 10 boards, while Looney finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds (a career-high). Nyquist had 14 points, nine assists and four steals.
The Boxers finished 33-65 (51%) from the field, including 11-21 (52%) from three-point range. Hrboka, the NWC's leading scorer, scored 26 points, making 6 of 9 from three-point range. Vacco had 17 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds, just missing a triple-double.
Whitworth will look to bounce back on Saturday at Willamette.
