BELTON, Texas – Visiting Whitworth's resilient effort fell short in an 84-76 loss to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in a non-conference game to open the 2026-27 men's basketball season on Friday night at Mayborn Campus Center.
The Crusaders led for nearly 32 minutes of action, though they struggled to fight off the new-look Pirates until the final stretch.
Mary Hardin-Baylor gained momentum early by making seven of their first 11 shots, including two from beyond the arc to score 11 unanswered points and grab a 17-8 lead. Whitworth chipped away and retook a 20-19 advantage following a pair of free throws from Greg Piotrowski at the 8:26 mark. Kobe Parlin's long-range shot two minutes later represented the Bucs last lead of the half (27-26), though they never trailed by more than five during that stretch. UMHB led 38-35 at halftime.
In a first half that held 10 lead changes, Whitworth shot 38.7% from the floor and made six of 16 three-point attempts. The Crusaders shot 53.3% in the half and held a 22-13 advantage on the glass. Parlin led the Pirates with seven points.
UMHB appeared to be gaining separation early in the second half by taking a 48-41 lead following a jumper from Cam Stinson. Parlin and Nate Krohn led the effort to bring the Bucs right back. Parlin's layup knotted the game up at 52 and Krohn nailed two go-ahead jumpers, the latest a three-pointer to put Whitworth up 59-58 with just under nine minutes to play.
Krohn's deep three would be the Pirate's last lead of the game, as the Crusaders eventually went on a 10-2 run to take a nine-point lead with 4:37 to play. Whitworth continued to fight, getting back to within 73-69 before the three-minute mark after forcing two turnovers and converting with five points on the other end. UMHB went 9-14 at the free throw line down the stretch to pull away.
The Pirates shot 43.1% (28-65) from the floor and went 10-29 (34.5%) from beyond the arc. Parlin and Krohn led Whitworth with 16 points apiece. Ben Fried scored a career-high 14 points and added three rebounds, three assists and three steals in his first career start. Dylan Westermeyer led the team with seven rebounds.
The Crusaders shot 50% (29-58) from the field and made 18-26 free throw attempts. Josh Goings scored 21 points Nathan Flemming added 17 to lead the team in scoring. Jessen added 14 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and four steals.
Whitworth will close its trip to Texas tomorrow night against Concordia at 7 pm (CT).
