SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth men's basketball team closes out the 2025-26 regular season on the road in the Tacoma area this weekend. The Pirates play at Pacific Lutheran on Friday night (7:30 pm) with the season finale at Puget Sound on Saturday (5:00 pm). Both games will stream live on FloCollege and can be heard for free at Whitworthpirates.com. Fans can check out the Whitworth men's basketball schedule for other live links.
The Pirates: 23rd-ranked Whitworth (19-4 overall, 13-1 NWC) clinched its third straight NWC title and 22nd overall with home victories over Lewis & Clark and George Fox last weekend. The Pirates have won five straight games.
Whitworth built an 18-point lead late in the first half but then had to hold on at the end to defeat Lewis & Clark 72-69 last Friday. Caden Bateman blocked a potential game-tying three-point shot just before the buzzer to preserve the victory. The Pirates committed only seven turnovers in the game and had a 15-4 edge in points off turnovers. Ben Nyquist had 15 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists. Stephen Behill added 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Bateman and Ty Edwards scored 11 points apiece. There is a good chance Whitworth will see L&C again in the semifinals of the NWC tournament.
The Pirates had a 12-point lead with 15 minutes to play, saw George Fox fight back to take a 73-70 lead, then responded down the stretch to clinch the championship on Senior Night with a 93-86 win. The physical contest featured 42 total fouls (22 by the Bruins and 20 by the Pirates). Each team shot 27 free throws and Whitworth made 23 of theirs (85%). Caden Bateman had a career-night with 26 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. Colton Looney added 25 points, making 5 of 10 from three-point range. Ben Nyquist picked up two more steals to tie Whitworth's single season record for thefts (76).
Championship Pedigree: Whitworth has clinched its third straight NWC title and 22nd overall, with one week to play in the regular season. The Pirates won seven in a row from 2010 through 2016. The Bucs won their first-ever NWC crown in 1982. Whitworth also won four Evergreen Conference championships in the 50's and 60's, for a total of 26 league basketball titles in school history.
NWC Tournament Outlook: As the regular season champion, Whitworth earns the right to host the 2026 Northwest Conference tournament on February 27 and 28 at the Fieldhouse. The semifinals will take place on the 27th with the #2 and #3 seeds playing the first game and the Pirates taking on the #4 seed in the second semifinal. The winners advance to the championship game on Saturday to play for the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Div. III tournament. Puget Sound (10-4) and Willamette (9-5) have clinched spots in the NWC tournament. Lewis & Clark (8-6) needs to win only one of its last two games to hold off Linfield (6-8) for the final spot. If the River Otters win twice, they could move up in seeding.
Statistically speaking: Through 23 games Whitworth is averaging 82.9 points per game (first in the NWC) and allowing 70.1 points per contest (second in the NWC). The Pirates lead the league in scoring margin (+12.8 – 21st in NCAA Div. III).
Whitworth has been strong on the defensive side of the ball. The Pirates lead the conference in field goal percentage defense (38.7%), which ranks 13th in Division III, and they lead in three-point field goal percentage defense (29.9%). Whitworth also leads the conference in rebounds per game (43.4 – 13th in Div. III), in defensive rebounds per game (30.4 – 4th in Div. III) and in rebound margin (+8.0 – 21st in Div. III).
The Pirates have also been excellent at sharing the basketball. They lead the NWC in assists per game (17.7 – 17th in Div. III).
Iron Man: Whitworth senior post Ty Edwards (Sumner, Wash.) has started 98 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 16.5 ppg, which ranks seventh in the NWC. He is also fifth in the conference in rebounds per game (7.3). Behil is eighth in the NWC in three-pointers made per game (2.3) and is ninth in three-point percentage (36.5).
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 Northwest Conference in steals with 76 (3.30 spg – 3rd in NCAA DIII). He has tied Heritage Gallery Hall of Famer Steve Mihas for the school record for steals in one season. He also leads the team in assists with 82 (3.6 apg – sixth in the NWC) and ranks second in the NWC in assist-to-turnover ratio (+2.5). He averages 11.7 points per game, fourth on the team, while making 51.3% of his field goals.
Microwave: Senior forward Colton Looney (Vancouver, Wash.) can heat up faster than any other Pirate from three-point range. Looney, second on the team in scoring average (12.7 ppg), ranks fourth in the NWC in three-point percentage (41.4) and is eighth in the NWC in three-pointers made per game (2.4).
Bateman Plays Big: Caden Bateman is playing like the NWC's top big man down the stretch of the 2025-26 season. He leads the team with six double-doubles, three of which have come in the last six games. He averages 12.1 points per game while leading the NWC in field goal percentage (55.8%). He also leads the team and ranks third in the NWC in rebounding (7.5 rpg).
Listen to Road Games: Fans can tune in online to listen to Pirate ROAD games for free at WhitworthPirates.com. 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.
The Opponents: Pacific Lutheran (11-12 overall, 5-9 NWC) was eliminated from contention for the NWC tournament with last Friday's 74-64 loss at Linfield. Demonstrating their character under 9th-year head coach Chad Murray, they responded with their best game of the season, a 94-49 demolition of Pacific (Ore.) on Saturday. PLU averages 74.4 points per contest while allowing 72.0. The Lutes lead the conference in free throw percentage (74.8) and in three-pointers made per game (10.3). Senior guard Ben Tellez is the current NWC Men's Basketball Player of the Week. He is sixth in the NWC in scoring average (17.7 ppg) and leads the NWC in three-pointers per game (3.0) while making 44.5% of his attempts (2nd in the NWC). Junior guard Henry Smith adds 11.2 points per game. Whitworth defeated PLU 76-65 in Spokane on January 24th in the first meeting as Kobe Parlin came off the bench for a season-high 17 points.
Puget Sound is 15-9 overall and 10-4 in the NWC heading into Friday's game vs. Whitman. The Loggers clinched a spot in the NWC tournament with road victories at Pacific (86-79) and Linfield (74-67) last weekend. Aubrey Shelton, a Puget Sound alum, continues his eighth season as head coach. The Loggers average 73.9 points per game and give up 70.9. They have the second-best defensive field goal percentage (41.9%), thanks in part to leading the league in blocked shots (3.9 bpg). Junior Zane Miller is a 6-3 guard who averages 13.7 points and 3.3 assists per game. Junior center Hugo Rutherfurd adds 13.0 ppg and leads the NWC in blocked shots per game (2.2). Whitworth defeated Puget Sound 88-61 in Spokane on Jan. 24 after running out to a 54-23 halftime lead. Colton Looney had 22 points for the Bucs, making 6-9 from three-point range.
Two Decades of Dominance: Since the beginning of the 2005-06 season (20 seasons) the Pirates are 467-107 (.813), an amazing run of success matched by few other college teams at any level. Within the Northwest Conference, Whitworth has won 246 of its last 279 (.882).
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 237-30 (.888) 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 139-45 (.755) away from home, 110-32 (.775) in true road games.
Coming Up Next: Whitworth will host the 2026 Northwest Conference men's basketball tournament on Feb. 27-28.
