SPOKANE, Wash. -- Felix Friedt and Michael Taylor combined for 43 points to lead Whitworth to a 77-63 win over Chapman in the second round of the NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament on Saturday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
The top-ranked Pirates improved to 27-1 and advance to play 11th-ranked Marietta in next Friday's NCAA Division III section semifinal. The location of next weekend's games will be determined by the NCAA on Sunday.
The rematch of 2010's NCAA second round played out in very similar fashion. Whitworth would surge to leads, only to have 12th-ranked Chapman respond to the surge. But the Panthers were unable to get Saturday's second half deficit below 13 points and end their season with a 25-4 record.
Chapman never led as Friedt and Taylor sparked Whitworth to an early 11-3 advantage. Taylor converted a four-point play to give the Bucs a 17-5 lead, but the Panthers responded to pull within 25-17 on a three-ball by Andrew Avalos. Takashi Clifford pulled CU within 34-27 late in the first half, but Whitworth got another four-point play when Wade Gebbers was fouled making a three-pointer in the corner. The Pirates closed the half on a 6-0 run for a 40-27 halftime lead.
Whitworth made 60% from the floor (12-20) in the first half, while the Panthers made only 35% (8-23) of their shots. The Bucs were 6-10 from three-point range.
Whitworth might have made the game a runaway early in the second half as David Riley opened the half with a three and then finished a quick 10-4 run with another three for a 50-31 Pirate advantage. Whitworth stretched the lead to 56-33 with 14:43 left, but Chapman did not fold in front of 2,110 mostly black-clad Pirate fans.
Griffin Ramme was fouled on a three-point attempt as the shot clock was expiring and made all three to get the Panthers back within 60-44 with 10:18 to go. Then Clifford sank a pair of free throws to get Chapman within 62-49 with 7:11 to go. But that is as close as the Panthers could get. Friedt converted a three-point play to put Whitworth up 67-50 and Taylor drained his fourth three-pointer of the game to make it 75-57 with 3:58 to go and the game was officially out of reach.
Friedt posted a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds to lead all players in both categories. Taylor finished with 21 points and six assists. Riley made four treys and totaled 15 points.
Brandon Lin led Chapman with 15 points, 11 of which came before halftime. Avalos and Clifford each came off of the bench for 11 points with Avalos dishing four assists. Justin Riley added ten points and seven rebounds. Ramme finished with six points and eight boards.