Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. – For the second straight night, Pacific fell victim to an incredible first half shooting display as No. 3 ranked Whitworth shot 74.2 percent from the field in the opening stanza of a 98-63 win over the Boxers in Northwest Conference men's basketball action at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
 
Whitworth (20-1, 12-0 NWC) made their first four shots of the contest and nine of their first 11 attempts as the Pirates were a can't miss team from everywhere on the floor.  The Pirates made 23 of 31 from the field in the first half, made 6 of 11 from three-point range and were 6 of 7 from the free throw line.  They finished the night shooting 62.1 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and 85.7 percent from the charity stripe.
 
The shock of the shooting performance stunted the Pacific offense in the first half, but like the night before steadied in the final 20 minutes.  Pacific (11-9, 5-6 NWC) finished the evening shooting 39.3 percent from the field (22-56), made 10 three-point attempts and went a perfect 9 of 9 from the free throw line.
 
With the victory, Whitworth clinched a share of their fourth consecutive Northwest Conference championship.
 
Marc Eppinger (So., Camas, Wash.) led the Boxers with 15 points off the bench, hitting on 4 of 6 from the field, 3 of 4 from three-point range and 4 of 4 from the free throw line.  Colin Wester (Sr., Sherwood, Ore.) added 13 points while Charles Mosley (Sr., Hillsboro, Ore.) andAndrew Beatty (Sr., Lynnwood, Wash.) each scored 11.
 
Dustin McConnell led the Pirates with 21 points, making a near perfect 8 of 9 from the field.  George Valle added 15 points and Colton McCargar poured in 14.
 
The early surge gave all of the momentum to Whitworth, building an 11-point advantage just six minutes into the contest and going up 21 points, 32-12, on a pair of McConnell free throws just past the midway point of the first half.  The advantage grew to 25 points before Danny Brakebush (Fr., Portland, Ore.) gave the Boxers a momentary reprieve with his three-pointer with 7:53 to go.
 
Eppinger dropped the Pirates' edge to 22 points on a pair of free throws at the 2:33 mark, but the Pirates closed the half on an 11-4 run to take a 29-point lead into halftime, 58-29.
 
The Pirates wasted little time building the lead up more, building their a 69-33 edge on Hank Aldous' three-pointer at the 14:37 mark of the second half.  Pacific cut the advantage to 25 on a Beatty three-pointer with 11:23 left.  That is as close as the Boxers would get as Whitworth continued to roll and built their largest lead of the game of 38 points late.
 
Pacific returns home to the Stoller Center on Tuesday as they host Willamette.  Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.  Live audio and video webcasts can be accessed at goboxers.com.