SPOKANE, Wash. - Jack Loofburrow came off of the bench to score 15 points, leading five Pirates in double figures as Whitworth defeated visiting Trinity (Texas) 75-54 in a non-conference men's basketball game on Monday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

The Pirates, ranked 16th in the D3hoops.com preseason poll, improved to 2-0 overall while the Tigers fell to 0-3.

Trinity played right with Whitworth over the first 12 minutes of the game. Luke Caldarera's jumper near the top of the key gave the Tigers a 17-15 lead, and Matt Feldman made one of two free throws shortly after to give Trinity its biggest lead of the game at 18-15. But the Pirates then went on a 15-0 run, including four points each from Loofburrow and Felix Friedt and capped by a David Riley three-pointer. Ryan Beall hit a three to get the Tigers within 30-21 at the break. Neither team shot particularly well in the first half - Whitworth at 38.5% (10-26) and Trinity at 31.8% (7-22).

The Tigers made their first three shots of the second half, including three-pointers by Zach Lambert and Sam Dworkin, to quickly pull within 30-29. But the Pirates answered with a 16-4 run, opening a 46-33 lead on a long three by Loofburrow just over five minutes into the half.

Trinity got back within 49-39 on a three-ball by Jonathan Wilt with 12:39 to play, but that is as close as the Tigers would get. Michael Taylor (Brewster) converted a pair of free throws to give the Bucs a 60-41 lead, then Wade Gebbers nailed a three to put the Pirates ahead 65-44 with 5:50 to play. Whitworth led by 23 points on two occasions late in the game.

The Pirates found their shooting stroke in the second half, converting 65.4% (17-26) of their shots. In addition to Loofburrow's 15 points, Taylor had 14, while Friedt and Riley each scored 13 points. Wade Gebbers went 4-8 from the three-point line for 12 points. Loofburrow and Friedt each had seven rebounds, while Gebbers and Riley each dished five assists.

Lambert scored 12 points to lead Trinity, while Robert Kitzinger, Beall and Heath Hopson each had seven. Lambert and Kitzinger each grabbed five boards.

Whitworth gets on a plane to Honolulu on Tuesday afternoon to play in the Surfs Up Classic. The Pirates will take on Carthage (Wis.) on Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m. (HST) in a match-up of two teams ranked in the D3hoops.com preseason top-25.