FOREST GROVE – Four nights after taking their first loss of the season to Whitman, No. 1 ranked Whitworth showed little mercy to Pacific Saturday as the Pirates handed the Boxers a season-ending 84-45 loss in Northwest Conference men's basketball action at the Stoller Center.
Much like they did in their first meeting with the Boxers, Whitworth (24-1, 15-1 NWC) did the most damage at the three-point line, connecting on 11 of 25 from downtown. The Pirates shot finished the night shooting 40.4 percent from the field (21-52) and 31 of 35 from the free throw line.
The Boxers (4-21, 3-13 NWC) found themselves limited to 31.8 percent shooting from the field (14-44), 5 of 19 from long range and 12 of 22 from the charity stripe. Carson Bartlett (Jr., St. Helens, Ore.) led the Boxers with 11 points while LeMar Anglin (Sr., Chicago, Ill.), playing in his final Pacific game, finished with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Whitworth never trailed in the game, but found the Boxers hard to shake until the late minutes of the first half. The Pirates opened up a 16-8 lead on a pair of Colton McCargar free throws, but a three-point play by Charles Mosley (So., Hillsboro, Ore.) and a short jumper by Anglin allowed the Boxers to come back within four points, 17-13, with 9:54 left on the clock.
The Pirates went back up eight points on Riley's three-pointer at the 5:29 mark and Bartlett responded with a three of his own on the next possession to bring the Boxers back within five, 26-21. Whitworth then closed the half with a 10-2 run, culminating another Riley trey that gave the Pirates a 37-23 halftime advantage.
Whitworth sunk the dagger early in the second half, limiting the Boxers to just two points and no made field goals over the first eight minutes of the stanza. The drought allowed the Pirates to take a 56-23 lead on a three-pointer at the 12:55 mark on a Mike Taylor three-pointer. Cameron Hayes (Fr., Milton, Wash.) ended the dry spell with his three-pointer at the 11:33 mark and a lay-in by Robby Babek (Jr., Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) on the Boxers' next possession brought the game within 26 points at 56-30.
Pacific would come no closer, as the Pirates kept the heat on the rest of the way. A string of four straight free throws thanks to a technical and an intentional foul made it a 41-point lead and Riley followed it up with a three-pointer that gave Whitworth their biggest lead of the game. 79-35, with 5:15 left.
In addition to Anglin, tonight was the final game for Zach Barckmann (Wilsonville, Ore.), who played 10 minutes in the first start of his Pacific career.