WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- The Lewis & Clark Pioneers held a nine-point lead in the second half and were up by one with under three minutes remaining, but couldn't close out the Whitman Missionaries in an 87-80 loss on Saturday night at Sherwood Athletic Center.

With both teams shooting 50 percent or better, Whitman downed three more 3-pointers on one fewer try to separate itself from the Pioneers. Lewis & Clark did outshoot Whitman from the free-throw line by 17 percent. Following an 8 of 20 performance on Friday night at Whitworth, the Pios made 21 of 27 tries against the Missionaries. Whitman shot 11 of 18 from the line.

After two Markel Leonard free throws put the Pios up 75-74 with 2:55 remaining, Tim Howell made a 3-pointer to swing the lead back to Whitman, the fifth lead change of the game. Howell finished with 19 points.

Lewis & Clark shot 2 of 6 the rest of the game while Whitman made 4 of its last 5 shots, including the Howell three. Chrisitan McDonald, who led all scorers with 27 points, hit a 3-pointer shortly after Howell's to put Whitman up 80-76. He scored six of the Missionaries final 10 points.

"We played well as a unit in a tough game against a good team," said Leonard. "I think the biggest thing we take away from the game is always mentally staying locked in as the game gets down to the wire."

Jason Luhnow put in 26 points to lead Lewis & Clark, matching his season-high from Nov. 21 in a 66-62 win over Redlands. He made 9 of 15 shots including 50 percent from 3-point distance. Leonard put together his sixth-straight double-digit scoring performance, adding a season-high 16 points on 4 of 10 shooting. Cannen Roberson was the third-and-final Pios player in double figures with 10 points.

The Pios trailed the majority of the first half, including down seven, 35-28, with about 3:30 left until halftime. Alex Jones splashed through a 3-pointer before Leonard and Kupa'a Harrison each made a pair of free throws to tie the game for the first time since it was 2-2.

Lewis & Clark (2-5; 0-2 NWC) outscored the Missionaries 9-5 to close out the half with Leonard scoring the Pios' last five points in the final 38 seconds.

To open the second half, the Pioneers spread out the scoring with buckets coming from Luhnow, Jones, Roberson, Leonard and Jonathan Boddie. Whitman (6-0; 2-0) matched Lewis & Clark, however, and the game remained close at 54-52 four minutes into the half.

Luhnow got hot in the next three minutes, scoring seven straight points to put the Pios up 61-52 with 13:07 remaining. Lewis & Clark maintained a similar lead for the next six minutes or so before Whitman started to lessen the margin.

McDonald made a pair of 3-pointers and Philip Chircu scored two free throws bringing the Missionaries within 73-72 with 4:02 left in regulation, and Whitman closed out the game.

"We will get better at [playing to the wire] as the season goes on," said Leonard. "We've played against top teams in the nation and been in the game all the way to finish, so this road trip helped our confidence and allowed us to grow up as a team."

Lewis & Clark travels to Evergreen St. on Wednesday before hosting No. 1 Augustana (Ill.) on Dec. 20 at 5:30 p.m.

"The remainder of the non-conference schedule will keep us ready to win the key games we need to win in league," said Lewis & Clark head coach Dinari Foreman.

The game against Augustana will be the Pioneers' second against a team ranked in the D3Hoops.com poll's top two this season. On Friday, Lewis & Clark lost 76-64 to No. 2 Whitworth.

Other Northwest Conference Scores - Saturday

Whitworth 63, Linfield 49
Pacific Lutheran 77, Willamette 67
Pacific 79, George Fox 64