SPOKANE, Wash. – Ben College and Kyle Roach combined for 50 points to lead Whitworth University past visiting University of Puget Sound 98-84 in a Northwest Conference men's game on Friday night.
College scored 26 and Roach added 24 for the 6th-ranked Pirates, who improved to 14-2 overall and 6-1 in the NWC. Along the way, College became the 29th player in Whitworth history to surpass 1,000 career points and Roach moved into ninth all-time in scoring for the Pirates with 1,427 points.
Jimmy Wohrer had 22 for the Loggers (7-9, 3-4).
Whitworth never trailed, grabbing a 10-2 lead after five straight points by Jordan Lester. Puget Sound cut the margin to 22-19 on Wohrer's three-point play before the Pirates answered with a 15-3 run to open a 39-22 advantage on a pair of Roach free throws. The Loggers answered again, getting within 50-45 on a Stellan Roberts three-pointer. Lester scored the final basket of the half to give Whitworth a 52-45 lead at the break.
Both teams were hot in the opening 20 minutes. The Pirates shot 63% (19-30) from the field while the Loggers made 50% (18-36) of their shots.
College scored 19 of his points after halftime to prevent Puget Sound from sustaining any come-from-behind momentum. His three-pointer returned Whitworth to a double-digit lead (65-53) and another three extended the advantage to 70-55. A Roach three-pointer gave the Pirates their largest lead of the night (89-71) with 4:14 to play.
Whitworth finished the game 36-63 (57.1%) from the field, including 10-20 from three-point range. The Pirates had a 38-26 lead in rebounding. Lester finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists while Jared Christy added 13 points for the Bucs.
Cal Hansen had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Puget Sound, while Roberts scored 13 points. The Loggers made 33-68 (48.5%) from the floor, 7-22 (31.8%) from beyond the arc. UPS came into the game leading the league in team three-point percentage.
Whitworth will host Pacific Lutheran on Saturday to conclude the first round of Northwest Conference games. The Pirates remain alone in second place in the NWC standings.