SPOKANE, Wash. – Isaiah Hernandez and Ben College went 4-4 at the free throw line in the final ten seconds of the game to lift 20th-ranked Whitworth to a 98-95 win over visiting Linfield in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Friday night.
The Pirates (13-4 overall, 7-1 NWC) handed the Wildcats (12-4, 6-1) their first conference loss of the season, thanks in part to a career-high 27 points by Sam Lees. The Bucs trailed by nine points in the first half, eight points in the second, and survived nearly 60% shooting by Linfield, getting a key defensive stop in the final seconds of the game.
The game opened with an administrative technical foul against Linfield and College made the free throw before the opening tip. Reed Brown followed with a three-pointer for a quick 4-0 Whitworth lead. Linfield fought back to grab a 31-22 lead on Austin Hilton's basket with 8:30 to play in the half. Whitworth responded with a 12-3 run to pull into a 34-34 tie on Lees' layup. The Wildcats eventually took a 44-43 advantage at the break, led by Hilton's 11 points. Lees had nine in the opening half for the Bucs.
Whitworth pulled out to a 53-49 lead on a Hernandez basket early in the second half, but Linfield responded with a 13-3 run to grab a 62-56 lead on Aaron Baune's basket. The Wildcats stretched their advantage to 68-60 on a three-pointer by Carson Bonine with 14 minutes to play.
The Pirates fought back to pull into 74-74 tie on Garrett Paxton's three-pointer and retook the lead on another Lees layup with 10 minutes to go. Trailing 87-84, Whitworth outscored Linfield 10-2 to go ahead by five with under three minutes to play. However, the Wildcats scored the next six points, capped by Bonine's layup with 17 seconds left, to take their final lead.
Hernandez was fouled on the perimeter with ten seconds left and made two free throw to put the Pirates back in front. Then Garrett Hull stole the ball from Max Lommen with six seconds to go and, after a timeout, College was fouled and hit both shots. Dempsey Roggenbuck drove the length of the floor, but his two-point attempt was no good and may not have even beaten the buzzer.
Lees led all players with his 27 points, surpassing the previous career high of 26 he set only two games ago in a win at Pacific. He added a team-high nine rebounds. Hull added 15 points and Hernandez finished with 13. Paxton and Liam Fitzgerald both had 12 points off the bench. Whitworth shot 51.5% from the field in the game, including 52.4% (11-21) from three-point range. The Pirates were also 19-22 at the free throw line.
Seven of the eight Wildcats who played in the game reached double figures and Linfield finished the contest with a team shooting percentage of 56.3%, yet somehow came up short. Roggenbuck and Bonine led the way with 17 points apiece. Hilton totaled 13 and led his team with eight boards. The Wildcats finished with a 36-32 edge in rebounding.
The Bucs claimed their 25th consecutive victory over Linfield.
Whitworth has completed the opening round of NWC play. The Pirates will start the second round of conference games at Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran next weekend.