SPOKANE, Wash. – Jake Holtz put together a masterful 32-point, 10-rebound performance to power Whitworth past Whitman 81-75 for the program's third straight Northwest Conference championship, and a trip to the NCAA Division III National Tournament, on Saturday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
"We really needed him to step up with Jo being out, we know that he's totally capable of that. It was quite a display, he played through a lot of physicality and what he did tonight was awesome," said coach Damion Jablonski.
Whitworth (19-8) has beaten Whitman (20-7) in each of the last three NWC Tournament Championships and for the third time this season they topped their rival, but this time without 2024 NWC Player of the Year Jojo Anderson.
"Honestly, we do feel some relief. We've been through so many ups and downs, injuries. I want to give all the glory to God; he's led us through this journey. Couldn't be happier for this team," said Jablonski.
Holtz's career-high scoring output included 17 in a neck-and-neck second half, his last field goal was a fallaway jumper from just outside the paint with 1:27 to go which put Whitworth up 76-69, and the Bucs held on from there.
Sullivan Menard added 21 points including a pair of crucial free throws in the final seconds in his last game at the Fieldhouse. Garrett Long made his second start of the season and added a crucial 12 points.
The first half happened in runs, featuring eight lead changes and six ties. The two sides combined for 21 personal fouls, and two technical fouls, in a physical title game where momentum visited both sidelines.
The Pirates took a 7-2 lead on a three from Jerry Twenge, but the Blues forced three straight turnovers as part of a 9-0 run that put them in front 13-9.
Whitworth created the first hint of separation with a 13-2 run capped by a reverse lay in from Garrett Long and a pull up trey by Menard to put the Pirates up 31-23.
Whitman swung right back with their second 9-0 run of the half as Jai Desphande buried a step back triple to silence the crowd for a moment. Desphande led the Blues with 11 at the half on 4-6 shooting.
Tied with 2:50 to go in the half, Menard scored five straight before Holtz found the rim on a pretty spin through contact which gave Whitworth a 45-38 lead heading into the locker room. Holtz led all scorers with 15 points in the first half, Menard added 10 including 5-5 from the stripe.
Holtz buried a jumper right out of half, but Jai Deshpande buried a jumper on the other end and Jander Cline sank consecutive threes to cap an 8-0 run and cut the deficit to 47-46. Desphande led Whitman with 17 points, Cline added 16 including 14 in the second half.
The Pirates led for 31:58, and never trailed in the second half as they fought off several Whitman runs. With less than eight minutes left, Grant Hunt came up with consecutive three-point plays to quell a frenzied Pirate crowd, but with the game tied Menard stepped up with a three to go up 70-67, and the Pirates never let the Blues back.
The Blues made a final gasp in the last 80 seconds following Holtz' fallaway jumper. Alex Pape fought inside for a pair of buckets, capitalizing on a missed free throw by Holtz to cut Whitworth's lead down to 77-75.
But with 19 seconds to go, Menard confidently hit a pair of free throws and with time winding down Holtz came up with another massive play tipping away a pass from Desphande and chasing it down to secure the three-peat.
Whitworth adds a sixteenth NWC tournament championship to the trophy case, including eight in the last ten years. The Pirates will await the release of the NCAA bracket on Monday morning to find out their next opponent.
"We're gonna give ourselves a night or two to feel good about this one, we find out our matchup on Monday and then do all the preparation we can," said Jablonski. "But I think our guys are really excited about it, and their playing with a lot of freedom and confidence right now."