SPOKANE, Wash. – Ben Nyquist put back a missed shot as time expired in overtime to lift Whitworth to a 76-75 win over visiting Lewis & Clark in a Northwest Conference men's basketball thriller on Saturday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
Nyquist's basket allowed the 17th-ranked Pirates to improve to 12-1 overall and 3-1 in the NWC. The Pioneers fell to 6-7, 2-2 after leading by three in overtime and by one with eight seconds left.
Griffin Datcher IV made a pair of free throws for L&C with eight seconds to play in OT, giving the Pioneers a 75-74 lead after L&C trailed by 10 points with 2:59 to go in regulation. Whitworth point guard Garrett Long took the ball up court and drove to the basket for a potential winning shot. His attempt rimmed off and Nyquist was there to tip it in just before the clock expired sending an Alumni Night crowd into a frenzy.
"I've never had a buzzer beater in my life," Nyquist said after the game. "It was one of the best feelings I've ever felt. It was so loud and the love from my coaches and teammates was awesome."
Lewis & Clark led for most of the game, opening eight point leads in each half. After Whitworth managed to pull within 33-31 at halftime, the Pioneers went up 46-38 on a three-pointer by Kody Uyesugi with 11:30 to play in the game. Whitworth went on a 20-3 run over the next seven minutes to take a 58-49 advantage. Stephen Behil hit a pair of three-pointers in the run.
Another Behil trey gave the Pirates their largest lead of the game (61-50) and the Bucs still led by 10 (63-53) with just under three minutes to play. But L&C finished regulation on a 10-0 run, tying the game on a tip in by Sebastian DePrez with 20 seconds left. A Jake Holtz fall-away jumper at the buzzer did not fall for Whitworth, sending the game to the extra period 63-63.
The Pirates took an early 69-65 lead in overtime, but L&C went on an 8-1 run to go ahead 73-70 on Nate Berg's basket with 1:42 left. Long put Whitworth back ahead 74-73 with a driving basket with 16 seconds left before the final dramatic sequence.
"I saw Garret's shot hit the rim and it bounced again before I got to it," Nyquist said. "I was in the right place at the right time and got my hand on it and it went in."
Long led Whitworth with 16 points and five assists, while Behil finished with 14 points, 11 after halftime. Diego Jaques scored a dozen points. The Pirates won despite getting outrebounded 46-29 by the Pioneers. Whitworth forced 18 turnovers from L&C while committing only nine.
Datcher IV and DePrez led the Pioneers with 12 points each. DePrez made it a double-double with a game-high 15 rebounds. L&C gave itself a chance by making 10-22 (45.5%) from three-point range.
Whitworth will head to Oregon next weekend for its first NWC road games of the season at George Fox and Pacific (Ore.).