PARKLAND, Wash. – Led by more than 20 points each from Jake Holtz and Garrett Long, visiting Whitworth defeated Pacific Lutheran 82-71 on Saturday night at Olson Auditorium, exacting a measure of revenge for one of the Pirates' only defeats this season.
Holtz scored 23 and Long had 22 as 17th-ranked Whitworth improved to 17-2 overall and 8-2 in the NWC, two games clear of PLU (9-10, 6-4), Whitman and Lewis & Clark in the Northwest Conference men's basketball standings. The Lutes came into the game on a five-game winning streak.
"I thought our intensity from the beginning was really good," said Pirate head coach Damion Jablonski. "We hit some early shots, which set the tone. Even though they made a couple of runs, we were able to answer and keep them at-bay."
PLU, which defeated the Bucs 75-73 on January 3rd in Spokane, never led. Long had a steal and breakaway three-point play to spark Whitworth to a 9-0 run. The Bucs opened a 16-5 lead after a Ty Edwards three-point play four minutes into the game. Colton Looney's three-point shot made it 21-9 and Stephen Behil hit again from three to extend the lead to 33-18 with just over eight minutes to play in the period. That's when the Bucs hit a cold stretch and PLU used a 6-0 run, including a couple of baskets by Brandin Riedel, to pull within 33-24. Ty Edwards broke the drought and Whitworth took a 44-30 lead into the locker rooms. The Pirates outscored the Lutes 16-1 in points off turnovers after forcing PLU to give the ball away eight times in the period.
Whitworth kept PLU at arms-length for most of the second half, extending the lead to as many as 17 points (69-52) with 6:17 to play on a basket by Holtz. The Lutes were finally able to trim the margin below double digits with under two minutes to play when Emmett Holt followed a Miles Nash three-pointer with a three-point play that made it 75-66 with 1:43 to go. Ben Tellez drained a three-pointer after an offensive rebound to make it 77-69, but only 36 seconds remained in the game. The Bucs went 5-6 from the free throw line down the stretch to seal the victory.
Whitworth's starting five was dominant. Behil (13 points) and Edwards (10) joined Holtz and Long in double figures. Ben Nyquist filled up the stat sheet with six points, a team-high nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.
"Both Jake and Garrett had some real intensity to them," Jablonski said. "I chose to go with the starters for a lot of minutes so there was probably some fatigue in there, but they hung in there at the end."
Whitworth will take its lead in the NWC back on the road next weekend at Lewis & Clark (10-9, 6-4) on Friday night.