Whitworth Game Has It All, And That Includes Win Pirates Improve To 7-3 In Ncic After Heated Battle Vs. Whitman
The Whitworth Pirates couldn’t have finished the regular season at the Whitworth Fieldhouse with a better script Saturday night.
It had everything from breakaway dunks, an arsenal of 3-point shooting, deep bench play, five players in double figures and a vociferous crowd of an estimated 2,500.
The effort resulted in a 99-90 men’s basketball win over the Whitman Missionaries. Whitworth moved into sole possession of first place when Linfield defeated Willamette 73-71, also on Saturday.
At 7-3 in the NCIC, 18-7 overall, the fifthranked NAIA Division II Pirates will attempt to wrap up the conference’s regular-season championship on the road at Pacific and Lewis & Clark on Friday and Saturday.
“In the transition game, they’re better than anyone we’ve played all season, and that includes Gonzaga and Eastern Washington,” Whitman guard Russell Mickelson said.
If Saturday night’s game was played earlier in the day and the temperature a little warmer, it could have been played on Whitworth’s new track. From the opening tip, both teams ran and ran and ran.
And heroes? Take your pick.
Louis Vargas came off the bench to score 10 first-half points, reserve Jeff Palmer also added 15 in the game and Jeff Arkills scored a season-high 17 points on 6-for 7-shooting from the floor.
The Pirates trailed 44-41 at halftime. Baskets by Roman Wickers, Nate Dunham and Arkills put them ahead for good with 18 minutes remaining, but the Missionaries would not go away.
As impressive as Whitworth was, Whitman wasn’t too far behind. Mickelson shot 8 for 12 from the floor to collect 19 points, and Dan Rough shot 8 for 13 (including 4 for 7 from 3-point range) to lead the Missionaries with 24 points.
“Lately, we’ve been stopping people with our defense,” Whitworth coach Warren Friedrichs said. “When you can’t do that, it’s nice to be able to keep up and then pull away.”
Whitman (5-5, 9-16) is certainly better than its record indicates.
“They’re a nice team,” Dunham said. In the first half, Whitman’s triangle-and-two defense caused some problems for Whitworth in the first half.
The Missionaries managed to hold Whitworth’s leading scorer, Kevin Wright, to just two points, both from the free-throw line.
“For us on defense, we were having trouble getting through the screens they set,” Dunham said. “When we made those adjustments in the second half, that’s when we took control.”
The Pirates had 12 turnovers in the first half and just seven in the second.
Wickers started the second half with backto-back 3’s and led all scorers with 25 points.
“I was just really confident tonight,” Wickers said. “We were all confident. They’re a scrappy team, but there was no way we were going to lose this game, especially with the crowd we had.”
Breakaway dunks by Dunham and Arkills sent a charge through the crowd that hadn’t been felt in years.
“Since I’ve been here, that’s the biggest crowd I’ve seen,” Friedrichs said.
If the Pirates can bring the NCIC crown back to Spokane next week, rest assured - Whitworth will see more big crowds during the NCIC tournament.
Whitworth 99, Whitman 90
WHITMAN (5-5, 9-16)
Athay 0-0 0-0 0, Schillinger 0-0 0-0 0, Dandoy 4-5 1-4 10, Rough 8-13 4-4 24, Smith 3-3 0-0 6, Maki 0-1 0-0 0, Mickelson 9-15 0-2 19, McNabb 7-14 3-8 17, McLaughlin 1-1 2-2 4, Van Divort 1-1 0-0 2, Lewallen 2-12 4-4 8. Totals 35-65 14-24 90.
WHITWORTH (7-3, 18-7)
Weston 0-2 0-0 0, Stern 3-10 3-4 10, Wickers 7-12 6-6 25, Dunham 8-11 2-3 18, Vargas 5-6 0-0 12, Arkills 6-7 5-9 17, Beckman 0-2 0-0 0, Wright 0-5 2-2 2, Palmer 4-8 6-6 15. Totals 33-63 24-30 99.
Halftime-Whitman 44, Whitworth 41. 3-Point goals-Whitman 6-15 (Dandoy 1-1, Rough 4-7, Mickelson 1-3, Lewallen 0-4. Whitworth 9-19 (Weston 0-1, Stern 1-4, Wickers 5-5, Vargas 2-3, Beckman 0-2, Wright 0-1, Palmer 1-3). Fouled out-Dandoy, Wright. Rebounds-Whitman 34 (Dandoy 10), Whitworth 43 (Dunham 9). Assists-Whitman 24 (Dandoy 8), Whitworth 22 (Stern 7). Total fouls-Whitman 23, Whitworth 18. A-2,500.