Whits One Win Away Pirates Overcome William Jewell, Meet Albertson For National Crown

To invoke the voice of that bald-headed college basketball junkie on ESPN: “The Bucs are going prime time, baby!”

In a made-for-television performance Monday night, the Whitworth Pirates made a ferocious rally to defeat William Jewell College 87-83 in the semifinals of the NAIA Division II national men’s basketball tournament.

For their effort, the Pirates were rewarded with a date against Albertson College of nearby Caldwell in tonight’s championship game to be televised nationally on Prime Sports Network at 6:30 PST.

The Coyotes beat Walsh (Ohio) University 92-79 in the other semifinal. Albertson is the third seeded team in the tournament with a record of 30-3. Whitworth is the fourth seed with a 26-4 mark.

William Jewell coach Larry Holley said the disappointment of this loss resembles one his team suffered in the 1988 quarterfinals of the NAIA tournament when the Cardinals lost by two at Kansas City.

“I feel so bad for the kids,” Holley said. “But that’s a part of life and you go on and deal with it.”

As for the Pirates, if most valuable player awards had to be passed out in their Monday night win, a third of the team would be sharing honors.

Whitworth’s Roman Wickers would undoubtedly be on the list. In the second half, Wickers hit 5 of 6 3-point attempts in helping Whitworth rally from a 62-52 deficit with 10:55 to play.

Wickers finished with 21 points to lead the Pirates in scoring for the second straight game.

“They were playing off me, and I just let it loose,” Wickers said.

The Cardinals had to play off him because Wickers burned them early on sweeping drives to the hoop.

Then reserve forward Jeff Mix would have to be next on the MVP list. Mix was a perfect 5 for 5 from the floor and finished with 13 points. His play was critical because usually consistent forward Nate Dunham struggled on offense most of the night.

Whitworth coach Warren Friedrichs put it succinctly: “Jeff Mix stepped up big.”

Not be denied for honors either was Dunham. His defensive efforts at game’s end made him worthy.

With Whitworth holding an 84-83 lead with 35.5 seconds to play, the Cardinals got the ball in the hands of shooting phenom Brook Russell, who finished with a game-high 36 points.

Russell got past Whitworth’s Jeff Arkills in the lane and went up for a shot, but in recovering to help Arkills, Dunham stripped the ball from Russell - preventing him from getting off a shot.

“We had the ball one (point) down and in the hands of our best player,” Holley said. “You can’t ask for much more.”

Dunham then proceeded to give the ball to Wickers, who passed to a breaking Gabe Jones. Jones was fouled on his layup attempt with 13 seconds left and made the first free throw for an 85-83 lead. He missed the second, but Dunham maneuvered into the lane for an offensive rebound, giving the Pirates the ball.

In a mad scramble, Whitworth’s Nate Williams was intentionally fouled and calmly sank two free throws for the final margin.

Williams would also have to share any would-be MVP honors because he converted 8 of 8 free throws from the time Whitworth trailed 67-64.

In the midst of the rally, though, with the exception of Dunham’s stop of Russell late, the Pirates just couldn’t stop that scoring machine.

He shot 12 for 19 from the field, 5 for 7 from the 3-point stripe and 7 for 10 from the free-throw line.

Friedrichs said he felt helpless trying to find a way to stop Russell. “It was unbelievable what he was doing. But I think what we did was just as unbelievable,” he said.

And here’s why.

William Jewell shot 61 percent from the floor in the second half to Whitworth’s 54 percent. But the Cardinals were still outscored 50-47 in the session.

What proved to be the difference was Whitworth’s 11-for-23 effort from the 3-point stripe for the game. William Jewell shot 8 for 15 from 3-point range. That’s a nine-point differential for Whitworth.

“It’s hard to come back on a team when they keep making shots,” Friedrichs said.

With the exception of Whitworth’s 35-21 run in the final 10 minutes, the Pirates lacked its normal spunk the first 30 minutes.

The Pirates’ John Beckman said the team spent a lot of emotion and energy in Saturday’s win over host Northwest Nazarene. The fact there wasn’t a lot left for William Jewell almost proved fatal.

“Once we got past them, we were looking to the championship,” he said. “We had a team meeting today, but it didn’t feel the same.”

Tonight, chances are, an emotional letdown from Whitworth is out of the question.

The Pirates should have an augmented cheering section. School will be cancelled on the Country Homes campus today and chartered buses will head for Nampa.

Whitworth 87, William Jewell 83

Whitworth (26-4) - Jones 3-11 1-2 0, Dunham 4-8 2-3 10, Arkills 2-2 2-2 6, Williams 5-11 8-8 19, Wickers 8-13 0-2 21, Weston 0-0 0-0 0, Mix 5-5 3-5 13, Vargas 0-0 0-0 0, Beckman 3-4 0-0 9. Totals - 30-54 16-22 87.

William Jewell (30-9) - White 2-5 0-0 4, Russell 12-19 7-10 36, Jones 8-14 2-4 18, Andrews 2-7 0-0 4, Hurst 3-6 1-2 9, Dillingham 1-3 0-0 3, Zoller 0-0 0-0 0, Byall 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 4-5 1-2 9. Totals - 32-59 11-18 83.

Halftime - Whitworth 37, William Jewel 36. 3-point goals - Whitworth 11-23 (Jones 2-9, Williams 1-3, Wickers 5-7, Beckman 3-4), Williams Jewel (White 0-2, Russell 5-7, Andrews 0-2, Hurst 2-3, Dillingham 1-1). Rebounds - Whitworth 29 (Dunham 11), William Jewel 28 (Russell, Jones 5). Assists - Whitworth 19 (Dunham, Williams 5), William Jewel 22 (Andrews 7). Total fouls - Whitworth 16, William Jewel 16. Fouled out - none. Technicals - Jones.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo