Whitworth Faces Road Jinx
Playing on the road might be as big an obstacle to Whitworth College as the Lewis & Clark College men’s basketball team.
“When you make a good play on the road, six people are cheering for you,” said Whitworth coach Warren Friedrichs, whose third-place Pirates travel to Portland today for an 8 p.m. Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges tournament semifinal game.
Traveling has been tough all around for the top four NCIC finishers. On their home courts, they’re a combined 31-1. On the road, they’re 15-17, with Whitworth accounting for five of the losses.
The No. 19-ranked Pirates (18-6, 11-5) suffered their most recent road defeat just 10 days ago at No. 9 Lewis & Clark. That 96-84 victory was one of seven straight for the second-place Pioneers, who easily defeated Willamette (87-70) and Linfield (96-81) to wrap up league play last weekend.
“I’ve thought Lewis & Clark was the strongest team in the conference all along,” Friedrichs said.
The Pioneers, the preseason favorite, have abundant strengths, beginning with 6-foot guard Brooks Meek. The Marysville-Pilchuck High graduate leads the NCIC in scoring with 21.7 points per game. He scored 40 against Linfield. Whitworth held Meek to 13 points in Spokane, but in the rematch at Portland, he scored 27 points, with five baskets from 3-point range.
Friedrichs said Nate Williams will be matched against Meek, but reserve guard Tyler Jordan also will play a role. Lewis & Clark’s inside players also have been tough to stop.
Six-foot-seven Whitney Brake averages 15.5 points per game. His 8.5 rebounds per game tie him with Whitworth’s Ben Heimerman for second place in the league. Teammate Jeff Flowers, a 6-7 post, averages 11.8 points and 7.4 rebounds.
Although Lewis & Clark expects between 1,000 and 1,500 spectators in its 2,200-seat gym, the crowd may not be that large, because the Pirates and Pioneers must compete with a previously scheduled on-campus comedy show.
Whitworth’s odds of another home game this year are slim. The Pirates will have to beat the Pioneers and hope that No. 4 seed Pacific Lutheran (15-9, 10-6) can upset top-seeded No. 6 Pacific (19-5, 13-3) in the other semifinal.
The highest remaining seed will be host for the conference championship game Saturday, with the winner earning an automatic berth into the 32-team NAIA Division II tournament. Usually the NCIC also has received an at-large bid.
, DataTimes