Whits’ Schulz Rises To Occasion

Small-college men

Doug Schulz had to step up big for the Whitworth College men’s basket ball team Saturday night.

Just 1:21 into the game against the University of Puget Sound, Whitworth’s 6-foot-6 forward Jeff Mix landed hard and was out for the night with a twisted left ankle. In came 6-5 Schulz. His assignment was to guard the Loggers’ 6-11 Bryan Vukelich. Schulz contained the big guy, especially in second half when the Pirates broke open the Northwest Conference game and cruised to an 80-59 win before 1,100 at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

It was Whitworth’s 38th consecutive home win as the Pirates improved to 10-4, 6-2. Their last loss at the fieldhouse was Dec. 10, 1994 against Western Baptist.

“I was really surprised. I didn’t see Mix get hurt,” said Schulz, who scored 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. “I thought it was really early for me to go in the game. I just had to go in and start playing before I’m usually used to.”

Vukelich, a redshirt senior who sat out last year because of surgery and missed three weeks this season because of an ankle injury, finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots. He scored 16 points in the first half as the Pirates clung to a 35-31 halftime lead.

“I was sweating bullets. I just told them it was a gut game. We had to do it defensively without Mix,” said Pirates coach Warren Friedrichs.

The Pirates responded in the second half, holding the Loggers to 12-of-29 shooting while containing Vukelich.

The Loggers (6-8, 4-5) scored 12 points in the final 11:11, just two by Vukelich. Whitworth, particularly Phil Ruebel, answered with a flurry of offense. The senior scored 13 points in the second half to finish with a team- and career-high 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting and 6 of 6 from the free-throw line.

“When you’re facing a 6-11 guy, you can’t alter your shot, you have to take it right to the rim, otherwise he’s going to affect your game,” Friedrichs added.

Ruebel and the other reserves scored 42 points to the Loggers’ 17 points off the bench.

“We didn’t do a very good job of getting it to him (Vukelich),” said Loggers coach Bob Niehl. “They put more people to him, but if you look at our other people, somebody else has got to score for us.”

Mike Miller, a 6-7 post, provided the Loggers with some perimeter shooting, hitting 3 of 8 from 3-point range and finishing with 15 points.

While the Loggers relied heavily on Vukelich’s inside game, the Pirates countered with their usual balance. Four players finished in double digits, leading with Ben Heimerman’s 15 points and seven rebounds. Heimerman, who appeared to be on the brink of letting his emotions gets the best of him all night, was summoned to the bench after committing his fourth foul with 9:07 left to play.

With Mix out, Kevin McDaniel also saw more minutes. The 6-6 sophomore forward was 3 of 3 and finished with eight points.

Whitworth 80, Puget Sound 59

Puget Sound (6-8, 4-5) - Gardner 1-1 0-0 2, Norris 5-8 0-0 11, Strahl 0-1 0-0 0, Halberg 1-1 0-0 2, Jeans 1-4 0-0 2, Boyle 0-1 0-0 0, Henneberry 0-0 0-0 0, Pender 1-9 0-0 2, Werkau 3-11 0-0 6, Miller 5-10 0-1 13, Vukelich 9-14 3-8 21, Leonard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-60 3-9 59.

Whitworth (10-4, 6-2) - Mix 0-1 0-0 0, Weston 0-0 0-0 0, Weston 0-0 3-4 3, Schulz 6-9 1-2 13, Nakanishi 1-3 0-0 2, Nelson 2-8 0-0 6, Heimerman 6-7 2-2 15, McDaniel 3-3 2-2 8, Jordan 0-2 4-6 4, Jones 5-6 3-4 13, Ruebel 4-8 6-6 16. Totals 27-50 21-26 80.

Halftime - Puget Sound 31, Whitworth 35. 3-point goals - Puget Sound 4-14 (Norris 1-2, Miller 3-8), Whitworth 5-18 (Nelson 2-8, Heimerman 1-1, Ruebel 2-4). Fouled out - None. Rebounds - Puget Sound 30 (Vukelich 12), Whitworth 33 (Heimerman 7). Assists - Puget Sound 11 (Gardner, Norris 3), Whitworth 15 (Jordan 5). Total fouls - Puget Sound 22, Whitworth 13. Technicals - None. A - Unavailable.

Walla Walla CC 80, CC Spokane 58

The high-powered offense of the Warriors and frigid shooting by the Sasquatch doomed Spokane in an NWAACC Eastern Division game at Walla Walla.

Brad Nicholson and Ryan Hansen each scored 16 points as Walla Walla had five players score in double figures. Hansen also had seven assists. The Warriors sank 13 3-point baskets and Erik Carlson, one of the players scoring in double figures, also pulled down 12 rebounds.

CCS, on the other hand, made only 22 of 72 field-goal attempts for an icy 30.6 percent. Jon Chatfield scored 21 points for the Sasquatch and made all four of his team’s 3-pointers. However, none of his teammates scored more than eight points.

Spokane - Huston 1-7 0-1 2, Darnold 2-6 2-2 6, Chatfield 8-17 1-1 21, Spencer 2-11 0-0 4, Murbson 0-0 0-0 0, Mostek 0-3 2-2 2, Ahrens 1-5 0-0 2, Day 3-12 2-2 8, Schulz 0-0 0-0 0, Long 1-4 0-0 2, Singleton 0-1 2-6 2, Gordon 3-6 0-1 6. Totals 22-72 10-16 58.

Walla Walla - Titchenal 0-1 0-0 0, Metz 4-8 0-0 10, Wilkinson 0-1 0-0 0, Harmon 5-7 0-2 14, Countryman 0-0 0-0 0, Hutchins 0-0 0-0 0, Nicholoson 6-10 0-0 16, Hansen 6-16 1-3 16, Adams 0-4 0-0 0, Way 1-2 0-0 2, Carlson 6-11 0-0 12, Smith 3-4 1-3 7, Thorne 1-1 1-1 3, Gibson 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 32-69 3-9 80.

Halftime - Spokane 26, Walla Walla 44. 3-point goals - Spokane 4-14 (Chatfield 4-10), Walla Walla 13-28 (Metz 2-4, Harmon 4-5, Nicholson 5-10, Hansen 2-7). Fouled out - Nicholson. Rebounds - Spokane 46 (Day 7), Walla Walla 48 (Carlson 12). Assists - Spokane 5 (Mostek 2), Walla Walla 19 (Metz 8). Total fouls - Spokane 16, Walla Walla 14. Technicals - None. A - Unavailable.

, DataTimes