Whits Ride Long Shot Into Second Round Nakanishi Comes Off Bench To Shoot Pirates Past Berea

Julian Nakanishi said he can’t remember playing this well in grade school or high school and certainly not as a Whitworth College basketball player.

But in Wednesday afternoon’s first-round game against Berea (Ky.) College at the NAIA Division II tournament, the slight, 6-foot Hawaiian was flyin’.

Nakanishi, a junior from Pearl City, Hawaii, hit three 3-pointers in a span of 90 seconds to give the Pirates a tie and the eventual lead that held up in an 82-78 win over the Mountaineers at the Idaho Center.

The elimination game had more ebbs and flows than the Pacific coastline in this season of El Nino.

Whitworth led by as many as 20 points in the first half and trailed by as many as 10 in the second half before Nakanishi got hot from the right baseline just outside the 3-point arc. His first trey cut Berea’s lead to 67-64 with 11:58 left in the game.

After the teams exchanged baskets, Nakanishi drained two more 3-pointers, first tying the game and then giving the Pirates a 72-69 lead with 10:29 left. It was their first lead since leading 42-39 late in the first half.

“That one guy. I can still see it, I’ll see it in my sleep. That No. 21 (Nakanishi), I think he hit three 3s in a row (3 of 4 straight Whitworth baskets). I thought the shots were short but it hit nothing but net,” said Berea’s 25th-year coach Roland Wierwille, who has brought three teams to nationals.

Nakanishi, the second guard off the bench in Whitworth coach Warren Friedrichs’ rotation, finished with a career-high 14 points. He averaged 3.3 points per game this season. Starting center Ben Heimerman led the Pirates with 17 points, but the other starters had a slow day, combining for just 27 points.

“I was open. The heck with it, I was going to shoot it. (Sean) Weston was finding me, so I just let it fly,” said Nakanishi, acting amazed over his accomplishment.

The win moved eighth-seeded Whitworth (19-7) into a second-round game against unseeded Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) University, Friday at 9 a.m. The Crusaders pulled the first upset of the 32-team tournament by knocking off ninth-seeded Central Methodist (Mo.) College 103-94.

Judging by the first 10 minutes, it seemed unthinkable that unseeded Berea might be able to do the same. The Pirates - ranked fifth in the final NAIA Division II Top 25 regular-season poll - came out as if they’d been waiting for this moment since losing in overtime in the championship game two years ago.

Eight different players scored in the first 8 minutes as the Pirates built a 26-6 lead. Tyler Jordan scored two 3-pointers during the impressive start as the Pirates hit 6 of 7 from 3-point range in the first half. Weston came off the bench and hit a quick 3 followed by a jumper.

“‘Someone said to me from the bench, ‘It’s over,”’ Friedrichs said “I said, ‘It’s not over.”’

The Mountaineers (20-10) put together a furious run of their own, outscoring Whitworth 51-21. That allowed them to erase the 20-point deficit and take a 10-point lead (57-47) when 6-7 forward Gary Burns scored two of his 16 points with 17 minutes left in the game.

The Kentucky team lives by the 3-pointer (225 of 703 entering the game) and had relied on injured senior guard Donnie Frazier during the regular season. The Mountaineers’ 3s began to fall during their run. Five different players hit seven 3-pointers in a span of 14 minutes. But the Mountaineers were 8 of 22 from 3-point range on the day to Whitworth’s 11 of 17.

Frazier, meanwhile, watched from the bench. Frazier, who averaged a team-high 20.3 points per game, broke his hand in the previous game.

“I thought early we jumped on them, they probably weren’t used to playing without Donnie. So they were kinda like looking around to see who was going to do it,” Friedrichs said.

Whitworth 82, Berea 78

Berea - Lester 5-8 0-0 12, Wood 4-9 5-6 16, Frazier 0-0 0-0 0, James 0-1 1-2 1, Compton 0-0 0-0 0, Baker 0-0 0-0 0, Burns 6-10 1-1 13, Day 3-7 0-0 7, Laws 2-8 5-7 10, Duvall 0-0 0-0 0, Moore 8-12 0-4 16. Totals 29-58 12-20 78.

Whitworth - Nakanishi 4-6 3-3 14, Weston 2-5 3-4 9, Ramey 0-0 0-0 0, Ruebel 2-2 0-0 6, Jordan 2-3 0-0 6, Mix, 3-7 3-6 9, Jones 3-6 1-4 7, Heimerman 7-9 2-4 17, Nelson 2-6 0-0 5, Schulz 3-5 3-5 9, Sullivan 0-0 0-0 0, McDaniel 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-49 15-26 82.

3-point goals - Berea 8-22 (Wood 3-7, Lester 2-5, Day 1-2, Brewer 1-3, Laws 1-5), Whitworth 11-17 (Nakanishi 3-3, Ruebel 2-2, Jordan 2-3, Weston 2-4, Heimerman 1-2, Nelson 1-3). Fouled out - None. Rebounds - Berea 25 (Wood 6, Burns 6), Whitworth 39 (Mix 7). Assists - Berea 16 (Moore 4), Whitworth 19 (Weston 5). Total fouls - Berea 20, Whitworth 18.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: FRIDAY’S GAME Whitworth (19-7) vs. Cardinal Stritch, Wis. (24-8), 9 a.m.