Pirates Stave Off A ‘Devastating’ Loss To Whitman

How bad would a loss have been for the Whitworth College men’s basketball team Tuesday night?

“Devastating,” declared junior Ryan Nelson after his team squeaked out a 74-69 victory over Whitman in the Northwest Conference opener for both schools and the home opener for Whitworth before 450 at the Fieldhouse.

Maybe not quite that bad, said 15th-year coach Warren Friedrichs after his team’s first win of the young season.

But a loss would have given the Pirates (1-3) their worst start since the 1976-77 season, when they began 0-5 on the way to an 8-18 record.

A defeat would have meant Whitworth losing to Whitman (0-4) at home for the first time since the Missionaries’ 83-74 win Jan. 9, 1989.

The Pirates easily could have lost

They played a sloppy second half, missing their first 12 field-goal tries and not scoring until Nelson made a layin with 11:15 left. They made 7 of 32 second-half buckets for 21.9 percent after shooting 50 percent in the first half for a 50-43 halftime lead.

Whitworth also committed crucial turnovers, finishing with 16.

“Whitman picked up their defense in the second half, so we have to give them credit for what they did,” Nelson said. “At the same time, we didn’t move the ball around, and our motion wasn’t clicking like it was in the first half.”

Whitman’s Rob Bell tied the game at 65 with two free throws at the 4:09 mark before Nelson and Kevin McDaniel stepped up.

McDaniel converted two free throws to make it 67-65 with 3:52 to go, then scored a layin on a pass from Isaac Hayden at 1:52. Nelson made a layin with 25 seconds left for a 71-67 advantage and connected on two free throws with a second left.

McDaniel, a 6-foot-7, 220-pound senior forward, had career highs in points (25) and rebounds (11). His previous-best outing was 20 points and 10 rebounds last season against George Fox.

The Pirates held Missionaries senior Jimmy Hill scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting in the second half and he finished with seven points.

“They shot the ball well the first half and defended well the second half,” Hill said. “That’s what wins games. And they took care of the ball better than we did.”

Whitworth’s Hayden, a freshman making his first start, passed for eight assists and pulled down seven rebounds. He is one of a handful of young players who will see plenty of playing time this season.

Whitworth had all freshmen and sophomores on the floor at times Tuesday.

Friedrichs said the Pirates made some poor shot choices in the second half.

“We’ve gone into stretches this year when we haven’t shot very well,” he said. “We’re real young so we’re going to have some ups and downs and some of the players are going to be brilliant one night and not so good the next. That’s kind of a learning process.”

Still, it was a victory.

“This feels so good,” Nelson said. “This is what I think we needed to turn it around.”

The Pirates play at Willamette at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

NIC prevails

Russell Ware scored 23 points and Jerry Petty and Kendall Boyd 13 apiece as North Idaho College scored a 78-66 victory over Columbia Basin in a non-conference game played in Pasco.

North Idaho (8-1) led at the half 41-27.

Damon Hunter had nine rebounds for NIC. Petty had five assists and seven steals.

Bryson Bronson scored 17 points to lead CBC.