Pirates Fall Short In Thriller

The Whitworth Pirates came into Saturday’s game against league-leading Lewis & Clark College needing a win for a chance at the playoffs.

With a win and a loss by Willamette, the Pirates would have forced a tie for fourth place in the Northwest Conference and a onegame playoff Monday for the No. 4 seed in the league tournament.

Unfortunately for Whitworth, Lewis & Clark proved too tough, defeating the Pirates 85-83 in a game that was as down to the wire as it gets.

“That was one heck of a college basketball game tonight,” said Lewis & Clark coach Bob Gaillard, “but we had a blend of the right things at the right time.”

With 29 seconds left in the game, Whitworth’s Chase Williams took an inbounds pass coast to coast to hit a 3-pointer at the top of the arc, moving the Pirates within five points 82-77.

After two Lewis & Clark free throws, David Rusk opted not to pass to a wide-open Ryan Nelson, but rather shoot the long ball himself, narrowing the gap to 84-80.

After another Lewis & Clark free throw, Chase Williams took a half-court pass and nailed a 3-pointer with 10 seconds to play and the Pirates were only down by two, 85-83.

The Pioneers, fearing a foul, threw the inbounds pass to halfcourt and avoided contact with Pirates defenders as the clock expired.

“They made the shots when they had too.” said Whitworth coach Warren Friedrichs. “It’s a nice team to represent our league in the playoffs.”

The game marked the final game of Whitworth forward Kevin McDaniel, who played all 40 minutes and led the Pirates with 18 points.

“We usally give him a break, but we had a group that was playing so well we just couldn’t sit him,” Friedrichs said.

The Pirates held the NWC leading scorer Scott Davis to only two points in the first half, but Davis caught fire in the second and finished with 27.

“He is such a tough player,” McDaniel said. “It’s tough to contain him at all.”

Gaillard needed more production out of Davis and said so in the locker room at halftime.

“We ran a lot more sets his way (in the second half),” he said. “And he had some foul trouble in the first half and we had to sit him.”

Whitworth went on a 13-0 run around the 11-minute mark of the first half, sparked by two steals by Kyle Jenson and five points by Ryan Nelson that tied the game at 19.

Whitworth attempted just five free throws and made three. The Pioneers were 13 of 16.

Lewis & Clark 85, Whitworth 83

Lewis & Clark (20-4, 15-1) - Davis 9-17 6-8 27, Auxier 5-8 10-10 21, Meyerding 2-5 2-2 7, Burrows 1-4 1-1 4, Oriard 3-11 1-2 7, Ulmer 1-3 0-0 3, Mietus 0-1 0-0 0, Speier 3-3 1-2 7, Arlyn 3-3 0-0 9, Kiang 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-55 21-25 85.

Whitworth (12-12, 7-9) - Ramey 6-10 1-1 15, Luce 1-2 0-0 2, Meserve 1-3 1-2 4, Gazdik 1-1 0-0 2, Williams 5-8 0-0 13, Nelson 5-8 0-0 11, Rusk 2-4 0-0 6, Jensen 5-8 1-3 12, McDaniel 8-16 2-2 18. Totals 34-60 5-8 83.

Halftime - Lewis & Clark 42, Whitworth 34. 3-point goals - Lewis & Clark 10-25 (Arlyn 3-3, Davis 3-9, Ulmer 1-1, Auxier 1-2, Burrows 1-3, Meyerding 1-4, Oriard 0-3), Whitworth 10-19 (Williams 3-5, Ramey 2-3, Rusk 2-3, Jensen 1-1, Meserve 1-2, Nelson 1-4, McDaniel 0-1). Fouled out - None. Rebounds - Lewis & Clark 29 (Oriard 6), Whitworth 28 (Williams 5). Assists - Lewis & Clark 14 (Auxier, Meyerding 3), Whitworth 18 (Nelson 5). Total fouls - Lewis & Clark 14, Whitworth 18. Technicals - None. A - 1,247.