Comeback Falls Short For Whitworth
A fast-and-furious comeback came up short for the Whitworth College men’s basketball team Friday, resulting in a 76-67 loss to the Pacific University Boxers.
For much of the night, it looked a lot worse for the home team. Whitworth (6-7, 2-3 Northwest Conference) trailed by 18 points with 5:17 left in the game. But the Pirates gave their fans something to get excited about when they scored 14 points to pull within seven, 69-62, with 2:58 remaining.
Senior guard Ryan Nelson - who did not take a shot in the first half - led the comeback by scoring 10 of his game-high 20 points in the final minutes. He hit two 3-pointers during the spurt that kept Whitworth’s hopes alive.
“I thought we could pull it off, I really did,” said Nelson, who fouled out with 35 seconds left and his team trailing by eight points. “We had the momentum on our side.”
But much like the rest of the game, the Boxers scored when they had to and handed Whitworth its first home loss of the season after winning three games at the Fieldhouse. NW Conference leader Linfield visits tonight. The Boxers, who had lost of three straight, improved to 7-4, 3-3. One of the three conference losses occurred at home against Willamette although Pacific led by nine with 90 seconds left in the game.
Friday night, Pacific did not fold as the Boxers looked quicker and more aggressive than the Pirates. Five players scored in double digits. That group was led by senior guard Connelly Eseman, who had 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Senior guard Jeremy Vernon added 14 on 4-of-6 shooting.
“The story of this one was you’ve got a bunch of seniors on the road who have had a pretty good season,” said Whitworth coach Warren Friedrichs. “They outhustled us and we responded late. We want to win, we just don’t know how to yet. It was a good lesson.”
The story also unfolded on the free-throw line. Whitworth senior center Kevin McDaniel managed to draw fouls from the smaller Boxers throughout the second half. But the 70.4 percent free-throw shooter made only 1 of 5. Nelson, the conference’s top free-throw shooter at 93.1 percent, hit 6 of 9 from the line as the Pirates made 18 of 29.
“There was time after we got the game to seven points,” Friedrichs said. “But if we would have made our free throws earlier, who knows what would have happened.”
The Pirates looked sloppy from the start, turning over the ball five times in the opening 4-1/2 minutes. They fell behind 13-4 before staging their first comeback.
A 3-pointer by junior guard Kelson Ramey tied the game at 13 with 11:30 left in the first half. Ramey, who finished with 11 points, hit his second 3-pointer moments later to draw the score even at 16. The score was tied again at 26 when Chase Williams converted a three-point play.
However, the Pirates never managed a lead and trailed at the half 35-30.
Pacific 77, Whitworth 69 Pacific (7-4 3-3) - Gallagher 3-3 3-5 10, Eseman 7-11 1-1 15, Vernon 4-6 3-4 15, Evers 4-6 2-5 10, Boyd 4-7 2-2 10, Lunde 0-0 0-0 0, Figeroa 4-6 0-0 9, Hamre 0-4 2-2 2, Carlson 0-0 0-2 0, Brien 0-2 2-2 2, Timmerman 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 28-48 15-23 77.
Whitworth (6-7, 2-3) - Ramey 3-10 3-4 11, Luce 0-0 0-0 0, Meserve 2-4 0-0 4, Gazdik 4-7 2-3 10, Williams 2-6 5-5 9, Nelson 6-8 6-9 20, Rusk 3-5 1-2 8, Jensen 0-0 0-0 0, McDaniel 3-6 1-5 7. Totals 23-46 18-29 69.
Halftime - Pacific 35, Whitworth 30. 3-point goals - Pacific 6-13 (Vernon 4-4, Gallagher 1-1, Timmerman 0-1, Boyd 0-1, Eseman 0-2), Whitworth 5-16 ( Nelson 2-3, Ramey 2-5, Rusk 1-2, Meserve 0-1, Gazdik 0-2, Williams 0-3). Fouled out - Nelson. Rebounds - Pacific 28 (Evers 7, Boyd 7), Whitworth 27 (McDaniel 6). Assists - Pacific 11 (Eseman 3), Whitworth 7 (Gazdik). Total fouls - Pacfic 21, Whitworth 20. Technicals - none. A - 1125.