Pirates Open With Impressive Win

So much for easing into the college basketball season against the likes of Steptoe Tech or Washtucna A&M.

Instead of starting out in the shallow end of the pool, the Whitworth Pirates went right off the high dive Friday night, testing themselves against a Westmont College team which won 21 games a year ago, and defeated the Warriors 79-67.

The Pirates are young - only two seniors on a 15-man roster - and don’t have great size, with their tallest player at 6-foot-7. But on Friday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse, they boasted an improved inside presence. And even without starter Ryan Nelson, their guard play was solid.

Newcomer Bryan Depew, a 6-5 redshirt freshman who prepped at Central Valley, led Whitworth with 22 points. Kelson Ramey had 12, and Kyle Jensen and Gunner Olsen 11 each.

The Pirates certainly left coach Warren Friedrichs smiling as he reviewed Whitworth’s performance. “I think I’m going to like this team,” he said at courtside. About that inside game? “I think it’s going to be a little different than last year,” he continued.

Friedrichs got a glimpse of Whitworth’s future in the first half, when 34 of the Pirates’ 40 points came from the frontcourt. The Bucs took a 40-31 lead into the intermission as four players didn’t miss a shot from the field and the team shot 61 percent. Whitworth took only three shots outside the 3-point line in the first half and didn’t score its first 3 until early in the second.

“We felt like we could push it inside on them,” Friedrichs said. “They’ve got a lot of 6-3, 6-4 guys, and they defend the perimeter very aggressively.”

Depew had a terrific game in his first competition since the Washington 4A High School Tournament some 20 months ago. He walked on at Gonzaga University last year, but didn’t make the squad and he still had the basketball bug.

“It feels great to be out here,” Depew, surrounded by family and friends, said. “I love it!”

He finished with an 8-for-10 shooting performance, adding four rebounds and three assists before fouling out late in the game. Sophomore guard Chase Williams, moved to the point this season, led the Pirates with six boards. Nelson took an elbow to the face Monday in practice and will be held out until next week as a precautionary measure.

Whitworth 79, Westmont 67

Westmont (0-1) - Phillips 0-2 1-2 1, Gulley 0-4 0-0 0, Clark 9-14 3-4 21, Pierce 4-7 1-2 9, Eley 0-7 2-2 2, Tillery 4-7 0-0 9, Blick 4-9 1-2 12, Monroe 3-5 0-2 8, Oritz 1-3 0-0 2, Grgas 1-1 1-2 3, Romberg 0-0 0-0 0, Andree 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 26-59 9-18 67.

Whitworth (1-0) - Ramey 4-6 3-4 12, Williams 2-6 3-4 8, Depew 8-10 5-7 22, Jensen 4-5 3-4 11, Olsen 4-8 3-4 11, Johnson 0-0 0-2 0, Luce 3-7 0-0 6, Meserve 0-4 0-0 0, Beierlink 0-1 0-0 0, Gazdik 0-0 0-0 0, Crowwell 1-1 0-0 2, Rusk 1-1 1-2 3, Borton 0-0 0-0 0, Irion 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 29-51 18-27 79.

Halftime - Whitworth 40, Westmont 31. 3-point goals - Westmont 6-25 (Gulley 0-1, Clark 0-3, Eley 0-6, Tillery 1-3, Blick 3-7, Monroe 2-4), Whitworth 3-10 (Ramey 1-2, Williams 1-2, Depew 1-1, Jensen 0-1, Luce 0-1, Meserve 0-3). Fouled out - Depew. Rebounds - Westmont 29 (Clark 7), Whitworth 34 (Williams 6). Assists - Westmont 10 (Ortiz 4), Whitworth 17 (Williams 4, Rusk 4). Total fouls - Westmont 18, Whitworth 20. Technical fouls - none. A - 857.