Whitworth men gear up for playoffs

It’s a big week for the Whitworth men’s basketball team.

Thursday, the Pirates (19-6, winners of 10 straight) will host Willamette (17-7) in the first round of the Northwest Conference tournament. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

The postseason tournament, which returns after a two-year break, decides the conference’s representative in the NCAA Division III playoffs. The Pirates and Willamette tied at 13-3 in the NWC, but Whitworth earned the second seed and host role by virtue of its two regular-season wins over the Bearcats.

The winner of the Whitworth-Willamette contest will travel to Tacoma for a Saturday game against the regular-season champion, University of Puget Sound (20-4, 14-2 in the NWC). The winner of Saturday’s game earns an automatic NCAA bid.

But that’s for later in the week. Tuesday was also big for the Whitworth men.

Senior Lance Pecht, who was named the NWC Player of the Week three times, was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.

Pecht, from West Valley High, led the NWC in scoring (18.8 points per game) en route to earning first-team All-NWC honors for the second consecutive year.

Two other Pirates men were honored Tuesday. George Tucker, a senior forward in his second year at Whitworth, missed the first team by one point. Junior guard Bryan Williams, from Mead High, was honorable mention.

Two Whitworth women were selected to the All-NWC team as well. Sophomore forward Emily Hendrickson, from Freeman High, was a second-team pick after leading Whitworth in scoring (13.2) and rebounding (6.2). Fellow sophomore Holly Ridings, from Shadle Park High, earned honorable mention.