Area Men: Whitworth reverts to good old ways

The Whitworth men’s basketball team is reverting back to its early-season form.

That’s not a step backward.

The Pirates broke open a close game shortly after halftime with a 13-0 run, and Whitworth stormed to a 90-64 victory over George Fox in a Northwest Conference matchup Saturday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

Over the game’s final 20 minutes, the 13th-ranked Pirates (19-2, 10-2 NWC) resembled the team that won 13 consecutive games to open the season and climbed as high as No. 6 in the national Top 25. They turned a 38-33 halftime lead into a 51-35 lead 6 minutes into the second half, attacking George Fox’s beleaguered defense with a bevy of long-range shots and knifing drives through the lane.

Pirates coach Jim Hayford admitted that the weekend’s two victories reminded him of Whitworth’s success early in the season.

“I was thinking the same thing,” he said. “To play the type of defense we’ve been playing lately – other teams shooting in the 30s and us shooting in the mid-50s (for percentages) – it’s just really impressive. I’m proud of our players’ execution on both ends of the court.”

It’s too early for Whitworth to be content with the present, however, particularly with a trip to three-time defending conference champion Puget Sound looming next on the schedule. The last time those teams met, UPS escaped Whitworth with a 77-72 win in January and handed the Pirates their first loss.

“I look forward to playing them at full strength,” Hayford said. “Last time we didn’t get to run with them because we didn’t have the right personnel. Now we can. We have a lot of respect for them. We want to play them to see who the best team is.”

Ryan Symes, who was one of three Whitworth players scoring in double figures with 18 points, echoed the sentiment.

“It’ll be an exciting game,” Symes said. “We’re looking to go to their home court and show them we’re a better team than the last time we played.”

Whitworth made 30 of 53 attempts (56.6 percent) from the field, compared to the Bruins’ 19-for-54 effort (35.2 percent). In his second game back from a broken right wrist, James Jones knocked down all four of his 3-point attempts and finished with 17 points.

“Juan Pattillo’s 19 points led a group of five Southern Idaho players in double figures in a 96-80 Scenic West Athletic Conference win over North Idaho at Twin Falls, Idaho.

Pattillo also grabbed 11 rebounds for the Golden Eagles (20-2, 10-2).

Nick Livi (23 points) and Shawn Henderson (21) led the Cardinals (12-10, 4-8).

“Anthony Johnson and WaLynn Burgess both scored 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Yakima Valley (10-13, 2-7) for a 111-107 overtime win over Community Colleges of Spokane in Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges play at Yakima.

Eric Beal scored a game-high 37 points for the Sasquatch (11-13, 4-5), which included 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc and 14 of 14 from the line.