Pirates come up point short

The Whitworth men’s basketball team (1-2) scored the last seven points of its non-conference game against Pomona-Pitzer (3-2) on Friday, but fell short of overtaking the Sagehens, losing 55-54 in the opener of the Lopata Classic in St. Louis.

Justin Sexton led the Sagehens with 15 points and 16 rebounds, but they missed five consecutive free throws in the final minute, allowing Whitworth to draw within one before Eric Beal’s last-second fade-away shot missed wide. Beal finished with 17 for the Pirates, tied with Nate Montgomery for the team lead. The Pirates will play McKendree in the consolation game today at 4 p.m.

•Michael Glover scored 15 points and College of Eastern Utah (7-3, 4-0) handed North Idaho (9-1, 2-1) its first loss of the season, winning 69-66 in Price, Utah. CEU held the Cardinals to just 34.5 percent shooting, as leading scorer Renado Parker scored two points in only 10 minutes of action. Logan Jones led the Cardinals with 10 points.

•Chris Pynch hit 3 of 4 free throws in the last 35 seconds and Community Colleges of Spokane (3-1) beat Highline (0-2) 53-50 in Des Moines, Wash. CCS held on for the win despite being outrebounded 46-37 and shooting just 2 of 19 from beyond the arc.

Pynch finished with 15 points and Kevin Bond added 12 for the Sasquatch in a game in which neither team led by more than six points.

Women’s basketball

Heather Bowman led four Gonzaga (6-2) players in double figures with 24 points, Katelan Redmon collected 16 points and 10 boards for a double-double and the Bulldogs turned a five-point halftime lead into 15 by game’s end, beating Montana State 87-72 in Bozeman.

•Deanna Dotts tallied a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds and North Idaho (7-1, 2-1) cruised to a 61-41 win over College of Eastern Utah in Price, Utah. NIC shot just 28 percent from the floor in the second half, but still increased its lead with sound defense, holding CEU to just 21 points after allowing 20 in the first half.

•Julie Piper went 6 of 9 from the floor, finishing with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Eastern Washington (5-3) beat Cal State Northridge (1-5) 68-50 in Cheney. EWU continued a trend against CSN, forcing 26 turnovers after averaging 23.2 turnovers per game before Friday’s contest.

The Eagles shot 57.1 percent from beyond the arc for 24 points.

•South Florida outscored Washington (2-4) 11-0 in the final 3:35 to beat the Huskies 61-50 in Tampa, Fla. KaNeisha Saunders led the way with 16 points and Melissa Dalembert scored nine points to go with 12 points for USF.

Mollie Williams led the Huskies with 12 points. The Huskies outrebounded USF 34-31.

•The University of Redlands (3-2) shot 47.3 percent against Whitworth (2-3), including hitting 66.7 percent from beyond the arc, winning 81-57 in the first round of the UC Santa Cruz Classic in Santa Cruz, Calif.

Courtney Carroll scored 25 points for the Bulldogs, completing a double-double with 11 rebounds, while Meghan Yetman scored 24.

Kim Bluff led three Whitworth players in double figures with 12.

Wrestling

Kamron Jackson went 3-2 on the day at the 197-pound weight class for the North Idaho wrestling team, finishing the opening day at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite with the squad’s best record.

Winning two matches were Kelvin Gastelum (174) and Roger McCobey (285).

Baseball

Gonzaga announced three players signed letters of intent for manager Mark Machtolf for the 2010 season. Infielder Ryan Brett from Burien joins outfielder Josh Sale of Seattle as the two in-state signees, while pitcher/first baseman Marco Gonzales is from Fort Collins, Colo.

Sale is ranked as the fifth-best high school prospect in the country rated by Baseball America. He was also named the best player in Washington and named All-State as a junior.