Pirates cruise to easy victory

Once the outcome becomes a given, which it did remarkably early in Whitworth University’s 97-54 non-conference men’s basketball blasting of North Central on Thursday evening, the game becomes more about maturity and discipline than numbers.

Despite some uncharacteristically sloppy ball handling that resulted in 10 first-half turnovers, the Pirates (5-2) showed a lot of both in brushing aside the Rams (3-6) in front of an intimate Whitworth Fieldhouse gathering of 565.

“Our theme going into the game tonight was maturity,” Pirates coach Jim Hayford said, after watching sophomore forward Jack Loofburrow torch the visitors for a career-high 28 points as one of five Bucs to score in double figures.

“What I wanted the guys to do was to play their best, regardless of the score, respect the game and respect their opponent, and I thought we did that.”

Whitworth, which also got 17 points from sophomore forward Felix Friedt and 15 points from senior point guard Eric Beal, slapped North Central with 14 unanswered points to open the game and never let the Rams come up for air.

The Pirates scored on their first five possessions, getting points from four players, while North Central, an NCAA Division III independent from Minneapolis, missed its first six shots and turned the ball over three times in the first 4 minutes.

The Bucs, who shot 57.1 percent (40 for 70) from the field and used their decided height advantage to carve out a 57-27 rebound advantage, were up 43-26 at halftime and found a lot of minutes for a lot of different players in the second half.

Loofburrow, a 6-foot-7 first-year transfer who previously played at Eastern Washington University, made 12 of 17 field goals and 2 of 4 free throws, while also grabbing nine rebounds.

The Rams, whose tallest player is 6-4, got 15 points from Nathan Roeder but simply couldn’t match up against the bigger, stronger and faster Pirates.

Beal said he felt it was an important game for him and his teammates, who are looking at some welcomed time off over Christmas before resuming play on Dec. 27 at home against Wisconsin-Stout.

“In a game like this, it’s important to just play smart, do all the little things right and not worry about the score,” said Beal, who also contributed nine rebounds and seven assists to the Pirates’ cause. “It was good that we played well and that we’re going into break on a good note.

“If you end up playing a bad game going into a week off like we have, you never know how it’s going to affect your confidence.”