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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Whitworth selects Lehigh aide as men’s basketball coach

Whitworth University has scheduled a press conference for 10:30 a.m. today to introduce Matt Logie as its new head men’s basketball coach.

Logie, who recently finished his second season as the associate head coach under Brett Reed at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., will replace Jim Hayford, who resigned earlier this year to become the head coach at Eastern Washington University.

Logie, who played for his grandfather and legendary prep coach Ed Pepple at Mercer Island High School before accepting a scholarship at Lehigh, finished his college career as the Mountain Hawks’ eighth all-time leading scorer with 1,524 career points.

Logie, who played on Mercer Island’s last State 4A championship team in 1999, first joined the Lehigh staff prior to the start of the 2003-04 season as the director of basketball operations, but left for a similar position at Kent State University in 2006. He spent a year at KSU before returning to Lehigh, where he helped his alma mater capture Patriot League regular-season and tournament titles in 2009-10.

Lehigh’s current head coach, Brett Reed, was a Mountain Hawks assistant during Logie’s final year as a player and also worked with him for a year when both were aides under former head coach Billy Taylor.

“My association with Matt goes back about nine years, now,” Reed said, “and I tell you Whitworth is getting a good one. When I took over as head coach here, he was my first call and, basically, my first hire, because I know what he stood for and what kind of character he exhibited during our previous time together.

“Matt has been involved with about every facet of this program since he came back, and has demonstrated great technical skill in developing game plans, analyzing opponents and analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of our own team in order to ultimately consider the best approach to take against all of our opponents.”

As Whitworth’s head coach, Logie will inherit a wildly successful program that posted a 217-57 record and made six NCAA Division III tournament appearances in its 10 seasons under Hayford. Last year, the Pirates finished 28-2, setting records for the most wins in a single season and single-season winning percentage (.933).

In addition, they attained their first-ever No. 1-ranking in the D3hoops.com poll and advanced to the Elite Eight of the D-III national tournament.

According to sources, Logie was one of four finalists Whitworth’s search committee brought on campus to be interviewed.