Area men’s basketball: Whitworth puts pasting on Pacific
The Whitworth Pirates pillaged their way to their second dominating win in two nights Saturday with an 83-58 pasting of Pacific (Ore.).
Both teams came out of chutes swinging haymakers, with each making 3-pointers to start the contest. The Pirates (15-4, 9-1) and Boxers (11-8, 4-6) then traded blows and tied the score three times early. But the Pirates then made a run that put the game away.
“Our offense was well-balanced,” said coach Matt Logie, whose team shot 57.7 percent from the field and had four players score in double figures. “We were able to stretch their defense early and that allowed us to get a number of guys involved.”
Freshman Christian Jurlina, who scored 29 Friday night in the win over Willamette, hit a 3-pointer that was answered by Pacific’s Riley Grandinetti to make it 20-19 for Whitworth at about 8 minutes to play in the first half. From there, the Pirates took charge during a 26-7 run to make the score 46-26 at halftime.
Unlike Friday, when he struggled to find his stroke, senior guard Colton McCargar started on fire and stayed that way en route to 14 points in the first half. He finished with a game-high 17.
“It always feels good when you hit your first shot, especially when you started slow the previous night,” McCargar said. “It’s all about confidence.”
Logie said he has plenty in his senior guard.
“I don’t worry about Colton’s shooting. He’s a bona fide scorer,” Logie said. “It’s just a matter of getting him the ball.”
Jurlina, a 6-foot-5 wing from Syndey, Australia, wasn’t far behind with 13. Another freshman, guard Kenny Love, also finished with 13 points and six rebounds. Senior guard Dustin McConnell had 10 points.
The Pirates’ depth stole the show with 44 points coming off the bench. The team also shot 12 for 12 from the free-throw line.
“I enjoy when the team plays collectively well,” said Jurlina, who pointed out that he went scoreless in the second half. “We got the win and everyone was having fun.”
The Boxers were led by the 14 points from 6-6 senior forward Daniel Zitani, who averages better than 19 a game. Budweiser Hawkins scored 10.
“He’s a really good player,” Logie said of Zitani. “What I thought we did well was defend their system. That forced them to go to their second option.”
Wenatchee Valley 68, CC Spokane 65: Sawyer Wahl and Austin Chandler scored 16 points apiece and the Knights (9-12, 3-5 NWAACC) edged the visiting Sasquatch (14-8, 4-4). CCS’ Kwinn Hanson scored a game-high 26 points.
Southern Idaho 82, North Idaho 71: Fredrick Edmond had 22 points and seven rebounds and the Golden Eagles (23-2, 9-1 SWAC) beat the Cardinals (17-8, 4-6) in Twin Falls. NIC’s Jordon King scored a team-high 15 points.