With No. 2 seed assured, Whitworth dumps Lewis & Clark anyway

It was senior night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse on Saturday, but not many tears were being shed.

Due to the Pirates locking up the conference’s No. 2 seed well before their 82-73 win over Lewis & Clark, Whitworth’s seniors — Kenny Love, Christian Jurlina, Derek Isaak and Drew Sears — are guaranteed at least one more home game.

“It’s a nice feeling,” Sears said of having a playoff game at home. “We’re very fortunate to have that. A lot of teams don’t.”

Although the regular-season finale didn’t mean anything for playoff positioning, the Pirates wanted to finish the regular season strong and retain a sturdy résumé.

“One of the things we always try to do is always appreciate the opportunity to compete,”Whitworth coach Matt Logie said. “You want to head into the postseason with some momentum.

“And while we didn’t have any seeding implications for the Northwest Conference tournament, we’ve got opportunities to be an at-large selection and we want our résumé as strong as possible for that.”

Neither of those things came easy for the Pirates, however. The Pioneers, although currently eliminated from the postseason, came out spirited in their final regular-season game.

“You’ve got to tip your hat to Lewis & Clark,” Logie said. “They made some tough shots, they got some extra possessions.”

It was all Whitworth early on, with the Pirates starting the game on a 10-0 run.

But the Pirates let the Pioneers hang around.

Lewis & Clark ended the first half on a 10-2 run to cut Whitworth’s lead to 43-37 at the break.

The Pioneers continued to remain within striking distance for most of the second half, even cutting the Pirates’ lead to as little as two with 3:37 remaining.

But Whitworth held it together and triggered a 12-5 run during that stretch and warded off Lewis & Clark’s comeback for a nine-point win.

“I thought our guys did a nice job of responding and executing down the stretch, especially in the last four minutes, offensive and defensively to pull things out.”

Kyle Roach scored eight points in the final 3:37, aiding the Pirates immensely down the stretch.

“He’s really grown in that area,” Logie said of Roach’s play down the stretch. “He’s so explosive athletically, one of the things we’ve been working with him is understanding when to pull the reigns back and be under control.”

Whitworth will play Linfield in the first round of the NWC playoffs after the Wildcats claimed the No. 3 seed by defeating Willamette 75-63 and by George Fox falling to undefeated Whitman 105-94. The Wildcats and the Bruins were both 8-7 entering the day and vying for the No. 3 seed.

The Pirates are 2-0 against Linfield this season, winning 87-81 against the Wildcats at home and 79-63 on the road.

Matching up with the Wildcats’ 2-3 defense zone will be the most troubling task for the Pirates.

“They play a style of defense that requires you to work for good shots and takes some time off the clock,” Logie said. “It’s always kind of a grind against them and you have to be prepared for a 40-minute game.”

Whitworth takes on Linfield at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.