Whitworth falls in overtime to Whitman in NWC championship

WALLA WALLA – Tim Howell finished the game with 30 points and second-ranked Whitman edged fourth-ranked Whitworth 86-83 in overtime on Saturday in the Northwest Conference tournament championship game at the Sherwood Center.

Will it be enough to get Whitworth back to the Division III NCAA tournament?

Whitman ran its record to 27-0, while Whitworth (23-4) is left to wait until Monday to find out if it will receive an at-large bid to the D-III tourney.

Joey Hewitt hit a pair of free throws with eight seconds left in OT for Whitman, and Ben College’s three-pointer at the buzzer bounced off of the back rim.

After making a crucial defensive stop at the end of regulation, the Pirates had a chance to win the game before overtime with 1.7 seconds left. Drew Sears caught a length-of-the-court pass at the free throw line and immediately passed out to Kenny Love, who got off a 3-pointer before the final horn.

It did not go in.

Leading 58-57, Whitworth used a 10-1 run to open a 68-58 advantage with 5:32 left on Derek Isaak’s layup. Whitman fought back to tie the game 70-70 after a 12-2 run, capped by Austin Butler’s score with 2:26 to go.

Love’s 3-pointer with 44 seconds left gave the Bucs a 74-72 lead, but JoJo Wiggins hit a pair of clutch free throws with 16 seconds left to tie the game. Whitworth immediately turned the ball over on a five-second call, but made the defensive stop by forcing a Whitman turnover with 1.7 seconds to go.

After Whitman scored the opening bucket of overtime, Whitworth got six straight points to go up 80-76. Wiggins put Whitman back ahead 82-81 with a three-point play with 41 seconds left in OT, but Christian Jurlina answered with a basket for the Pirates to give Whitworth its last lead.

Austin Butler’s basket gave Whitman the lead back with 25 ticks left and Whitworth turned the ball over, setting up Hewitt’s free throws.

Love led five Pirates in double figures with 21 points and he also had seven rebounds and three assists. Kyle Roach scored 16 and also grabbed seven boards, while Drew Sears added a dozen points.

Jurlina finished with 11 points and Nick scored a career-high 11 off of the bench. Whitworth finished with a 46-36 advantage in rebounds. But the Pirates committed 26 turnovers against the Blues’ pressing defense.

Wiggins totaled 15 points. Hewitt came off of the bench for 13 and Jack Stewart had a dozen. The Blues claimed their first NWC tournament title.

Whitworth’s streak of 10 consecutive Northwest Conference tournament titles ends. The Pirates have been to 11 NCAA tournaments, but have never had to rely on an at-large bid to participate.

The NCAA will announce the Division III men’s tournament field on Monday morning at 9:30 a.m.