Christian Jurlina scores 14 and sixth-ranked Whitworth topples George Fox

Christian Jurlina scored 14 points and sixth-ranked Whitworth held George Fox to only nine points over the final 14 minutes of the game and pulled away for an 83-53 victory on Saturday night in Newberg, Oregon.

The Pirates (15-2, 6-2 Northwest Conference) allowed the fewest points of the season for the second straight game, improving on the 61 points allowed in Friday night’s win at Lewis & Clark.

George Fox (6-10, 4-3) never led in the game as the Pirates jumped out to quick leads of 5-0 and 13-4.

A pair of Kyle Roach free throws stretched the lead to 34-21 and when Kenny Love drained a 3-pointer just before halftime, Whitworth had built a 48-31 lead at the break. The Pirates hit 7 of 14 from beyond the arc.

Six Whitworth players reached double figures in scoring. Roach and Love scored 13 apiece, while CJ Johnson added a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds off of the bench. Ben College added 11 points from the bench and Drew Sears totaled ten.

JJ Lacey led George Fox with 14 points and was the only Bruin player to reach double figures.

Whitworth held GFU to only 36 percent shooting from the field, including 22 percent from beyond the arc.

Whitworth now heads into a showdown with second-ranked Whitman in Spokane on Tuesday night.