Pirates wear out scoreboard in 111-97 win over UPS

Saturday was Alumni Night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse, with the reasonable expectation of some entertaining basketball.

The alums got even more than that, as the fourth-ranked Pirates outlasted Puget Sound 111-97 in a game that left the spectators as exhausted as the players.

“I’m exhausted, and I’m sure the rest of my team feels the same way,” Pirates guard Ben College said after playing 28 minutes at a frenetic pace.

But College said it with a smile. Winning makes all the difference, especially when it comes against your closest pursuer in the Northwest Conference.

The Loggers gave chase all night with a full-court press that sometimes gave Whitworth fits but often backfired.

“Settle!” Whitworth coach Matt Logie yelled more than a few times, and his players did, scoring 23 points off the break while shooting 56 percent from the field.

“You just have to absorb the pressure and embrace it,” said Logie, who watched the Pirates set season highs for points and 3-point shooting (52.2 percent).

More important, the Pirates improved to 17-2 overall and 9-1 in the NWC. They’re still a game behind Whitman, but two ahead of UPS.

With six games left in the regular season, only Linfield (7-3) remains in striking distance of the Pirates for the No. 2 spot in the postseason tournament.

After a first half that included five ties and nine lead changes, the Pirates managed to keep a double-digit lead for most of the second half despite Logie’s reliance on his five starters.

By game’s end, all five Whitworth starters had logged at least 25 minutes. The Loggers substituted en masse and saw 10 players in double-digit minutes.

“UPS comes at you in waves, and our guys were ready for a battle tonight,” Logie said.

Both teams filled the stat line. College finished with 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting, including 6 for 9 from beyond the arc.

Forward Jared Christy scored 26, including a 14-for-17 night at the foul line, and grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds. Guard Garrett Hull scored 16 points while playing a game-high 36 minutes.

For the Pirates, reaching 100 points was a foregone conclusion after they hit 80 with 11 ½ minutes left. Isaiah Hernandez did the honors with a foul shot with 3:57 remaining.

The win capped a remarkable weekend at the Fieldhouse, where a night earlier the Pirates overcame a 20-point deficit to beat Pacific Lutheran 81-69.

It was the largest comeback victory in Logie’s seven seasons at Whitworth.

Saturday’s high-scoring affair was nothing new for UPS, which averages 98 points per game. Jimmy Wohrer led UPS with a game-high 28 points.