Whitworth men turn up the offense to beat Willamette; Pirate women clinch win with free throws

From staff reports

Willamette opened the scoring with a layup and led for all of 22 seconds on Friday.

Garrett Paxton made a 3-pointer on Whitworth’s first attempt, sparking an efficient offensive performance during a 102-89 home men’s basketball win.

Paxton scored a team-high 26 points, shooting 6 for 10 on 3-pointers, as the Pirates (16-2, 9-1 Northwest Conference) set their highest scoring total of the conference schedule.

The Bearcats (5-12, 2-7) shot over 50% from the field, but couldn’t keep pace with Whitworth, which made 62.7% of its shots and 52.2% of its 3-pointers.

Miguel Lopez added 23 points for the Pirates. JT McDermott (17), Jerry Twenge (15) and Jake Holtz (12) all scored in double figures.

The Pirates have won seven straight games with their only conference loss to Whitman 71-69 on Jan. 8.

Whitworth will face NWC second-place Linfield on Friday at 8 p.m. in McMinnville, Oregon.

Pirates women clinch win with free throws

Whitworth had its best free-throw shooter at the line when it mattered most.

Quincy McDeid made four free throws in the final 12 seconds and the Pirates beat Willamette 66-63.

Whitworth (8-11, 3-7 NWC) went the final 5:25 without a field goal, but went 7 of 9 from the foul line to hold off the Bearcats (9-8, 4-4) .

McDeid, an 85.9% free-throw shooter, scored 15 points . Olivia Mayer led the Pirates with 16 points and six rebounds.

Whitworth went 2 for 11 from the field in the second quarter and trailed 29-28 at halftime, but the Pirates shot 52% in the second half.