Whitworth falls to 0-2 as defense goes soft against Roanoke

From staff reports

ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Whitworth men’s basketball team dropped to 0-2 on Saturday, falling to the Roanoke (Virginia) Maroons 89-86 in the consolation game of the M Club Classic.

Whitworth started hot, draining five 3-pointers in the first half and 51.6% of its shots overall to take a 41-34 lead at halftime, fueled by JT McDermott’s 3 at the buzzer.

The Pirates took their largest lead of the game on Michael Smith’s 3-pointer just more than 2 minutes into the second half, pushing the lead to 50-41. But Whitworth scored just four points over the next 51/2 minutes, as Roanoke went on a 15-4 run to take a 56-54 lead.

Roanoke took its largest lead at 83-74 with 3:14 to play, but the Pirates went on a run, and a Jake Holtz layup with just more than a minute left brought the Pirates within 85-81. They got no closer until Jerry Twenge’s 3 at the buzzer.

The Maroons (1-1) scored 55 points in the second half.

Holtz, a 6-foot-4 junior guard, led five Whitworth players in double figures with 19 points and seven rebounds. Twenge finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Smith scored 17 points, McDermott had 16 and Carson Talbert, a 6-7 freshman, finished with 10.

Marcus Morgan scored 18 points and grabbed 10 boards to lead Roanoke.

Whitworth’s home opener is 7 p.m. Thursday against Sul Ross State.