Whitworth downs Puget Sound 70-51 to advance to NWC tournament championship game

From staff reports

WALLA WALLA – Whitworth will be playing for the Northwest Conference Tournament championship on Saturday after downing Puget Sound 70-51 in a Friday semifinal.

JT McDermott scored 19 points to lead the third-seeded Pirates (17-9), who led most of the way against the second-seeded Loggers (18-8).

Whitworth will play top-seeded Whitman – an 86-64 winner over No. 4 seed George Fox in Friday’s other semifinal – at 8 p.m. Saturday on Whitman’s home floor for an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.

Whitworth is 0-2 against Whitman this season, losing 72-58 on Jan. 10 in Walla Walla and 85-67 on Feb. 7 in Spokane.