Pacific Lutheran holds off Whitworth men 75-72

From staff reports

PARKLAND, Wash. – Whitworth erased an eight-point deficit in the closing minutes of a Northwest Conference men’s basketball matchup with Pacific Lutheran on Friday night, but the visiting Pirates couldn’t complete the comeback and absorbed a 75-72 upset loss to the Lutes.

Whitworth (16-8, 12-3) fell into a first-place tie with Whitman with the regular season ending Saturday. Whitworth swept Whitman in NWC play, so the Pirates can host next week’s NWC Tournament by defeating Puget Sound on Saturday or finishing tied with Linfield.

The Pirates fell behind 72-64 with 2:37 remaining, but Whitworth guard Jojo Anderson sparked a scoring run to tie the game with 49 seconds remaining. The Pirates committed a turnover with 20 seconds left and were forced to foul, trailing by one. The Lutes (14-10, 7-8) hit their free throws, and guard Sullivan Menard missed two 3-point attempts on Whitworth’s final possession.

Anderson led Whitworth with 17 points. Menard and guard Jake Holtz contributed 15 apiece. The Pirates shot 44.8% from the field and 7 of 21 from 3-point range.

PLU shot 45.6% from the floor, 10 of 24 on 3-pointers.

The game included nine lead changes, and there was minimal separation between the teams until the later stages of the game.

Women

Whitworth 78, Pacific Lutheran 63: Guard Kimberly Dewey scored 20 points and freshman forward Zalissa Sanfo posted a double-double to guide the Pirates (9-15, 6-9 NWC) to their third consecutive win, a comfortable road victory over the Lutes (11-13, 3-12).

Dewey, a senior from Reardan, Washington, shot 8 of 18 from the field during her ninth 20-point game of the season. Sanfo finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, recording her fourth straight game with a double-double. The Pirates shot 48.3% from the field .