Whitworth uses big second half to beat Willamette 81-63

SALEM – The Whitworth men’s basketball took its time but eventually found its shooting stroke in an 81-63 win over Willamette in Northwest Conference play on Saturday at Cone Field House.

The Pirates (19-2, 10-2 NWC) trailed 34-32 at halftime but put together an impressive seven-minute stretch in the second half, when they went from down 38-37 to up 58-43 over the Bearcats (8-12, 2-10) with 10 minutes, 33 seconds remaining.

Whitworth’s lead grew from there, behind Stephen Behil’s 23 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Ben Nyquist added 16 points for the Pirates, and Jake Holtz and Colton Looney scored 11 apiece.

Whitworth is on a seven-game win streak and returns for its regular-season home finales against Pacific on Friday and George Fox on Saturday.