Whitworth suffers second NWC loss, drops regular-season finale at Puget Sound

TACOMA – Whitworth had wrapped up a Northwest Conference regular-season title and was rolling into the postseason with confidence. But the conference’s second-place team stole some momentum from the Pirates in the regular-season finale.

Puget Sound now heads into the NWC tournament with renewed enthusiasm after pulling out a 69-67 victory over Whitworth on Saturday at Memorial Fieldhouse.

The Pirates (20-5, 14-2 NWC) had their six-game winning streak snapped. The Loggers (17-8, 12-4) closed the season with four straight wins. Whitworth will host the conference tournament on Friday and Saturday.

Puget Sound’s Trevon Hamilton split his foul shots in the final seconds, giving Whitworth a chance to tie it at the buzzer, but Pirates guard Kobe Parlin missed a shot in the paint, and forward Caden Bateman’s tip-in attempt was no good at the buzzer.

Whitworth trailed 62-55 with just under three minutes left but rallied to set up a thrilling finish. Neither team led by more than seven points throughout the game.

The Pirates shot a season-low 35.5% from the field while the Loggers shot 37.7%.

Forward Stephen Behil led Whitworth with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Bateman had 15 points and a career-high 21 rebounds. Hamilton paced the Puget Sound with 26 points.