Dempsey Roggenbuck scored 26 points, including four 3-pointers, leading Linfield past Whitworth 91-80 in the Northwest Conference regular-season finale for both teams Saturday.

It is a rare night on a basketball court when senior Ben College can’t find his rhythm.

It was getting dark at the Pine Bowl as Linfield’s powerful offense orchestrated its final push, igniting a 38-31 overtime win over Whitworth.

Last year, the Linfield Wildcats wanted to run the ball against the Whitworth Pirates, but couldn’t. This year, the Wildcats want to air it out.

Healthier than they have been since the start of the season, the Whitworth Pirates jogged out to the Pine Bowl for practice this week confident that they are about to peak at just at the right time.

So many of Whitworth’s most recent victories required a late surge and a halftime comeback, but there was no such need for the Pirates on Thursday night.

Whitworth defeated Linfield 88-69 in the Northwest Conference semifinals, setting up a bout with Whitman in the championship game.

Just like their last game, the Whitworth Pirates found themselves behind most of the game Friday against the Linfield Wildcats.

The Whitworth women fell late to Linfield 80-72, but the men's team closed the game on a 9-0 run to win 74-73 in a doubleheader on SWX.

With a relatively difficult stretch of basketball behind them, the Whitworth Pirates hope they’ve built some momentum going into a couple of key Northwest Conference home games this weekend.

Whitworth came out of halftime and held Linfield without another first down until the final play of the third quarter. By then the Pirates’ offense had started rolling, and Whitworth earned a 19-14 come-from-behind victory over Linfield on Saturday at the Pine Bowl. It was the program’s first over the Wildcats since 2007 and only the Pirates’ sixth in the 45-game series.

Two byes. No road games. In 30 years of coaching, Rod Sandberg has never had a September like this one.

A senior with 23 career starts on the Whitworth offensive line, Jacob Hubbard has been part of the football program’s resurgence under fifth-year coach Rod Sandberg.

Hitting their stride while taking the Puget Sound Loggers out of theirs, the Whitworth Pirates pulled away for a 97-79 Northwest Conference semifinal win at the Fieldhouse on Thursday night.

After Whitworth’s roller coaster of a week last week, the Pirates were aching for a breather. Whitworth started last week with a tough one-point loss to No. 1 Whitman then finished with a narrow three-point win over George Fox three days later. The Pirates (21-3, 13-2 Northwest Conference) finally slowed down and followed five starters in double digits to an 86-75 win over the Linfield Wildcats (16-7, 10-5) on Friday night.

In the battle of the unstoppable force, No. 14 Whitworth’s high-powered offense, against the immovable object, No. 8 Linfield’s defense, the defense ruled Saturday as the Wildcats dropped the previously unbeaten Pirates 38-9 on Maxwell Field.