HONOLULU – Whitworth led unbeaten Dubuque by eight points at halftime, but went ice-cold in the second half and lost to the Spartans 71-58 after getting outscored 49-28 in the second period of Thursday's Hoops In Hawaii Classic game at Hawaii Pacific University.

The Pirates fell to 5-4 with their third straight loss and will try to break the skid on Friday against Knox College.

After Dubuque (8-0) jumped to an early 8-3 lead, Whitworth went ahead for the first time 15-13 on a basket by Jojo Anderson.  Trailing 18-15 with just over ten minutes to play in the first period, the Pirates outscored the Spartans 15-4 the rest of the way, taking a 30-22 lead into halftime.  Carson Talbert scored consecutive baskets in the run.  Whitworth made 42% (14-33) from the field in the first half, despite going 0-6 from three-point range.

The Pirates still led 43-37 with 11:45 to play in the game after a three-point play from Sullivan Menard.  Dubuque went on a 21-5 run over the next seven minutes, taking a 58-48 lead on a three-point play from Jaylin McCants.  Jake Holtz scored a basket to get the Bucs back within eight, but the Spartans scored five straight and kept the lead in double digits down the stretch.

The Pirates made only 8-27 from the field (29.6%) in the second half, including 1-9 from beyond the arc.  Whitworth also struggled from the free throw line throughout the game, making only 13 of 25 attempts (52%).

Anderson led Whitworth with 20 points and was the only Pirate in double figures.  Holtz finished with nine points and seven rebounds.  The Pirates had only three assists in the game and were outrebounded 45-36.

McCants finished with 31 points and eight boards to lead Dubuque.  After shooting only 29.6% in the first half, the Spartans made 14 of 28 shots in the second period.  Dubuque got to the free throw line 35 times and made 25.