SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth men's basketball team will close out 2023 by hosting Elmhurst College in a very challenging match up for the Pirates. The game is Saturday, Dec. 30 at 6:00 pm and can be heard live in Spokane on KSBN 1230 am and on the internet at KSBN.net.
Check the Whitworth men's basketball schedule for other live links to this weekend's game.
Tickets: Digital tickets are required for entrance to the Whitworth Fieldhouse for all fans. Tickets can be purchased in advance using the Hometown Ticketing App. Follow the Tickets link on the schedule for access. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for senior adults, non-Whitworth students and children. Whitworth students, as well as faculty and staff, get free admission by using an ID number.
The Pirates: Whitworth (5-5) lost both of its contests at the Hoops in Hawaii DIII Classic prior to the Christmas holiday. The Bucs have dropped four games in a row.
Whitworth fell to unbeaten Dubuque 71-58 on December 21st in a tournament played at the Shark Tank on the campus of Hawaii Pacific University. The Pirates led 30-22 at halftime and 43-37 with 11:45 to play, but the Bucs made only 8 of 27 from the field in the second half (29%) and a 21-5 run by the Spartans turned the game around. Whitworth struggled from three-point range throughout the game, making only 1 of 15 (7%) from beyond the arc. Jojo Anderson led the way for the Bucs with 20 points but was the only Pirate in double figures. Jake Holtz added nine points and seven rebounds.
The shooting woes continued for Whitworth in a 65-62 overtime loss to Knox (Ill.) on December 22nd. The Pirates finished the game 22-66 (33.3%) from the field after missing 20 of their first 24 shots and 7-25 (25%) from three-point range. Despite those shooting woes, Whitworth hung with the Prairie Fire throughout the game. The Pirates trailed 57-50 with just over five minutes left but rallied to force overtime. Whitworth went 0-5 from the field and 3-6 from the free throw line in overtime and could not keep the momentum going. Sullivan Menard had 15 points and nine rebounds, while Jerry Twenge added 11 points and six boards.
The Opponents: Even in the midst of a challenging non-conference schedule, Elmhurst College (Ill.) is likely the most talented opponent the Pirates have faced this season. The Blue Jays play in the powerful Collegiate Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) and are 10-0 overall and 3-0 against league opponents. Elmhurst is ranked 15th in the most recent (Dec. 12) D3hoops.com poll, but likely would have moved up if a poll had taken place after an 81-74 win over #19 Trine (Mich.) on December 20th. Elmhurst outscores opponents by an average of 16 points per game, thanks in part to a rebounding edge of nine boards per contest. Head coach John Baines is 174-95 in his 11th year at Elmhurst. Senior guard John Ittounas leads four players who average in double figures in scoring with an average of 17.9 points per game. He makes 45.5% of his three-point attempts and 2.5 treys per contest. 5th-year forward Jonathan Zapinski contributes 10.6 points per game and leads the team in rebounding (7.9 rpg) and assists (3.6 apg). Whitworth and Elmhurst have never played in men's basketball. The last CCIW opponent for the Pirates was Wheaton (Ill.) in December of 2017 and Whitworth lost to the Thunder 92-84. The Blue Jays will play at Whitman on December 28th before playing the Pirates.
Been a While: Whitworth has lost four games in a row for the first time since the 2004-05 season when the Pirates finished 13-11 under head coach Jim Hayford.
No Holtz Barred: Jake Holtz seems to do everything for the Pirates in 2023-24. He averages 15.5 points per game, which currently leads the team. He also leads the Pirates in rebounding (7.5 per game, second in the NWC), assists (30) and steals (2.0 per game, fourth in the NWC). He is making 55% of his field goal attempts (seventh in the NWC). Holtz has 822 points as a Pirate and is on pace to become the latest Whitworth player to reach 1,000 for a career.
Welcome Back Jojo: Jojo Anderson's return to action in 2023-24 has been as hoped-for by Pirate fans. He is second on the team in scoring average (15.4 points per game) and scored a conference-high 33 points in a win over Northwest University on November 21st. He's made 47.3% of his field goals and adds 3.0 assists per game, tied for the best average on the team. The guard from nearby Mt. Spokane HS missed the 2022-23 season with an injury.
Jerry, As Needed: Jerry Twenge, in his fifth year as a Pirate, averages 8.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Twenge has stepped up in a variety of ways throughout his Whitworth career., at different times leading the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. His latest highlight was the game-winning basket vs. Pacific on December 2nd with 1.4 seconds to play.
The Long Road Home: Sullivan Menard's road to Whitworth was a long one. A Gatorade Player of the Year as a high school senior in Alaska, Menard initially went to DePaul (Ill.) before transferring to Western Wyoming CC, where he suffered a season-ending knee injury that prevented him from playing the 2021-22 season in Spokane. Now Menard averages 13.3 points per game and leads the team in three-pointers (23). He adds 5.1 rebounds per contest. Menard is also a member of the Pirates' men's golf team.
Pirates picked to win: Whitworth is listed at the top of the 2023-24 Northwest Conference coaches poll with six first place votes and 62 points. The Pirates are coming off 18-10 record in 2022-23, including a second place finish NWC regular season and a conference tournament championship. Whitman, who Whitworth defeated in the NWC tournament championship game, is second in the poll with one first place vote and 53 points. Third place Puget Sound (50 points) got the other two first place votes.
Start a New Streak?: Whitworth's school record streak of consecutive seasons with at least 20 victories came to an end last season after 16 in a row. Prior to that streak, the most 20-win seasons in a row the Pirates had ever had was two (on three different occasions). The NCAA statistics office granted waivers for streak records that were interrupted by Covid-19 in 2020-21. Whitworth's streak of 20-win seasons was the longest in all of NCAA Division III at the time.
Nearly Two Decades of Dominance: Since the beginning of the 2005-06 season (over 17 seasons) the Pirates are 413-95 (.813), an amazing run of success matched by few other college teams at any level. Within the Northwest Conference, Whitworth has won 213 of its last 242 (.880).
Home-Sweet-Home: Whitworth has been stellar in the Whitworth Fieldhouse since the 1990's. During the decade of the 1990s and 2000's Whitworth won more than 84% of its home games. However, since the beginning of the 2005-06 season, the Bucs are 214-27 (.887) at home.
The Pirates have had two home-court winning streaks of more than 40 games since 1990. A 41-game home court winning streak from early 2009 until December of 2011 was the second-longest in Pirate history. The school record for consecutive home victories is 43, beginning during the 1994-95 season and ending during the 1997-98 season.
Road Warriors: As good as Whitworth is at home, the Pirates have been almost as good away from the Whitworth Fieldhouse over the last decade. Since the start of the 11-12 season, Whitworth is 116-38 (.753) away from home, 87-26 (.769) in true road games.
On the Air Again: Whitworth's men's basketball games are once again carried live this season on KSBN 1230am in Spokane. The relationship between Pirate athletics and KSBN goes back to 1994, a span of more than 25 years. Bud Nameck is in his ninth season as the voice of Whitworth basketball. Nameck has more than 30 years of experience calling college basketball at Gonzaga University and Washington State.
The Coach: Damion Jablonski is in his 13th season on the Pirate coaching staff in 2023-24, and his fifth as head coach of the Pirates. His record was 76-26 as Whitworth's head coach heading into this season. Jablonski has led Whitworth to the NCAA Division III tournament three times in his previous four years, the only non-tournament year was due to Covid-19. His first year was a rousing success. He went 23-6, led the Pirates to a share of the Northwest Conference championship and to a pair of victories in the NCAA Division III tournament. The Bucs were slated to face top-ranked Swarthmore before the tournament was cancelled. Jablonski was named D3hoops.com West Region Coach of the Year and he coached Ben College to NWC Player of the Year and NABC All-America recognition. Whitworth went 12-5 during the COVID-19 season in 2020-21, including games against NCAA DI Montana, NCAA DII Seattle Pacific and NAIA playoff regular College of Idaho. Whitworth finished 22-5 overall and 13-3 in the NWC in 2021-22 to once again share the regular season title before winning the conference tournament.
Jablonski spent eight years as the top assistant at Whitworth, including six seasons with the title of Associate Head Coach. Over the course of his tenure as an assistant, the Bucs won 215 games, seven Northwest Conference titles and seven NWC tournament crowns. As the head recruiting coordinator, Jablonski was instrumental in continuing the Bucs' tradition of success by helping to recruit high quality student-athletes to Whitworth. His efforts over the past several years have included the addition of First Team All-American Kyle Roach, third team All-American and NWC Player of the Year Kenny Love and First Team All Northwest Conference selection Christian Jurlina.
Coming Up Next: Whitworth will return to Northwest Conference play for the rest of the regular season, beginning with a January 2nd match up against Whitman at home. The Pirates follow that with a game at Lewis & Clark on Friday, January 5th.
