NEWBERG, Ore. – Stephen Behil continued to play at a high level, leading Whitworth men's basketball wins.  He posted a double-double as the visiting Pirates defeated George Fox 100-85 in a Northwest Conference contest on Friday night.

Behil, the two-time NWC Player of the Week, scored 18 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished six assists to lead the Pirates (11-3 overall, 5-0 NWC) to their sixth straight victory.

The Pirates trailed 10-9 when Jake Centner made a three-pointer for the Bruins (1-13, 0-5) just over three minutes into the game.  Whitworth answered with an 11-2 run, going up 20-12 on Caden Bateman's layup.  The Bucs never trailed again.  Nate Krohn drove for a layup to give the Pirates their largest lead of the first half (27-14) at the halfway point.  George Fox fought back to within 40-37 after Donovan Crooks converted a three-point play with just under four minutes to go.  The Bucs outscored the Bruins 16-9 over the rest of the half to take a 56-46 lead at the break.  Behil hit a three-pointer at the buzzer and finished with 13 in the period on 5 of 5 shooting.   Whitworth made 65% (24-37) from the field in the first half, including 5 of 8 (62.5) from three-point range.

The Pirates outscored the Bruins 15-5 over the first four minutes of the second half while making all five of their field goal attempts, including three three-pointers by Colton Looney.  Whitworth led comfortably the rest of the way, opening a 24-point margin (91-67) with just over eight minutes to play.  The Pirates still led by 24 (100-76) with three minutes left before GFU scored the game's final nine points.  Whitworth cooled off in the second half, making 13-33 (39%) from the field and 5-10 (50%) from three-point range.

Looney led the Pirates with 20 points, making eight of his 12 shots and 4 of 5 from beyond the arc.  Looney and Behil combined to shoot 15 of 22 (68%) from the floor and 8 of 11 (73%) from three.  Kobe Parlin scored 18 off the bench, Bateman added 15 and Ty Edwards finished with 11 to give Whitworth five players in double figures.  The Bucs finished the game 53% from the floor and a season-high 56% from three-point range, dishing 24 assists on 37 made shots.  They benefitted from a 41-32 advantage in rebounds. 

First-year Sydney Natche led George Fox with 20 points while Cooks scored 16.  Jamar Mitchell had 11 off the bench. 

Whitworth will play at Lewis & Clark on Saturday, its fourth consecutive NWC road game.