PARKLAND, Wash. – Visiting Whitworth used great balance offensively and defensively to earn a 76-63 win at Pacific Lutheran University in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Friday night at Olson Auditorium.
The 23rd-ranked Pirates won their 20th game of the season to improve to 20-4 overall and 14-1 in the NWC. The Bucs have reached the 20-win plateau in 19 of the last 20 seasons.
Whitworth never trailed in the game, jumping out 11-6 on a basket by Stephen Behil. The Lutes were within 22-18 with just under seven minutes to play when the Pirates began to pull away. Whitworth used a 12-0 run to open a 31-18 lead on a breakaway basket by Bryan Caldera. Colton Looney drained a three-pointer right before the halftime buzzer to increase the margin to 39-24 at halftime.
Looney had ten points at the half for the Pirates, who made 14 of their 28 shots in the first half while holding the Lutes to 6 of 28 (21%), including 2 of 13 (15%) from three-point range. The Bucs had a 25-15 edge in rebounds.
The lead never got below double-digits in the second half. PLU was as close as 48-36 after a basket by Cam Rice. Dylan Westermeyer answered with a three-pointer, sparking a 9-0 run that extended the lead to 57-36. The Pirates eventually led by as many as 28 points (73-45) with under five minutes to go. Whitworth went to the bench while the Lutes stayed with their primary rotation, allowing PLU to finish the game on a 16-3 run.
The Pirates finished the game 30 of 59 (51%) from the floor and had a 43-27 edge on the boards. Whitworth held PLU to 33% (18-54), however the Lutes were below 30% until the final four minutes.
Stephen Behil led the Pirates with 15 points, while Looney totaled 13 points and eight rebounds. They were the only two Whitworth players in double figures as ten different Bucs scored points in the game.
Ben Nyquist officially broke Whitworth's single season record for steals with five, giving him a total of 81 with one game to go tomorrow at Puget Sound.
Ben Tellez scored 22 points for PLU (11-13 overall, 5-10 NWC). Rice added ten and six boards.
