Feb. 24 NWC Men’s Basketball Wrap (Stories provided by host SID)

Whitworth 83, at Whitman 78

Walla Walla, Wash. – Senior post-player Casey Nelson scored 19 points, but the Whitman men's basketball team fell to Whitworth 83-78 Tuesday night in Northwest Conference action in Walla Walla, Wash. Whitworth, currently second in the conference standings, improved to 18-6, 11-4. The Missionaries dropped their eleventh staight, and are 6-18, 2-13.

After spotting the Pirates a 15-point lead six minutes in, the Missionaries rolled off 17 of the next 21 points to knot the score at 22 apiece with 8:42 left. Whitman hit five of seven threes during the spurt, sparked by three from Matt Airy. The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half, and a trey from Whitman's Cale Will with 35 seconds left tied the game for the sixth time, 41-41.

Jake Pounds nailed a three to start the second half as Whitman saw its only lead of the game. With 16:39 left, Whitworth's Bryan Depew hit a jumper to regain the lead 48-47. The Pirates extended their lead to five, but Whitman would not go away, and the game was tied for the 10th time at 65-65 with just over four minutes remaining. Whitworth connected from long range, though, and would never relinquish the lead in winning 83-78.

Whitworth's John Gebbers led all scorers, knocking down 23 points. Depew finished with a double-double, scoring 16 and grabbing 12 rebounds. With his 16 points, Depew is just nine shy of 2000 for his career with one regular season game to play. Scott Bierlink and Bryan Williams each had 14, and Jon Young scored 11.

For the Missionaries, Nelson shot seven of 10 on the night for his 19 points, and grabbed five boards. Sophomore Greg Ricker also shot well, nailing five of his seven attempts for 13. Pounds was the third Missionary in double digits with 11, and connected on three of four from deep.

Whitman will finish up its season on Saturday as it plays host to George Fox. Whitworth plays George Fox on Friday.

At Willamette 67, Pacific 49

Salem, Ore. -- The Willamette Bearcats (11-4 NWC and 16-8 overall) walked away with a 67-49 win over the visiting Pacific University Boxers (6-8 NWC and 10-13 overall) in Cone Field House Tuesday evening.

One game away from the close of their season, the Bearcats took off in the first half, led by John Olinger’s 9 points. Olinger helped lift the Bearcats to a 30-16 halftime lead.

The second half saw a much more aggressive Pacific team with Branden Kawazoe leading scoring for the Boxers with 15 total points. He was the only Boxer in double digits.

The Boxers were able to pull within 8 points with just over 6 minutes left in the second half, only to see that lead extended when Miles Sandgathe, the leader for the Bearcats with 21 total points, made a 3 pointer, lifting the Bearcats to 52-41 lead.

At Lewis & Clark 74, Linfield 60

Portland, Ore. – Lewis & Clark’s three-game losing streak came to a halt Tuesday with a decisive 70-56 victory over visiting Linfield.

Pioneer fans got an early look at what the team might look like next season. Forward John Mietus sat out the game with an injured shoulder. In his absence, Tommy Magnuson stepped up and took control. Magnuson finished the evening with 20 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks, four assists, and a steal. Adam Merino had seven assists on the night. Ryan Wells had sixteen points and four rebounds. The lone senior on the court, Danny Winchester was 4-for-7 from the field, with four rebounds, and 14 total points.

Linfield struggled from the field, shooting only 37.3% for the game. Blake Shelton and Nick Fusare each had 12 points. John Broussard led the rebounding with five boards.

The Pioneers improve to 6-7 in conference play. Linfield falls to 9-5.