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.
Whitworth vs Whitman 2/24/04 8:00pm at Walla Walla, Wash. (Sherwood Center) At Walla Walla, Wash. (Sherwood Center) WHITWORTH 83, WHITMAN 78 WHITWORTH (18-6, 11-4) Gebbers, John 9-17 2-2 23; Depew, Bryan 5-11 6-7 16; Williams, Bryan 4-10 3-4 14; Bierlink, Scott 6-13 1-1 14; Young, Jon 3-7 2-2 11; Borton, Byron 1-3 3-4 5; Larkin, Mike 0-2 0-0 0; Svennungsen, Pete 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-64 17-20 83. WHITMAN (6-18, 2-13) Nelson, Casey 7-10 4-6 19; Ricker, Greg 5-7 1-2 13; Pounds, Jacob 3-6 2-2 11; Caldwell, Greg 3-10 1-2 8; Airy, Matt 2-5 1-2 7; Will, Cale 2-6 1-2 7; Dalvit, Kyle 2-4 1-1 5; Peterson, Mike 2-3 0-0 4; Parker, Nick 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 27-55 13-19 78. Whitworth..................... 41 42 - 83 Whitman....................... 41 37 - 78 3-point goals-Whitworth 10-18 (Young, Jon 3-7; Williams, Bryan 3-4; Gebbers, John 3-5; Bierlink, Scott 1-2), Whitman 11-27 (Pounds, Jacob 3-4; Will, Cale 2-6; Airy, Matt 2-5; Ricker, Greg 2-2; Caldwell, Greg 1-5; Nelson, Casey 1-2; Parker, Nick 0-2; Peterson, Mike 0-1). Fouled out--Whitworth-Borton, Byron, Whitman-Ricker, Greg. Rebounds-Whitworth 38 (Depew, Bryan 12), Whitman 30 (Nelson, Casey 5). Assists-Whitworth 12 (Bierlink, Scott 4; Depew, Bryan 4), Whitman 14 (Pounds, Jacob 3). Total fouls-Whitworth 18, Whitman 17. A-100