News Release

SPOKANE, Wash. — Bryan Williams' three-point shot with five seconds left bounced off of the rim and allowed visiting Lewis & Clark College to escape with an 83-79 win over Whitworth College in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Friday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

The win improved the Pioneers to 6-6 overall and 2-2 in the NWC. The host Pirates dropped their fourth straight game and fell to 5-8 overall and 1-4 in the conference.

Williams shot came at the end of a furious Whitworth rally that saw the Bucs nearly come back to tie from an 80-68 deficit with 1:38 to play. Ryan Wells' breakaway lay in had giving the Pioneers the 12 point edge.

L&C had earned a double digit lead at halftime (49-39), shooting 71% from the field (17/24) and outrebounding the Pirates 14-9.

Bryan Williams followed with a driving lay in and went to the line for a free throw. He missed, but Whitworth got the rebound and Jon Young hit a three pointer to cut the lead to 80-73. Tommy Magnuson extended the lead back to nine with two free throws with 1:12 to play, and Williams made one of two for Whitworth with 1:04 left.

Ryan Wells missed the front end of a one and one, and after two missed three pointers by Whitworth, George Tucker scored on a put pack to cut the margin to 82-76. Then Lance Pecht stole the ball in the back court and fed Williams, who drained a long three, pulling the Bucs within 82-79 with 23 seconds left. Another missed free throw by L&C gave Whitworth a chance to tie, but Williams could not convert on two chances within the final 13 seconds, and Wells hit one of two free throws with two seconds left to clinch the win for the Pioneers.

The Pirates managed to outrebound L&C 30-16 in the second half to stay in the game. Whitworth finished with a 39-30 edge on the boards, but the Pioneers outshot the Bucs 57% to 42%.

Wells led the visitors with 23 points, making 6/10 three point attempts. Mark Robinowitz added 18 off of the bench, making 5/12 from long range. Magnuson posted a double double with 16 points and a game high 14 rebounds.

Tucker led Whitworth with 21 points and nine rebounds. Williams scored 17 and Young finished with 13 points.

Both teams return to action on Saturday night. Whitworth will host Pacific University, while L&C travels to Whitman College.

LEWIS & CLARK 83, WHITWORTH 79

LEWIS & CLARK (6-6, 2-2 NWC)
Wells, Ryan 8-12 1-3 23; Robinowitz, Mark 5-12 3-3 18; Magnuson, Tommy 6-10 4-4 16; Jones, Travis 5-9 2-2 14; Merino, Adam 3-4 0-0 7; Kirkham, Mike 1-1 2-2 5; Winnie, Trevor 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-49 12-15 83.

WHITWORTH (5-8, 1-3 NWC)
Tucker, George 10-15 1-2 21; Williams, Bryan 6-18 1-4 17; Young, Jon 5-10 0-1 13; Pecht, Lance 4-10 0-0 10; Simons, Rob 1-2 4-4 7; Jones, J.J. 1-8 2-2 4; Larkin, Mike 2-5 0-2 4; Fletcher, Mat 1-1 0-0 3; Taylor, Derek 0-1 0-0 0; Wyatt, Kevin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-71 8-15 79.

Lewis & Clark.................   49   34  -   83
Whitworth.....................    39   40  -   79

 3-point goals-Lewis & Clark 15-33 (Wells, Ryan 6-10; Robinowitz, Mark 5-12; Jones, Travis 2-5; Kirkham, Mike 1-1; Merino, Adam 1-2; Winnie, Trevor 0-1; Magnuson, Tommy 0-2), Whitworth 11-33 (Williams, Bryan 4-12; Young, Jon 3-8; Pecht, Lance 2-4; Fletcher, Mat 1-1; Simons, Rob 1-1; Taylor, Derek 0-1; Wyatt, Kevin 0-1; Jones, J.J. 0-5). Fouled out--Lewis & Clark-Merino, Adam, Whitworth-None. Rebounds-Lewis & Clark 30 (Magnuson, Tommy 14), Whitworth 39 (Tucker, George 9). Assists-Lewis & Clark 14 (Merino, Adam 5; Jones, Travis 5), Whitworth 12 (Williams, Bryan 4). Total fouls-Lewis & Clark 17, Whitworth 13. A-850