Lance Pecht scored 21 points and grabbed 8 boards to spark the Pirates, who trailed by 11 points early in the first half. John Young added 13 points, while Kevin Hasenfus totaled 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds. George Tucker also scored 11 as four Bucs reached double figures in scoring.
Whitworth shot 49.2% from the field (30-61) to Willamette's 36.7% (18-49). The Pirates had a 40-29 edge in rebounds, including a 13-6 advantage in offensive boards.
CJ Stuvland led Willamette with 17 points, but he was held scoreless in the second half. John Olinger finished with 13 points and Jason Luchterhand had 10 points and a team-high five rebounds.
Willamette led 20-9 after Brennan Garrelts made one of two free throws with 11:17 to play in the first half. The Pirates climbed to within 22-19 on a three pointer by Young, but Stuvland responded with back to back three pointers of his own to stretch the lead back to 28-19. But Whitworth then steadily chipped away, eventually tying the game 34-34 on a three point play by James Jones. The Pirates then took the lead for good on a baseline jumper by Young and went to the locker room with a 46-41 advantage after a driving layin by Bryan Williams just before the horn.
Whitworth opened the second half with a 16-4 run over the first six minutes to lead 62-45. Pecht scored eight of the Pirate points. The Bearcats were never able to get the score below 14 points the rest of the way.
The Pirates forced 16 Bearcat turnovers and came away with 11 steals, including three each by Hasenfus, Williams and Young.
Willamette dropped to 6-4 overall and 2-1 in the Northwest Conference, while Whitworth improved to 8-4 and 2-1. Willamette travels to Walla Walla, Washington to take on Whitman College on Saturday night at 8:00 pm, while Whitworth hosts Lewis & Clark College on Saturday at 6:00 pm. Whitman defeated L&C 105-97 in overtime on Friday night.