SPOKANE, Wash. -- Whitworth College heads to Oregon this week for a pair of key Northwest Conference contests as the Pirates pursue their chase for at least a spot in the NWC tournament, but also a shot a the conference title. The Bucs will play at co-NWC leader Willamette on Friday night and at Lewis & Clark on Saturday. There are six games left on the regular season schedule for Whitworth, four on the road and two at home.

Lance Pecht is the NWC Player of the Week

The Pirates: Whitworth is 13-6 overall and 7-3 in the Northwest Conference. The Pirates are two games behind Puget Sound (10-1) and Willamette (9-1) in the NWC loss column. George Fox is two games behind Whitworth at 5-5. The top three teams make the conference's post season tournament. The Bucs solidified their hold on third place in the NWC standings with last weekend's wins over George Fox (79-69) and Linfield (90-54).

Click here for NWC Basketball standings.

Whitworth's success this season can be traced to a couple of key areas. The Pirates take care of the ball, giving up only 10.6 turnovers per game, the best in the NWC. Whitworth gets good shots, making 49% of its attempts from the field, the second best percentage in the NWC. And when the Bucs get to the free throw line, they make it (see below).

Player of the Week: Lance Pecht (Sr., F, Spokane, Wash. - West Valley/LCSC) is the Northwest Conference Player of the Week for the second time in a row. He made 61% of his shots from the field and 77% of his free throws to lead the Pirates to the pair of wins. He finished with 41 points, 18 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Pecht is the Pirates' leading scorer this season, averaging 16.9 points per game. He is also the second leading rebounder at 6.0 per contest. In Northwest Conference-only statistics, he is the NWC's leading scorer at 19.7 points per game through ten contests.

The Shooter: Jon Young (Jr., G, Tracy, Calif. - Tracy) holds the Whitworth single season records for most three pointers made (92) and attempted (225), which he set last season. With six games left in this regular season he is on pace to break Ryan Nelson's (1998-01) career marks for three pointers. Young has made 240 three pointers, 12 shy of Nelson's career record. Young has attempted 568 three point shots, 15 less than Nelson. Young is averaging 3.3 three pointers made per game (which ranks third in the NWC and 28th in NCAA Division III), and 7.6 attempted this season. Young is the Pirates' second leading scorer this season, averaging 14.5 points per game.

Dishing the Ball: Bryan Williams (Jr., G, Colbert, Wash. - Mead) is on pace to set a career high for assists in a season. Williams finished with 134 assists in 24 games last year, averaging 5.5 assists per game. This season he has 109 assists through 19 games, averaging 5.7 per contest, which ranks second in the NWC and 22nd in NCAA Division III. Williams is also averaging 10.4 points per game.

Balanced Scoring: All five Pirate starters are still averaging double figures in scoring. In addition to Pecht, Young and Williams, George Tucker (Sr., F, San Ramon, Calif. - Diablo Valley College) adds 13.3 points per game, and has been the Pirate most successful at getting to the free throw line, where he is 78-94 (83%) this year. Kevin Hasenfus (Jr., P, Lodi, Calif. - San Joaquin Delta College) leads the Bucs in rebounding (7.1 per game) to go along with 12.3 points per game.

Don't Foul 'Em: Whitworth ranks first in the Northwest Conference, and third at the NCAA Division III level, in team free throw average. The Pirates have made 78.2% (308-394) of their attempts from the line this year.

The Opponents: Willamette is 13-5 overall and 9-1 in the NWC after an 83-74 home win over Lewis & Clark on January 24th and an 80-65 win at PLU on January 28th. The Bearcats' overall record is deceptive because the team is 12-1 against NCAA Division III opponents. Willamette leads the NWC in field goal percentage (51%) and three point percentage (42%), thanks to a pair of outstanding perimeter players. John Olinger is second in the NWC in scoring (18.6 ppg) and makes 47% of his three point attempts. C.J. Stuvland adds 16.0 points per game and makes 44% of his three point attempts. Whitworth defeated Willamette 80-58 in Spokane on January 6th, handing the Bearcats their only conference and Division III loss this season. Willamette has won seven games in a row since that meeting. Whitworth owns a four game winning streak over Willamette and has won three of the last four meetings in Salem, Oregon.

Lewis & Clark College fell to 8-10 overall and 4-6 in the NWC last week. In addition to the loss at Willamette, the Pioneers fell 94-64 on January 27th at Puget Sound. L&C continues to lead the NWC by a wide margin in three pointers made per game, dropping 11.1 per contest. David Berggren is a big reason, as he leads the conference in three-pointers per game by a player (3.6). He also leads the team in scoring average (13.3). Thomas Tillery adds 13.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Whitworth defeated the Pioneers 89-61 in Spokane on January 7th. The Pirates have won four of the last five regular season meetings between the two teams in Portland.

The Coach: Jim Hayford is in his fifth season at Whitworth and has a record of 88-34 (.721) leading the Pirates. His first three seasons are the best three-year record of any coach in Whitworth history. In his second season he led the team to a Northwest Conference title and 23-4 record, earning NWC Coach of the Year honors. In his first season as the head coach at Whitworth Hayford led the Pirates to a record of 20-7 and a second place finish in the NWC. The only Whitworth coach to have a better rookie season was Art Smith, whose 1954-55 team finished 21-4 and went to the NAIA national tournament. Prior to coming to Whitworth, Hayford was head coach at the University of Sioux Falls (SD), where he compiled a 37-27 record in two seasons. His overall coaching record is 125-61 (.672).

On the Air: All the rest of Whitworth's games will be head live on KSBN 1230 am. Bob Castle will call all the plays. The games can also be heard over the internet at www.ksbn.net.