SPOKANE, Wash. -- Whitworth College finished tied for second in the final regular season Northwest Conference standings by winning ten straight games to close out the season. That winning streak, the longest since a twelve game stretch to open the 2002-03 season, earned the Pirates a spot in the conference tournament and the right to host Willamette University in the first round game on Thursday.

The NWC tournament is back after a two-year hiatus. It returns with the same prior format where the third place team plays at second place, with the winner advancing to meet the NWC winner.

When and Where: The NWC playoff game will be Thursday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse at 7:00 pm. The winner of the Willamette-Whitworth game will advance to play Puget Sound in Tacoma on Saturday, also at 7:00 pm.

Cost: Tickets for Thursday's game are $6 for adults and $3 for seniors and children 12 and under. Current students of the participating institutions are allowed in free, with student ID. By NWC protocol, Crimson Club and Whitworth Athletics passes do not gain entrance for the NWC tournament.

Radio/Internet: The game will be carried live by KSBN 1230 am and Bob Castle will call the play by play. In addition to the on-air broadcast, the KSBN internet simulcast can be picked up either on the Whitworth Athletics site, or at KSBN.net by selecting the "listen now" button.

Lance Pecht leads the NWC in scoring average

The Pirates: Whitworth is 19-6 overall and 13-3 in the Northwest Conference. The Pirates finished one game behind Puget Sound (14-2) and tied with Willamette after winning the final ten games of the regular season. Included in the winning streak were wins over both Willamette and UPS. The Pirates concluded the regular season with wins at Whitman (88-74) on Tuesday and at Pacific (66-60) on Saturday. In addition to the current ten game winning streak, the Pirates are 9-0 at home this season and have won the last four road games.

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 10.9 turnovers per game, the best in the NWC. Whitworth gets good shots, making 49.9% 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).

Three-time Player of the Week: Lance Pecht (Sr., F, Spokane, Wash. - West Valley/LCSC) was the Northwest Conference Player of the Week three weeks in a row during the winning streak. He had another solid pair of games last week, making 72% of his shots from the field to finish with 46 points. Pecht is the conference's leading scorer this season, averaging 18.8 points per game. He is also Whitworth's second leading rebounder at 6.1 per contest.

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. Currently he is on pace to break Ryan Nelson's (1998-01) career marks for three pointers this year or early next year, depending on how many more games the Pirates play. Young has made 248 three pointers, four shy of Nelson's career record. Young has attempted 603 three point shots, which now leads Nelson in that category. Young is averaging 2.8 three pointers made per game (which ranks third in the NWC), and 7.2 attempted this season. Young is the Pirates' second leading scorer this season, averaging 13.0 points per game. He only needs nine more points to become the 16th player in Whitworth history to score 1,000 career points.

Dishing the Ball: Bryan Williams (Jr., G, Colbert, Wash. - Mead) has set a career high for assists in a season. Williams has 139 assists this season, ranking second in the NWC at 5.6 assists per game. Last year he finished with 134 assists in 24 games, averaging 5.5 assists per game. 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 12.7 points per game, and has been the Pirate most successful at getting to the free throw line, where he is 99-117 (85%) this year. Kevin Hasenfus (Jr., P, Lodi, Calif. - San Joaquin Delta College) leads the Bucs in rebounding (6.9 per game) to go along with 12.3 points per game.

Don't Foul 'Em: Whitworth ranks second in the Northwest Conference, and fourth at the NCAA Division III level, in team free throw average. The Pirates have made 78.0% (397-509) of their attempts from the line this year.

Fab February: Since Jim Hayford took over as head coach of the Pirates in 2001-02, the Bucs are 28-7 (.800) in the month of February. After last weekend the Bucs are 4-0 this year.

Scouting the Bearcats: Willamette comes into Thursday's contest with a record of 17-7 overall and 13-3 in the NWC. It is Willamette's best conference record since the 1993-94 season when the Bearcats won the NCIC with a 10-2 mark. Willamette is also 16-3 this season against NCAA Division III opponents. The Bearcats rank first in the NWC in scoring defense (69.3 ppg), field goal percentage (51.1%), field goal percentage defense (42.7%) and three point percentage defense (31.0%). John Olinger is a strong All-NWC candidate this season, averaging 17.8 points, 3.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game, which all rank in the top five of the NWC statistics. Fellow guard C.J. Stuvland adds 15.3 points per game and makes 42% of his three pointers. Last weekend the Bearcats lost their chance at earning the NWC title by losing 93-68 at Puget Sound on Friday. Willamette bounced back to win at George Fox 79-76 on Saturday. Whitworth has beaten the Bearcats twice this season, winning 80-58 at home on January 6th and 76-61 in Salem, Oregon on February 3rd. The Pirates hold a five game winning streak in the series.

Scouting the Loggers Puget Sound won its third straight NWC title be beating Willamette 93-68 on Friday and Linfield 105-67 on Saturday. Both games were at home. The Loggers are 20-4 overall this season and won the NWC with a 14-2 record. The only losses were at Willamette and at Whitworth. UPS is 10-1 at home this season. The Loggers lead the NWC in scoring offense (95.8 per game), scoring margin (+13.0 per game), steals (14.5 per game) and turnovers forced (27.5 per game). Senior guard Chase Curtiss is second in the NWC in scoring average (18.1 per game) and second in steals (2.1 per game). Senior post Zack McVey leads the NWC in field goal percentage (65.8%) and ranks sixth in scoring average (15.9) and rebounding average (6.6). The Loggers and Pirates split their meetings this season. UPS won a 106-105 decision in Tacoma on January 13th as the Loggers gave up an 18-point first half lead, but the Pirates gave back a late five point edge. Whitworth won 98-74 in Spokane on February 10th, opening a 22-point halftime lead and never letting UPS make a run in the second half.

The Coach: Jim Hayford is in his fifth season at Whitworth and has a record of 92-34 (.730) 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 129-61 (.679).