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Tucker was perfect from the field and the line

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Jumping out to an early double digit lead, Whitworth College never let visiting Linfield College get into the game and went on to defeat the Wildcats 90-54 in a Northwest Conference men's basketball contest on Saturday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

The Pirates (13-6 overall, 7-3 NWC) opened their first ten point lead less than three minutes into the game when Jon Young connected on his second three pointer to give Whitworth a 12-2 advantage. A three pointer by George Tucker gave the Bucs a 23-10 margin later in the half before Linfield (5-13, 2-8) got within 23-16 on a basket by Ryan Monagle. But Whitworth responded with a 9-0 spurt, including six points by Kevin Hasenfus to retake control at 32-16. The Bucs went to the locker room with a 40-21 advantage.

After Brian Murphy opened the second half with a three pointer to pull the Wildcats within 16 points, Whitworth scored seven in a row to stretch the lead to 47-24. The Pirates never led by less than 20 points the rest of the way. Whitworth's largest lead of the game was 86-48 with just over two minutes to play.

Four Pirates scored in double figures, led by Lance Pecht, who had 18 points. George Tucker added 16 points with a perfect shooting night. He made all five of his shots from the field, including two three pointers, and was 4/4 from the free throw line. Young scored all of his 14 points in the first half, 12 of which came on three point baskets. Hasenfus finished with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Bryan Williams dished seven assists for the Bucs.

Murphy scored 13 points off of the bench to lead Linfield. Monagle finished with 11 points. Jackson Baber led the Wildcats with four rebounds off of the bench and Khaatim Smith had three assists.

Whitworth and Linfield will both be on the road next Friday night. The Wildcats will play at Pacific University, while Whitworth travels to Willamette University. Both games are scheduled to begin at 8:00 pm as part of double headers with the women's teams.