SPOKANE, Wash. -- Whitworth shot better than 60% from the field and needed every basket to hold off visiting Lewis & Clark 82-73 in a Northwest Conference men's basketball game on Saturday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

James Jones led the Pirates with 20 points

The Pirates, ranked 18th in the latest D3hoops.com top 25 poll, made 61.2% (30-49) of their shots from the field. It is the second time this season that Whitworth has shot above 60% from the floor in a game. The Bucs were 12-24 (50%) from three point range. But L&C was nearly as good, making 52% of its shots (27-52) and 13 of 29 three pointers to stay within range of Whitworth throughout the game.

Whitworth led early before the Pioneers used a 7-0 run to take a 15-10 lead in the first half with 12:48 to go. But the Pirates responded with seven straight of their own, including five by James Jones, to retake the lead. Whitworth eventually went to the locker room with a 38-33 advantage after point guard Bryan Williams fed center Kevin Hasenfus for a layup at the horn.

The Pirates quickly built their largest lead of the game (43-33) after Jones scored five straight to open the second half. L&C responded with seven straight points, including five from Thomas Tillery, to pull back within 43-40. The Pioneers eventually tied the game 57-57 after a three pointer by David Berggren with 11:01 to play. But after a timeout, Hasenfus scored inside and Whitworth followed with two more baskets, including a long three pointer by Jon Young. The Pioneers could never catch up again, but did pull within 72-70 with 3:36 to play after five straight points by Joey Toboni. Whitworth then tightened the defense to close the game on a 10-3 run. Colin Willemsen's three pointer with 1:34 to play gave the Bucs a comfortable 77-70 lead.

Jones scored 20 points, while Young added 17 to lead the Pirates. Both made four three pointers. Hasenfus fought inside for 16 points and Willemsen scored 13 off of the bench. Williams finished with seven assists.

Toboni led L&C with a game-high 27 points, while Berggren scored 12 and Tillery finished with 11. Mark Robiniwitz had seven rebounds for the Pioneers.

Whitworth is 9-0 overall and 2-0 in the NWC. The Pirates are off to their best start since 2002-03, when they began the season 12-0. Whitworth will play again at UC Santa Cruz on December 10th.

Lewis & Clark (5-3, 1-1) returns to action on Tuesday night at Evergreen State.