SPOKANE, Wash. -- Whitworth College used its considerable advantage inside to bounce back from its first loss of 2006-07 with an 80-56 Northwest Conference men's basketball win over visiting Pacific Lutheran on Saturday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

Hasenfus had 14 points and 13 rebounds

Whitworth forwards Ryan Symes and Colin Willemsen, along with center Kevin Hasenfus, combined for 52 of the Pirates' points. The trio made 21 of their 32 shots from the floor and grabbed 23 rebounds. Hasenfus finished with a double-double of 14 points and 13 boards, while Symes scored 23 for the second straight night. Willemsen added 15 points and seven rebounds. Pirate point guard Bryan Williams, who leads NCAA Division III in assists, dished eight tonight to go along with eight points.

Josh Dressler did his best to keep the Lutes in the game with 19 points on 7 of 10 shooting. Jared Brandeberry added 10 points and a team high five boards.

The Pirates, who lead the nation in field goal percentage, made 57.4% of their shots, including 60% (15 of 25) in the second half as they steadily pulled away from the Lutes behind their three big men.

After the Lutes opened a 19-14 lead on a three pointer by Gabe Smith with 11:27 to go in the first half, Whitworth went on a 21-4 run to grab a 36-23 advantage with six minutes to go in the half. Symes and Hasenfus combined for 15 of the points. The Pirates eventually took a 41-30 lead to the locker room.

PLU got within 45-39 after a three pointer by Brandeberry almost four minutes into the second half, but Willemsen scored inside to key a quick 6-0 run. PLU was still within 59-50 with 10:23 to play before Whitworth closed the game on a 21-6 scoring run. Symes, Willemsen and Hasenfus combined for nine straight points to put the Bucs ahead 68-50 with 5:22 to go.

Whitworth improved to 14-1 overall and 5-1 in the NWC, remaining tied with Puget Sound for first place in the conference standings. Pacific Lutheran fell to 6-7 and 3-3 after splitting its Eastern Washington road trip.

Whitworth will host Whitman on Tuesday night at 8:00 pm, while PLU will return home to host George Fox next Friday.