FOREST GROVE, Ore. -- (From Pacific Sports Information) For the second straight meeting, Whitworth and Pacific engaged in an exciting, closely contested battle. In the end, Ryan Symes led the Pirates to a 77-69 victory over the Boxers Friday in Northwest Conference men¹s basketball action at the Pacific Athletic Center.

Symes scored a season-high 27 points

Leading by only two at intermission, the No. 7 ranked Pirates (17-1, 8-1 NWC) shot 57 percent from the field in the second half behind a season-high 27-point performance by Ryan Symes, who scored 17 of the points after intermission. Whitworth built the difference late, leading by as much as 13 with two minutes left.

Donnie Harrison-Davis kept Pacific in the game, hitting 17 of his game-high 29 points in the second half. The Boxers (8-9, 4-5 NWC), however, shot only 41 percent from the field in the half and finished up shooting 46 percent (28-61) for the game. Joe Van Domelen was the only other Boxer in double figures, scoring 15 points while Ross Bartlett added nine points and a game-high eight rebounds.

The game could not have started closer with six lead changes and 10 ties over the first 20 minutes. Pacific never led by more than two, while Whitworth notched their biggest lead of six on a Bryan Williams¹ three-pointer with 6:43 to go. The Boxers answered right back with six unanswered points, culminating on Kyle Motta¹s lay-in for a 22-22 tie with five minutes left.

It would be Whitworth, however, taking the 32-30 lead into halftime thanks to a quick steal by Jon Young and lay-in by Williams with 30 seconds left.

The nip-and-tuck battle continued through the opening eight minutes in the second half. The Pirates built their lead to 43-38 on a Symes' free throw with 13 minutes left and made it a six-point advantage on Symes' lay-in.
Harrison-Davis responded with a three-pointer that cut the lead to three, 50-47, with 9:15 remaining.

But Williams answered with a three pointer that sparked a 16-6 run over the next six minutes, leading to a 13-point lead, 66-53, with two minutes left. Pacific found themselves forced to foul for profit and managed to come within six, 68-62, on a Harrison-Davis three-pointer with 1:27 left. In the end, however, Whitworth got the job done at the free throw line, making 11 of 16 in the final two minutes to keep the Boxers from coming any closer.

In addition to Symes' 27, Kevin Hasenfus added 15 points and eight boards, Williams connected for 14 points and seven assists, and Young added 13 points. The Pirates shot 50 percent (23-46) from the field and 25 of 34 from the free throw line. The Boxers found themselves only occasional visitors to the stripe, hitting 5 for 11. Pacific held a 33-31 edge in rebounding, including 16 offensive boards.

Pacific will look to snap their three-game losing streak on Saturday when they host Whitman. Whitworth heads east to face Lewis & Clark. Both games are scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m.