PASADENA, Calif. -- Kevin Hasenfus made 13 out of 16 shots from the field to score a career high 29 points, leading Whitworth to an 81-72 win over Whittier at the Caltech Thanksgiving Classic.

Hasenfus scored 20 of his points in the second half as the Pirates (5-0) held off the Poets (1-1) after opening a 41-30 halftime lead. He had seven rebounds in the game.

Whitworth opened the large halftime lead by outshooting Whittier 48% to 34% in the first period and gaining a 22-14 rebounding advantage.

Jon Young scored 18 points for the Bucs, making 4 of 11 three point shots. Ryan Symes tallied 10 points and seven rebounds and Bryan Williams dished 11 assists.

Donovan White made 5 of 7 three pointers to lead Whittier with 19 points, while Jeff McLean had 17 points and eight rebounds.

The Poets got as close as five points in the second half on two occassions, the second with just over nine minutes left to get within 56-51. But Young answered with a three pointer and Hasenfus added an inside basket to push the lead back to 61-51.

Whitworth will finish its season-opening, six-games-in-eight-days stretch with a contest against Caltech on Sunday at 1:00 pm.