WALLA WALLA, Wash. – (From Whitman Sports Information Office) Winning its sixth straight game, Whitworth University outscored Whitman College 85-68 Tuesday night in Sherwood Center to take sole possession of first place in the Northwest Conference men's basketball standings.

Willemsen posted his sixth double-double

Now 12-3 on the season, Whitworth improved to 6-1 in the NWC, dropping idle Puget Sound (5-1, 12-2) into second place. Whitman slipped to 3-11 overall and 0-7 in conference.

Chris Faidley's two free throws with 5:32 left in the first half gave Whitman a 29-26 lead, but Whitworth responded with two 3-pointers by David Riley and one by Ross Nakamura to jump in front 39-33 at intermission. Three more long balls to open the second half, two by Ryan Symes and one by Tim Sellereit, doubled the Pirate lead to 12 points.

Graham Brewer's 3-pointer cut Whitman's deficit to nine points, 50-41, with 17:08 left to play, but Colin Willemden's jumper pushed Whitworth's lead back into double digits, where it stayed for the rest of the night. The Pirates hit 59.3 percent of their shots in the second half and led by as many as 26 points.

Willemsen posted his sixth double-double of the season, tied for the lead in the NWC, with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Nakamura and Symes scored 15 points apiece while Riley had 10. With Nakamura making five of eight shots from the 3-point stripe, Whitworth was 13 of 23 from long range.

Faidley led Whitman with 18 points and six rebounds. Jordan Wheeler drilled all three of his 3-point attempts and finished with 13 points. Garth Brandal, the lone senior on Whitman's roster, chipped in with 11 points and Brendan Ziegler tallied 10 off the Missionary bench.

Whitman stays at home Friday for an 8 p.m. NWC game with George Fox. Whitworth then hosts George Fox at the same Saturday in Spokane.