REDLANDS, Calif. -- Relying on dominating big men inside, 15th-ranked Whitworth rebounded from its first loss of the season to crush UC Santa Cruz 90-58 in the third place game at the 61st annual Lee Fulmer Classic, hosted by the University of Redlands.
Nate Montgomery (Jr., P, Sammamish, Wash.) led all players in scoring (24 points) and rebounding (10) for the Pirates (6-1), while Calvin Jurich (Sr., P, Spokane, Wash.) added 22 points, nine boards and a game-high eight assists. Felix Friedt (Fr., P, Dusseldorf, Germany) came off of the bench to score 17 points down low. David Riley (So., G, Palo Alto, Calif.) finished with 13 points. Whitworth jumped to a 15-4 lead and never trailed against the Banana Slugs (3-7). Montgomery and Jurich combined to score the first 13 points of the game for the Bucs. Whitworth extended its lead to as many as 27 points (44-17) in the first half after a three-point play by Montgomery. The Pirates led 46-24 at halftime. Whitworth cruised through the second half, never leading by any less than 21 points and extending the lead to as many as 34 points late in the game. Niel Brennan scored 15 points for UCSC and Ryan Matsuoka added 14 points for the Banana Slugs, who shot 35.8% (19/53) from the field and only 10.5% (2/19) from three-point range. Whitworth made 51.7% of its shots from the field, despite a poor shooting performance from three-point range (3/15, 20%). The Pirates dominated the glass, outrebounding UCSC 47-26, including a 14-6 edge in offensive rebounds. Whitworth does not play another official game until December 28th when the Pirates host the Ameriprise Classic in Burlingame, California. But Whitworth will take on its alumni next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in the Whitworth Fieldhouse. An home exhibition game against Red Deer College (Alberta, Canada) follows on December 16th at 8:00 p.m. Go to Athletics Home Page > Men's Basketball > Sports Releases > |
