Complete box score

SALEM, Ore. – Despite missing five straight free throws in the final minutes, Calvin Jurich’s block of a put-back attempt in the final seconds allowed visiting Whitworth to hold on for an important 69-68 Northwest Conference men’s basketball victory over Willamette on Friday night at Cone Field House.

Calvin Jurich

The 15th-ranked Pirates came back from a 12-point first half deficit to improve to 11-1 overall and 3-0 in the NWC, while the Bearcats fell to 6-4, 2-1 and saw their six-game winning streak come to an end.

With the game tied 60-60 with just over six minutes to play, the Pirates appeared to take control with a 7-0 run capped by Ross Nakamura’s (Sr., G, Moraga, Calif.) three-pointer with 3:22 left. When Nakamura was fouled by Willamette star Cameron Mitchell seconds later, Mitchell had fouled out of the game and Whitworth seemed on the verge of clinching the win. But Nakamura missed the front end of a one-and-one, starting the Bucs’ struggles from the free throw line.

After a pair of Willamette free throws, Nate Montgomery (Jr., P, Sammamish, Wash.) hit a lay-up with 1:16 to play to give Whitworth its final points of the game. Kyler McClary answered with a three-pointer to cut the lead to 69-65 and Bo Gregg (Jr., F, Lewiston, Idaho) missed a pair of free throws for the Pirates. With 40 seconds left Josh Erickson buried another three for the Bearcats to pull them within 69-68. Nakamura then missed two free shots for Whitworth, allowing Willamette to work for the final game-winning shot.

After the ball went off Whitworth out of bounds with seven seconds left, Willamette worked the ball to Erickson in the corner. His three missed and the rebound put-back attempt by Nick Babij was blocked by Jurich. McClary and Nakamura fought for the rebound as time expired.

The Pirates fell behind from the first tip when Corey Costantino hit a three-pointer on the Bearcats’ first possession. Willamette went up 21-10 on a lay up by Costantino and took a 30-18 lead on a three-point play by Scott Schoettgen with just under seven minutes to play. But Whitworth outscored the Bearcats 17-4 over the rest of the half to take a 35-34 lead into the break. Nakamura’s three-pointer cut the lead to five and Tim Sellereit’s (Sr., G, Bellingham, Wash.) trey pulled the Bucs within one. Montgomery’s put-back basket gave Whitworth its first lead of the game.

David Riley

Whitworth held Willamette to only 29.6% (8-27) shooting in the second half, but the Bearcats managed to make 5-11 three-pointers to stay in the game.

David Riley (So., G, Palo Alto, Calif.) led Whitworth with 17 points, while Nakamura hit four threes to finish with 14 points. Montgomery had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds and Gregg finished with 11 points.

McClary led all players with 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Bearcats, almost making up the difference for Mitchell’s struggles. The NWC’s leading scorer and rebounder, Mitchell finished with nine points and six rebounds after struggling with foul trouble all game. Marcus Holmes came off of the bench to add 14 points for the Bearcats.

Whitworth will continue its Oregon trip with a game at Linfield on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.