by Henry Miller | Staff Writer
In one of the highest scoring Pirate basketball games to date, the Whitworth Pirates 123-98 on the November 30th matchup between the 2018 NWC Champion Pirates and the third place Pacific Boxers. Whitworth’s backcourt of Senior Kyle Roach and Junior Ben College combined for 46 points in the Pirates win to improve to 5-1 on the season, 2-0 in conference matchups. The pirates had five players score in double figures Roach and College (who also added a career high 9 assists) along with Senior Ben Bishop, Junior Sam Lees, and Junior Jordan Lester.
Much of the Pirates success came from their terrific shooting night. The Bucs shot 68.5% from the field and 43.5% from three. “Obviously when you play against a pressing team you need to take care of the basketball and you will get good percentage shots,” said Whitworth head coach Matt Logie “We got a little sloppy late in the first half, but really tightened things up in the second half and played well.” The Pirates dominated in the paint as well grabbing 20 more rebounds than the Boxers. Whitworth’s high-octane offense produced 41 assists to Pacific’s 17.
The 123-point game for the Pirates tied a school record first set in the 80’s against Northwest College. Pacific’s intense full court press had presented other NWC with problems as the Boxers had one of the top-rated defenses in the conference. Coach Logie’s offense was able to break through and take of a defense spread the full length of the court.
The Pirates will look to extend their offensive dominance on December 8th against LaVerne at the Whitworth Fieldhouse. The Pirates will continue their play through Christmas break with games against D’Youville and Concordia College. They finish December with the D3hoops.com Classic in Las Vegas Nevada.