by Connor Soudani
The Whitworth men’s basketball team picked up its first win of the season last Friday against Mary Hardin Baylor. After hanging on to a 26-24 lead at the half, the Pirates pulled ahead by 10 to make it 62-52 with 3:23 left in the game, and never looked back. While Crusaders made a few runs towards the end, Whitworth never let them get closer than five as they finished with the final score 70-61.
Junior Dustin McConnell was the leading scorer for Whitworth, putting up a career-high 18 points, including a number of pivotal free throws down the stretch. Junior Colton McCargar also had a crucial outing hitting a number of 3-pointers to finish with 13. Senior Mack Larkin and freshman George Valle had strong performances as well, both finishing with 12.
Whitworth improved its free throw performance after, shooting 15-23 against St. Thomas and 11-16 against Idaho State. Free throws were not a problem for the Pirates this time around, shooting 13-15 from the line.
The Whitworth men will play Montana Tech on November 28th in its first road game of the regular season.
Contact Connor Soudani at csoudani16@my.whitworth.edu.