The Whitworth men’s basketball split a pair of games this weekend in St. Louis, Mo., at the Lopata Classic held at Washington University.
Friday evening’s game against Pomona-Pitzer College saw major swings in momentum throughout the game, which ended up as the second loss for the Bucs.
Despite the fact that the Pirates came out strong, the Sagehens were able to regain composure throughout the game and gained enough momentum to finish on top.
Senior guard Eric Beal got off on the right foot for Whitworth, draining two three-point shots in the first few minutes of play.
This pattern of threes did not continue for the Bucs however, as they shot a total of five for 31 from beyond the arc.
Beal showed up again as the teams neared the halftime break, however the five points he scored in the last minute were not enough as the score had swung in the Sagehens direction, 33-28.
Whitworth’s scoring struggles remained into the second half. They obtained the lead only once at 45-42.
The Sagehens came right back with a trio of threes that put them back in the lead.
The Bucs came within one point with only seconds remaining.
Beal was given the final opportunity for a shot that bounced off the rim, then the glass and back off the rim, before finally falling out.
The final score was 55-54.
At 30.5 percent shooting on the night, the Pirates have only had a worse shooting average once during the nine- year tenure with head coach Jim Hayford, coming in the opening game of the 2004-2005 season at 26 percent.
Saturday night the Bucs took the court against McKendree University.
Although the score of 72-69 does not speak much in Pirate favor, the stats read much stronger on the Pirate end of things.
Sophomore guard Jordan Call came off the bench to lead the team with 16 points, his career high.
The Pirates never gave McKendree control of the game and only gave them the pleasure of a tie once in the second half.
Foul trouble was an issue for Whitworth as they were whistled 33 times.
Call’s 16 points were closely followed by junior forward David Riley’s 15 points and Beal’s 12.
The Pirates are now 2-2 on the season.
The men play next at home against UC Santa Cruz on Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. in the Fieldhouse.
Contact David Rurik at david.rurik@whitworthian.com.
Pirates fight to the buzzer
Published: Monday, December 7, 2009
Updated: Monday, December 7, 2009
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