Pirates Go To The Posts To Push Away Pesky Pacific Squad
Box Score
SPOKANE, Wash. – Pacific provided a tough fight to No. 10 ranked Whitworth Friday night, but the post presence of the Pirates proved too much in a hard-fought 65-55 loss for the Boxers in Northwest Conference men's basketball action at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.
Posts Felix Friedt and Michael Taylor combined for 33 points and 15 rebounds on the night to lead the Pirates (12-2, 5-0 NWC) to the victory. Freidt put together a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead Whitworth.
Colin Wester (Jr., Sherwood, Ore.) led Pacific with 20 points to go along with six rebounds.
Charles Mosley (Jr., Hillsboro, Ore.) added 12 points. The Boxers (8-6, 2-3 NWC) shot 41.2 percent from the field (21-51) and went 8 of 11 from the free throw line.
The Boxers made Whitworth work hard for the victory. Pacific threw a variety of zones at the Bucs and Whitworth struggled to its lowest three-point shooting percentage (20 percent, 5-20) of the season.
Every Whitworth surge was followed by Pacific clawing back. In the first half the Pirates opened a 20-13 lead on an inside basket by Friedt, then built the advantage to 25-16 on a jumper by Wade Gebbers. But the Boxers got back to within 29-24 at halftime on a three-pointer by Wester.
Pacific continued the momentum in the early going of the second half, pulling to within 29-28 when Wester stole the ball and fed
Charles Mosley for a layup. The Pirates surged out to their first double-digit lead (47-37) on Gebbers' three-pointer. After the Boxers got back within 47-41, Whitworth opened a 59-45 lead on Friedt's jumper with 6:19 to play. But Pacific had one more run of its own.
Trailing 61-47 with just over four minutes left, the Boxers got back to within 61-55 when Mosley scored inside with 1:29 to go. They had a chance to get even closer, but Taylor rebounded a missed three-pointer by
David Berney (Jr., Eugene, Ore.) and made both free throws to end the skid.
Pacific wraps up their eastern Washington road swing on Saturday, traveling south to face Whitman. Whitworth will play host to Linfield.
Whitworth Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information Steve Flegel contributed to this report.
