Box Score

FOREST GROVE – Three Pacific players each scored 16 points against the defending Northwest Conference champions Friday night, but the performances were not enough to hold back a torrent second half rally by Whitworth as the Pirates beat the Boxers 79-66 in men's basketball action at the Stoller Center.
 
Mitch Wettig (Sr., Bend, Ore.) led the way with his third double-double of the season, scoring 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds.  Skyler Burgess (Jr., Riverton, Utah) scored all of his 16 points in the first half while also pulling down eight rebounds.  Bobby Ahern (Jr., Madras, Ore.) also finished with 16 points, 12 of which came from the three-point line.
 
The Boxers (6-8, 1-4 NWC) shot 51.6 percent in the first half, but cooled to hit just 9 of 27 in the second half to finish shooting 43.1 percent from the field (25-58) and 11 of 15 from three-point range.
 
Whitworth (12-2, 5-0 NWC) won their 12th straight game by shooting 42.6 percent from the field (23-54), but surged to shoot 48 percent from the field in the second half, 5 of 8 from three-point range and 14 of 18 from the free throw line in the second half to score the Boxers 43-27.  The Pirates finished the night shooting 8 of 17 from three-point range and 25 of 31 from the free throw line.
 
Kenny Love led the Pirates with 25 points, making 6 of 11 from the field and 12 of 13 from three-point range.  Christian Jurlina and Matt Staudacher each added 10 points.
 
Pacific looked to make a statement early, building a 14-8 lead on Burgess' lay-in at the 14:10 mark of the first half.  Early foul trouble neutralized some of Pacific's scoring threats, and the Pirates came back to tie it at 22-22 on Love's three-pointer with 8:36 left. 
 
The Pirates eventually built a 32-29 lead on Love's lay-in with 4:55 left, but the Boxers went on a 7-0 run over the next two minutes, culminating on a pair of Burgess free throws with 3:04 left for a 36-32 Pacific advantage.  Ekow Nottinson-Nyaaku tied the game again when his two free throws made it 36-36, but Wettig responded with a three-pointer to give the Boxers a 39-36 halftime lead.
 
Both teams continued to play tight to open the second half with five ties and seven lead changes over the first 10 minutes of the stanza.  In the final 10, though, Whitworth hit their stride while the Boxers appear to run out of steam.  George Valle's free throws with 10:58 left opened a 23-8 Pirates' run, with a Taylor Farnsworth free throw with 2:58 left giving the Pirates their largest lead of 15 points, 76-61.
 
The game marked just the second time this season that Pacific has not won after having a lead at halftime while Whitworth won for the first time this season after trailing at intermission.
 
Pacific is right back on the home floor tomorrow night, hosting Whitman at 6 p.m.  Live audio and video webcasts of the game will be available at GoBoxers.com.  Whitworth travels south to take on George Fox.