SPOKANE, Wash. — The No. 1 nationally ranked Whitworth Pirates, apparently still stinging from their first loss of the season on Tuesday at Whitman, took out their frustrations on visiting Pacific, handing the Boxers an 84-57 men's basketball loss on Saturday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

The Pirates, who will likely fall out of the top spot in the NCAA Division III rankings on Monday, improved to 20-1 on the season and to 11-1 in the Northwest Conference. The Boxers fell to 10-11 on the year and to 4-8 in league play.

Whitworth broke open the game early in the second half. In the first 20 minutes, Pacific held close, trailing by just one point with eight minutes left after a Bobby Ahern three-pointer (18-17). The Pirates then went on a 7-0 run for their largest lead of the first half at 28-20, but the Boxers closed back to within four points on a Skyler Burgess basket with 45 seconds remaining. One more Pirate basket gave the hosts a 32-26 lead at intermission.

But things came unraveled quickly for Pacific in the second half. The Pirates outscored them 8-2 in the first few minutes, taking a 40-28 lead on a steal and basket by Kenny Love. That set the momentum for the next 10 minutes as the Pirates outscored Pacific 30-11 during that stretch, pushing their lead to 64-37, effectively salting away the game.

Whitworth led by as many as 31 points in the second half. They shot 50 percent from the field, hit 18-of-21 free throws and had only eight turnovers on the night. Drew Sears led four players in double figures with 17 points and George Valle added 14.

Pacific was led by K.C. Harrison's 14 points. DeVon Pouncey added 11 and Ahern had 10. The Boxers hit just 38 percent of their shots, converted only 5-of-22 trey attempts and had 22 turnovers against the defending conference champions.

The Boxers will return home for the final time this season, hosting Pacific Lutheran on Friday night and Puget Sound on Saturday.