The Northwest Conference has no more undefeated men's basketball teams.
Pacific made sure of that, knocking off Whitworth 89-74 Friday night inside the Stoller Center.
The Boxers raced out to a 16-6 lead against the Pirates, who entered the matchup a perfect 8-0 in the NWC. Pacific, who led 43-34 at halftime, never trailed in the second half, extending its lead to as many as 20 points.
The win snapped an 11-game losing streak against Whitworth. Pacific's last victory against the Pirates came on January 6, 2017.
"Kudos to our defense," Pacific head coach
Justin Lunt said. "We had a good game plan going in. I thought our guys did a really good job of executing the game plan."
The game plan started with slowing down and disrupting Whitworth guard Jojo Anderson, who finished with 10 points and four assists.
"Jojo is so talented and such a great player and we really just wanted to limit his touches early on and not let him run their offense," Lunt said.
Lucas Winkler had 28 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and three steals to lead the Boxers.
"
Lucas Winkler is playing like not only the best player in the conference but one of the best players in the country," Lunt said. "He's been very aggressive offensively."
Jake Blazona added a season-high 21 points along with five rebounds.
Devin Fortune finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.
The Boxers shot 55.2 percent from the field overall and 56.3 percent from behind the 3-point arc, making 9 of 16 attempts.
"I'm just proud of our guys for executing and believing in each other," Lunt said. "It was a great gutsy win."
Pacific improved to 10-8 overall and 4-5 in the NWC.
Next, the Boxers host Whitman (13-5, 7-2) Saturday at 6 p.m. back inside the Stoller Center.
"We've got a big one tomorrow," Lunt said. "We're getting better as a team. Our whole goal is to be playing our best basketball at this time and hopefully keep it rolling. It's a huge weekend."
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