Box Score

By Ben Zimmerman

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Evan Martin found himself alone with the ball at the top of the key, the gym at full roar, the Whitworth defense buckled by yet another flash of Tochi Ochi penetration, the go-ahead 3-pointer beckoning.

Whitman's starting center elevated and launched as the game clock ticked under seven seconds.

His shot circled the inside of the rim.

"It might have even touched the net," Martin said. "It felt good. It looked good.

"I'd shoot it again."

Unfortunately for Martin, 3-point fortune smiled on Whitworth -- as it had all night -- and the shot squirted out. The visiting Pirates, who made a scorching 62.5% of their 3-pointers, knocked down two free throws for a four-point lead, the final margin in Whitworth's 84-80 victory in a Northwest Conference men's basketball thriller on Tuesday at Sherwood Center.

The win temporarily bumped the Missionaries (10-6, 5-2 in conference) out of first place, installing their victorious rivals (12-4, 6-1) there on an interim basis.

"They hit 15 out of 24 (3-pointers)," said Martin, undaunted and grinning. "All we can do is keep contesting. We played a great game. We also played really good defense."

Indeed, Whitworth's long-range proficiency was all the more impressive considering that most of its makes came from well behind the arc, with Whitman hands in shooter's faces or Whitman bodies swarming into their airspace.

The Pirates hit their first five 3-pointers of the game in building a 19-11 lead, which Whitman later toppled thanks to the ongoing efforts of Martin (17 points, 15 rebouds), Oti (22 points, five steals), Philip Chircu (10 points), Matt Mounier (six assists, four steals) and a bevy of others.

But Whitworth's sizzling start was merely an omen of a more devastating sequence in the second half.

The Missionaries had used inside buckets by Martin sandwiched around a trey from Oti for a 7-0 run to open the second half, inflating their five-point halftime lead to 56-44.

Robby Douglas, Colton McCarger and Dustin McConnell each hit 3-pointers as Whitworth responded with a 10-0 run to tie it.

Then came the pivot-point of the game: A stretch from the 8:44 mark to the 6:35 mark that saw Whitworth bury 3-pointers on four consecutive possessions.

The Pirates made 8 of 11 3-pointers in the second half.

Whitman answered each make with points on its subsequent possessions, but trading 2s for 3s left the hosts at a deficit they'd never overcome.

Oti helped stoke belief inside the final minute, scoring on a floater in thick traffic and then making two free throws to pull the Missionaries within a bucket, down 82-80, with 58 seconds left to play. Whitman, which forced a shot clock violation between Oti's two scores, again dug in defensively and left Whitworth with just a desperate, off-balance 3-point attempt as the shot clock ran out.

It rimmed off, but the Pirates secured the rebound and drew a foul.

When McCorger (20 points, six rebounds) missed the front end of a one-and-one with 18.8 seconds left, Whitman had another chance. Oti carved into the lane with a crossover dribble and kicked the ball back out to Martin for his final shot, which looked and felt true but wouldn't fall.

"We've just got to focus on Lewis and Clark. That's our next game," Martin said. "We've still got (Whitworth) at their house, too."

Whitman will look for its sixth win in eight games when it welcomes Lewis and Clark to Sherwood Center at 8 p.m. Friday.