SPOKANE, Wash. -
Jander Cline led his team with 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds but it came in defeat as the Whitman College men's basketball team and Whitworth played to an exciting Northwest Conference Tournament championship game which ended with the Bucs taking home the title 81-75 on Saturday night at Whitworth Fieldhouse.
The game was the seventh straight meeting between Whitman and Whitworth in the championship game with the Bucs now claiming the past three titles. Jake Holtz was the star of the show for Whitworth with a game-high 32 points on 6-9 shooting from three while also grabbing 10 rebounds.
Jai Deshpande scored at team-high 17 points for the Blues (20-7) who never led in the second half but tied the game on back-to-back jumpers from Cline with 5:55 to play.
Sullivan Menard, who scored 21 points for the Bucs (19-8), countered Cline's run with a three pointer before Deshpande scored at the hoop to make it a one-point game with 4:38 remaining. Points then became tough to come by for the Blues as the Bucs went on a 6-0 run stopped only by an Isaiah Amato jumper with 58 seconds left. Alex Pape hit back-to-back jumpers down the stretch, the second to make it a two-point game with 28 seconds to play, but the Blues had to play the foul game as Whitworth sank its free throws to clinch the win.
Amato chipped in 12 points and Grant Hunt added 10 more for the Blues who trailed by seven points at halftime. Whitworth started the game strong, attacking the glass for several second chance points to take an early 9-4 lead. Whitman got it rolling with nine unanswered points capped by an Amato jumper. Deshpande's bucket pushed the lead to four points but the Bucs responded with an 11-0 run to take a 28-21 lead with 7:26 to play until the break.
Menard's three pointer extended the lead to eight as Whitworth looked on the verge to take a sizable lead into halftime. The Blues fired back though as Deshpande hit from distance then scored at the hoop to regain the lead for Whitman at 34-33. The Bucs recovered and snatched back the lead heading to the break.
Whitman now hopes the NCAA will look favorably and award the Blues an at-large bid when the field of 64 is announced on Monday.
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