Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. - A triple-double by Calvin Jurich and a sizzling .640 percentage from three-point range were more than enough for the Whitworth University Pirates as they handed the visiting George Fox University Bruins a 94-60 thumping in the Northwest Conference men's basketball opener for both teams Friday night here at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

The Pirates, ranked 19th in the latest D3hoops.com national poll and the pre-season favorite to win the NWC according to the coaches' poll, struck quickly as Bo Gregg drained a three-pointer 16 seconds into the game for a 3-0 Whitworth lead.  The Bruins came back to tie the game 7-7 on a Travis Toedtemeier three and took their only lead of the game moments later on a layup by Alex Stockner, making it 9-7 Bruins with 16:28 left in the half.  The Pirates countered with a trey by Nate Montgomery for a 10-9 lead at 15:53, and the home team never trailed again.

The Bruins were still within two at 25-23 after Dan Lingenfelder nailed a three with 5:55 left, but the Pirates exploded with 14 unanswered points over the next three minutes to go up 39-23.  A layup by the Bruins' Evan Atwater ended the streak, but a 10-3 run thereafter gave the Pirates an insurmountable 49-28 lead at the break.

Whitworth opened the second half with a 12-3 run, capped by another three from Gregg, to take a 30-point lead of 61-31 with 16 minutes left to play, and the Pirates kept an advantage of between 25 and 36 points the rest of the way.  The Pirates' largest lead came with 2:49 left when Andreas Samus hit a trey to make it 90-54.  Whitworth sank 10-13 three-pointers in the second half, a torrid .769 percentage.

Stockner paced the Bruins with 14 points, Atwater added 11, and Grant Vahalla scored a career-high 10.  The Bruins shot only .362 (22-61) from the field, including .182 (4-22) from three-point range.  Stockner and Toedtemeier had six rebounds each, and Jack Martin passed out eight assists.  Lingenfelder made three steals.

Jurich finished with 16 points and career highs of 14 rebounds and 10 assists en route to his big game for the Pirates. Montgomery led all scorers with 19 points, all in the first half, while Gregg added 15, all on threes, and David Riley scored 10.  The Pirates were 33-66 from the floor (.500), including 16-25 from beyond the arc, one short of the team record. 

George Fox (4-6, NWC 0-1) visits Whitman College while Whitworth (9-1, NWC 1-0) entertains Pacific University Saturday in conference action at 8:00 p.m.  Both games will be preceded by NWC women's games at 6:00 p.m.