SALEM, ORE. -- Senior guard Terrell Malley (Portland, OR/Roosevelt HS) scored 31 points in his final basketball game for Willamette University, but nationally ranked Whitworth University placed all five starters in double figures to defeat the Bearcats, 86-67, on Saturday, Feb. 16 at Cone Field House. Whitworth, ranked #12 in the D3hoops.com Top 25, improved to 22-3 overall, 14-2 in the NWC.
The Pirates won the NWC regular season title and are the top seed for the four-team NWC Tournament. Whitworth will host Lewis & Clark College in the semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 21. Game time in Spokane, Wash., will be 7 p.m. (PST).
Willamette concluded its season at 7-18 overall, 4-12 in the NWC.
Malley was 11 of 21 for Willamette and sank three 3-point shots. He finished the game just one point away from his career-high of 32 points, set against Pacific University on Jan. 25, 2013. He concluded his Willamette basketball career with 1,242 points.
Elliot Babcock-Krenk (Sr., Wing, Lake Oswego, OR/Lake Oswego HS/Humboldt State Univ.) of Willamette scored 11 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Oliver Hughes (Sr., Wing, Salt Lake City, UT/Judge Memorial HS) hauled down five boards, while Trevor Bos (Jr., G, Lakewood, CA/St. John Bosco HS) supplied the Bearcats with four assists.
It was Senior Night for the Bearcats and all five seniors -- Malley, Babcock-Krenk, Hughes, Sean Dart (Sr., Post, Bend, OR/Mountain View HS/Eastern Oregon Univ.) and Leo Abello (Sr., G, Anchorage, AL/East Anchorage HS) -- were honored prior to tipoff. The seniors all started the game for the Bearcats.
Dart set Willamette's career field goal percentage record. He put in 287 of 461 shots in three seasons with the Bearcats for 62.2% accuracy. He broke the previous record of 61.5%, set by Mike Gibson (262 of 426) from 1979-81.The Pirates were paced by Colton McCargar, who sank 7 of 10 field goals, including 3 of 5 three-pointers, on his way to 20 points. Dustin McConnell tacked on 15 points, was 6 of 10 from the field, and led all players with six assists.
Also reaching double digits for Whitworth were Mack Larkin and Taylor Farnsworth with 12 points each, plus George Valle with 10 points.
The Pirates connected on 31 of 59 shots (52.5%), while hitting 6 of 18 three-pointers and converting 18 of 22 free throws (81.8%). Whitworth achieved a 33-29 rebounding edge and committed just nine turnovers, while forcing 13 turnovers by the Bearcats.
Whitworth scored eight of the first nine points and led 20-6 with 11:21 remaining in the first half. The Bearcats pulled within 24-14 on a 3-pointer by Malley with 9:03 on the clock, but the Pirates tallied the seven of the next eight points on a 3-pointer by McCargar and two baskets by Larkin.
Seven points in a row by the Bearcats cut Whitworth's lead to nine, 31-22 at the 4:03 mark, but Willamette was unable to continue the rally. Even so, the Bearcats had stabilized the game after the early going and remained within striking distance despite a 36-24 halftime deficit.
A 7-2 run by Whitworth in the first 1:25 of the second half increased the lead to 43-26. Willamette eventually reduced the margin to 55-35 on a layup by Dart with 15:05 remaining, but the Pirates held a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
Terrell Malley scored 31 points against the Pirates to conclude his career with 1,242 points.
