Drew Sears stands tall for Whitworth Pirates as basketball postseason looms

Drew Sears barely noticed last summer’s growth spurt.

But then, what’s another 2 inches to a 6-foot-10 basketball player who already must duck his head at every doorway?

“I just had to duck a little more,” said Sears, one of the few 7-foot centers in Division III basketball.

Sears is gaining stature as well as height, in this, his senior season at Whitworth. A major force on defense, he’s helped the fourth-ranked Pirates to another stellar season.

“That’s the reason I came here, to win a national championship,” said Sears, one of four senior starters on a team that’s 22-3 overall, 13-3 in the Northwest Conference and all but assured of a berth in the NCAA tournament.

The postseason begins Thursday night at the Whitworth Fieldhouse, where the Pirates will host Linfield in a NWC semifinal game. Win that and they’ll likely get another shot at unbeaten and second-ranked Whitman on Saturday.

Two days after that, the Division III field will be announced. Sears, Kenney Love, Christian Jurlina and Derek Isaak will try to make the most of their final playoff run.

“That’s for all the work us seniors have put into the program,” said Sears, who’s put in more toil than most.

The usual aches and pains of basketball are magnified with height. Sears is a regular in the trainer’s room, and he began the season on the sideline with a minor tibia injury.

“I’m probably the one who’s been injured the most,” said Sears, a Stanwood, Washington, product who also missed games this year due to an ankle sprain and a concussion.

At least he’s not suffering from asthma, which afflicted him last year until doctors discovered that it was caused by gastric reflux.

“It is frustrating sometimes, but I try to get some extra work before and after practice, and get back my rhythm, and my stamina,” Sears said.

“Right now I’m as healthy as I’ve ever been,” said Sears, who hopes to play professional in Europe next year.

Sears has managed to start 22 of the Pirates’ 25 games this season. His scoring average of 9.0 points ranks fourth on the team and he’s one of four players averaging about five rebounds.

Sears leads the Pirates with 44 offensive rebounds and 41 blocks.

“He’s been a force, especially on defense,” Whitworth coach Matt Logie said.

That will come in handy on Thursday against Linfield (15-10, 9-7), which Logie calls one of the best defensive teams in the conference.

A guy like Drew is hugely important against a team like Linfield,” said Logie, who added that “It’s going to come down to getting quality shots on offense.”

Whitworth swept the season series against the Wildcats, winning 87-81 in Spokane on Jan. 7 and 79-63 on Feb. 3 in McMinnville, Oregon.

A much tougher potentially looms on Saturday. Whitman (25-0) hosts George Fox in the other semifinal. Should both favorites win on Thursday, the Pirates will hit the road for a title game in Walla Walla for the third meeting of the year between the schools.

Whitman won the first meeting 79-65 in Walla Walla and took a 91-75 decision last month at the Fieldhouse.

However, history is Whitworth’s side: The Pirates have won the last 10 tournament championships; the Blues are NWC regular-season champions for the first time since 1987.

“They’re a lot better than they’ve been in the past,” Sears said. “We’ve pushed them we have also gotten better, our defense has gotten a lot better.”

No matter what happens this week, the Eastern Washington rivals could meet again in the NCAAs. The bracket will be announced Monday.

“To be in this position for our last run, it’s pretty cool,” Sears said.