Whitworth A Game Short Albertson Wins Naia Title In Ot

After the Whitworth Pirates won the Northwest Conference tournament, Pirates senior co-captain Nate Dunham mistakenly said the Pirates needed four more wins to complete the 1995-96 “Redemption Tour.”

At the time, Dunham was one game short in his assessment of what it would take for the Pirates to win the NAIA Division II national title.

And on Tuesday night, so were the Pirates.

Albertson College prevented Whitworth from getting its fifth win of the tournament and first national basketball title by defeating the Pirates 81-72 in overtime at Northwest Nazarene’s Montgomery Fieldhouse.

“It’s the hardest thing in the world to be that close and not get it,” said Whitworth coach Warren Friedrichs, named NAIA Division II coach of the year.

In front of a sellout crowd of 4,000-plus and a national television audience, the Pirates (26-5), as they had in a semifinal win against William Jewell College the previous night, rallied from late deficits of as many as eight points - this time tying the game 61-61 at the end of regulation.

But as he’d done for the Coyotes (31-3) of Caldwell, Idaho, several times in the second half, tournament most valuable player Damon Archibald made key play after key play, ultimately shattering Whitworth’s dream of taking a title back to Spokane.

Archibald erupted for 23 second-half points, 15 from 3-point range, and almost single-handedly carried Albertson to victory. He finished with 29 points.

“They hit some big shots on us,” said Whitworth’s Dunham, one of four Pirates selected to the 10-member all-tournament team. “Archibald hit some huge 3s.”

Archibald’s biggest 3 gave Albertson the lead for good in overtime, 66-63. From about 25 feet out, Archibald hit nothing but net.

On Whitworth’s next possession, Dunham missed a shot, and then Albertson’s Jimmy Kolyszko scored to make it 68-63. The Pirates’ next possession ended when Roman Wickers, selected to the all-tournament team with teammates Dunham, Nate Williams and Gabe Jones, had his shot blocked in the lane by Albertson center Jared Klassen.

Dunham eventually hit two free throws to cut the lead to 68-65 with 2:14 left, but Albertson’s Todd Williams immediately scored to give the Coyotes a 70-65 lead that was never threatened.

Wickers and point guard Williams missed 3-point attempts on the Pirates’ next two possessions, and Albertson was home free.

Whitworth led briefly in overtime, holding a 63-61 edge on two free throws by Jones.

“I thought if we could get the lead in overtime, then we’d be in good shape,” Friedrichs said. “But we had a couple of turnovers and they just hit some big shots.”

Whitworth also hit its share of big shots.

Trailing 40-32 after going scoreless over the first 7:21 of the second half, Whitworth’s John Beckman hit two 3-pointers to help cut the deficit to 48-44.

Trailing 58-52 with 1:51 left, Dunham and Williams hit back-to-back 3s to tie the game at 58-58.

Then, on Albertson’s next possession, Archibald calmly launched a 30-footer straight away to give the Coyotes a 61-58 lead with 34 seconds left.

Williams matched Archibald’s bomb with a 25-foot rocket from the right baseline to tie the score at 61-61 with 16.3 seconds left. After a timeout, Albertson set up for a last shot. But in coming off a screen, Archibald lost the ball out of bounds with 8.2 seconds left.

Whitworth set up for a last shot, and Williams drove the left side of the basket between a couple of Coyotes, but his shot attempt wasn’t close, and the teams went to OT.

Albertson 81, Whitworth 72 (OT)

Albertson (31-3) - Kolyszko 4-9 0-2 8, Archibald 10-23 4-4 29, Klassen 6-10 8-10 20, T.Williams 5-14 3-4 14, Ebright 2-6 3-4 7, Miller 0-3 0-0 0, Kramer 1-5 0-0 3, Hay 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-71 18-24 81.

Whitworth (26-5) - Jones 1-6 2-2 5, Arkills 0-1 0-0 0, Dunham 6-14 2-2 15, N.Williams 7-15 3-4 19, Wickers 5-18 0-0 13, Mix 3-3 1-2 7, Beckman 4-6 2-3 13. Totals 26-63 10-13 72.

Halftime - Whitworth 30, Albertson 27. Regulation - Whitworth 61, Albertson 61. 3-Point goals - Albertson 7-19 (Archibald 5-8, T.Williams 1-2, Kramer 1-2, Ebright 0-1, Smith 0-1, Kolyszko 0-2, Miller 0-3), Whitworth 10-30 (Beckman 3-5, Wickers 3-12, N.Williams 2-6, Dunham 1-1, Jones 1-6). Fouled out - None. Rebounds - Albertson 43 (Kolyszko 19), Whitworth 42 (Dunham 9). Assists - Albertson 10 (T.Williams 4), Whitworth 11 (N.Williams 5). Total fouls - Albertson 16, Whitworth 19. Technicals - None. A - NA.

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