Pirates sink Wells with 19 3-pointers

The Whitworth men’s basketball team found open shots all day and tied a school record with 19 3-pointers as the Pirates crushed visiting Wells College 84-43 on Monday. Coach Matt Logie said the team’s plan was to pound the ball inside to exploit Whitworth’s size advantage over Wells, but Pirates guards kept getting open and the shots kept falling. “I hope we see 60 percent 3-point shooting every night,” Logie said. “But I really felt our defense fueled our offense. “It led to a lot of confidence for our shooters.” The game was scheduled for noon to accommodate the Wells travel schedule. The Express (1-9) played Sunday at Whitman and lost 120-61. Wells, located in Aurora, New York, needed an early start to catch a flight later Monday out of Seattle. The contest was a rout from the start as Whitworth forced 18 turnovers, which the Pirates (7-2) converted into 25 points. In one sequence in the first half, 6-foot-8 senior Taylor Farnsworth (Mead) blocked two consecutive shots. That led to a fast break where Matt Staudacher then knocked down one of his four 3-pointers just before the buzzer to give the Pirates a 39-15 halftime lead. “That was a fun play,” Farnsworth said. “They tried to get to the rim and I was there.” Sophomore wing Christian Jurlina led the Pirates with 17 points and six rebounds. He started the game on fire, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers to give Whitworth an early lead. “The night before, I was forcing it too much,” said Jurlina, referring to the team’s 78-64 win Sunday over Marian, Wisconsin. “Today, I didn’t rush my shot. It’s obviously a big confidence booster.” Staudacher, a junior who transferred to Whitworth from Simon Fraser, scored 14 points. Sophomore guard Derek Isaak, who transferred in from Northwest Nazarene, scored 11; and sophomore forward Riley Moreen (Coeur d’Alene) went 3-of-3 from behind the arc and scored 10 points. “We didn’t know too much about (Wells), but we were trying to get the ball inside,” Staudacher said. “They tried to zone us out, but we have tons of zone busters.” Logie played his entire bench and said it was a “nice reward” for the players who often get very few minutes. “They do a great job in practice and are more than capable when they come into the game,” he said. “I thought the biggest thing was the quality of our ball movement. We passed it faster than they could rotate and our guys stepped up and made shots.” The Pirates have several days off before they open Northwest Conference play on Jan. 2 at Willamette. “It’s great to go into the holiday break on a high note,” Logie said. “We are excited about where we are and we are ready to attack the conference slate.”  Whitworth 84, Wells 43 Wells (1-9) — Jean 6-13 1-1 13, Feocco 4-10 0-0 8, Walton 1-3 0-3 2, Williams 0-4 0-0 0, Simmons 2-8 0-0 4, Bishop 2-3 0-0 6, Fabozzi 1-1 0-0 2, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Kaempffe 1- 0-0 2, Garcia 2-7 0-0 6, Alexander 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 19-53 1-4 43. Whitworth (7-2) — Jurlina 6-10 0-0 17, Valle 1-4 2-2 4, Farnsworth 1-1 -12 3, Brown 1-4 1-1 3, Staudacher 5-8 0-0 14, Love 0-1 0-0 0, Baker 1-2 0-0 3, Isaak 4-8 0-0 11, Thayer 2-6 0-0 5, Carter 3-4 0-0 8, Moreen 3-4 1-2 10, Sears 1-1 0-0 2, De Migel 0-1 0-0 0, Wilks 1-2 2-2 4, Nottinson-Nyaak 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 29-56 7-9 84. Halftime—Whitworth 39-15. 3-Point Goals—Wells 4-11 (Feocco 0-1, Simmons 0-3, Bishop 2-2, Garcia 2-5), Whitworth 19-31 (Jurlina 5-7, Brown 0-1, Staudacher 4-7, Baker 1-2, Isaak 3-6, Thayer 1-3, Carter 2-2, Moreen 3-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Wells 26 (Simmons 6), Whitworth 38 (Jurlina 6). Assists—Wells 9 (Walton 5), Whitworth 22 (Love 5). Total Fouls—Wells 9, Whitworth 10. Technicals—None. A—340.