Whitworth holds off George Fox 92-87 to win Northwest Conference regular-season title

The Whitworth men’s basketball team captured the Northwest Conference regular-season title with a 92-87 win over George Fox on Saturday at Whitworth Fieldhouse.

The Pirates (21-2, 12-2 NWC) were paced by Jake Holtz’s 22 points. Garrett Long added 17.

The Bruins (11-12, 7-7) were in contention the whole way.

George Fox pulled within one point with 2:43 remaining on Momo Stokes’ layup, but the Bruins didn’t score again.

The next basket came on a 3-pointer from Whitworth’s Ben Nyquist with 18 seconds left.

Whitworth won’t have to worry about the result of its last two regular-season games at Whitman and Linfield on Tuesday and Saturday, respectively.

The Pirates will host the NWC Tournament on Feb. 28 and March 1, looking to win the tournament for a fourth straight season.