Spokane, Wash.– The Whitworth Pirates secured the 2026 Northwest Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament championship, pulling away from the Willamette Bearcats with the victory in a final score of 97-87.
Whitworth came out on fire and gave the Pirates a definitive lead in the first half of play. Stephen Behil put up 21 points in the first half of play, as well as 5 rebounds. The Pirates ended the half with a 14 point lead, with a score of 46-32 entering the second half of play.
Willamette battled in the first half, with Junior Davis Hester leading the scoring efforts (14) and rebounds (4). Teammate and NWC Player of the Year Tanner Overby followed close behind in the first half, scoring 10 points and collecting 3 rebounds.
Whitworth took their first half lead and ran with it to claim the tournament title, finishing with a ten point lead to claim the title. By the final buzzer, Stephen Behil had racked up an impressive 30 points on the evening, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. Caden Bateman had a sizzling second half collecting 23 points to finish off the evening.
The Bearcats finished out their season strong, with Davis Hester leading the charge in the second half collecting 27 points on the evening, and 5 rebounds. Fellow Bearcat Tanner Overby turned up the heat in the second half and contributed 26 points (total) and 4 steals to keep the Bearcats within scoring distance of the Pirates.
With the win, Whitworth advances to the NCAA Division III Tournament– they will learn their first-round opponent at 10am PST in the NCAA's Monday, March 2nd selection show. The selection show can be streamed at ncaa.com.