BOX SCORE

SPOKANE, Wash., - The Lewis & Clark men's basketball team will head into the Northwest Conference Tournament as the No. 4 seed after falling to Whitworth on Sunday afternoon in a key NWC match-up. The Pioneers battled strong against the Pirates but succumbed in the end by the final score of 83-78.

The Pioneers fall to 16-9 on the season and 10-6 in the NWC. The Pirates finish the regular season 20-5 overall and 12-4 in conference play.

Things got off to a quick start for the Pioneers who buried six three-pointers to jump to an early 21-7 lead with just seven minutes expired in the first half. Senior David Berggren provided 11 of the teams first 21 points. Berggren concluded his day with 19 points and four rebounds, while netting five of his seven three point attempts.

The Pirates would battle their way back into the game, going on a 19-2 run with 10:02 on the clock putting them up 37-32 advantage. The Pioneers did their best to narrow the gap, heading into the locker room down 46-44.

Senior Tyson Papenfuss would regain the lead for the Pioneers in the second half, netting a three-pointer seven minutes into the second period for a 57-53 Pioneer advantage. With six minutes left on the clock the Pioneers jumped to their largest lead of the period with two made free throws from Berggren for a 68-63 lead.

With 3:30 remaining in the game the Pirates would once again take control of the lead after going on an 8-0 run. Whitworth would increase their lead to 76-72 with 00:50 on the clock to help secure their win.
Papenfuss led the Pioneers with 21 points, while Berggren added 19. Drake Green was tied with Papenfuss for a team-high six rebounds.

The Pioneers return to the court for the first round of the NWC Tournament when they travel to Tacoma to face-off with NWC regular season champion and top-seeded Puget Sound at 8 p.m. on Thursday.