PORTLAND, Ore. -- In a 90-83 upset win over Whitman, the Lewis & Clark Pioneers ended the Blues' Northwest Conference record of 67 straight regular-season wins Saturday night at Pamplin Sports Center. The loss leaves the Blues (16-5, 11-1 NWC) tied with Whitworth at the top of the NWC standings. 

The Pios traded the lead with the Blues through the final minutes of the first half, but established the lead they would never lose with 2:15 to play off of free throws from Brenden Patrick. Daelon Floyd followed with back-to-back buckets, and Zeke Crawford put the Pios up by six at the break. The Pioneers never gave up the lead in the second half, despite a Blues' rally that tied the game at 12:09.

Patrick was the high scorer of the night with 24 for the Pios. He sunk 12-15 free throws, five of which came in the final 37 seconds of the game and helped clinch the win for Lewis & Clark. Crawford went 8-10 from the field for 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for another double-double on the season. Smith was the third player to reach double-figures with 16, hitting 3-4 from the deep and adding a team-high six assists. 

Floyd, Nick Lombardi and Kody Kennedy all contributed eight points each.

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Key Moments

The Pioneers (9-12,5-7 NWC) pushed ahead in the first half, with Crawford opening the game on a layup. Whitman trailed through the first 10 minutes, finally tying the game at the midway point and taking the lead for the first time on back-to-back shots from Duckett at 7:19. Smith's answering 3-pointer took it back for the Pios and the teams traded the lead six times through the final five minutes of the half. The Pios closed the half on a 10-1 run and went into the break 43-37.

Lewis & Clark stayed steady through the second, jumping ahead of the Blues by as many as 13 points in the first five minutes. Buckets from Darne Duckett and Jaron Kirkley plus a big three-pointer from Trevor Osborne were part of a 14-1 rally to tie up the game at 56-56 with 12:09 to play. Kennedy kept the Blues at bay with a jump shot and was followed up by a key 3-pointer from Christian Pitcher.

Seven of Lombardi's eight points came between 11:06 and 6:31 where he was key in helping the Pios to push back out to a 10-point lead. He shot 3-8 from the field and went 2-4 from the free-throw line, sinking a foul shot with 19 seconds left in play to give the Pios a seven-point advantage.

With 3:12 to play, Andrew Vickers hit a jump shot that brought the Blues to a three point deficit. Patrick answered with a 3-pointer and was followed by a Crawford layup to keep the Pios up by two baskets as the game entered its final minute. Patrick hit five of his 12 made free throws in the last 37 seconds of play, with Lombardi and Kennedy adding one each as time ran out on the Blues.

Deeper Look

• The Pioneers shot their best 3-point percentage of the season, hitting 8-14 for 51.7 percent
• This is the first Pios victory over Whitman since 2015
• Patrick's 24 points is a new career-high for the freshman
• Ryan Cibull and Matt Brown combined for five points
• Smith matched his second-highest six assists in a game

Looking Ahead

The Pioneers head to Tacoma on Friday to play Puget Sound at 8 p.m., before hosting Linfield at home on Saturday at 6 p.m.