PORTLAND, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College men's basketball went toe-to-toe with Northwest Conference league leaders #16 Whitworth University for the second time this season, but the Pirates escaped a rowdy Pamplin Gymnasium with a second-straight, one-possession win. 

THE BASICS
#16 Whitworth 74, Lewis & Clark 71
(Lewis & Clark 10-10, Northwest Conference 6-5) 
(Whitworth 18-2, Northwest Conference 9-2) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
In a game in which Whitworth led for the majority of the game, Lewis & Clark consistently clawed their way back and shaved the deficit to zero or one on four occasions in the second half but never could fully get over the hump. 
 
Senior Mikey Medlock Jr. led five Pioneers in double-figures with 14 points on 5-11 shooting. Medlock Jr. scored a team-high nine points in the second half. 
 
First year Jake Rodriguez and junior Kody Uyesugi each finished with 12 points apiece. Rodriguez was relentless in driving to the hoop (6-8 from the field), while Uyesgui tied for the team-high with two made 3-pointers (2-4). 
 
Senior Nate Berg added 11 points, including back-to-back threes, and a team-high six rebounds. Fellow senior Sam Henderson added 10 points on 4-7 shooting and a career and team-high seven assists. 
 
The Pirates were led by their big three of Jake Holtz, Garrett Long and Stephen Behil. The trio combined for 50 of the Pirates 74 points. Holtz recorded 16 points and six rebounds. Long led all players with 19 points on 8-16 shooting and tacked on five rebounds and four assists. Behil posted all 15 of his points in the second half on 3-6 shooting from behind the arc. 
 
While Whitworth led for almost 35 of the 40 minutes (34:19), they never were able to pull away. 
 
The Pirates largest lead of the game came with 4:40 to go in the first half as they used an 8-0 run to open up a 33-25 lead. Lewis & Clark answered with an 8-2 run to make it a two-point game with less than a minute left in the half. Henderson, Rodriguez, Griffin Datcher IV and Medlock Jr. (3-pointer) all scored during the run. Whitworth answered with a 4-0 run to end the half up 39-33. Long knocked down a jumper and then on the possible final possession, Long forced a turnover and missed the fast-break layup, but Holtz followed with a putback. 
 
Lewis & Clark made their first big surge of the second half five minutes into the second stanza. The Pioneers went on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to one with 14:19 to play. Taien Jackson, Medlock Jr. and Henderson all scored to make it a 46-45 game. 
 
After a Whitworth 5-0 surge pushed the lead back to two possessions, Uyesugi (five points) and Medlock Jr. each knocked down 3-pointers to tie the game at 53 with 10:11 to play. It was the first time the game was tied since 15-15 in the first half (12:09). 
 
A 7-0 run by the visitors gave Whitworth some breathing room (60-53) for only a moment. Berg drained back-to-back threes out of a media timeout and Medlock Jr. threw down an emphatic dunk to cut the deficit to 62-61 with 5:02 to play. 
 
Whitworth pushed their lead back to six (71-65) with 2:49 to play but Lewis & Clark wouldn't go down easily. Rodriguez and Medlock Jr. each hit contested layups to make it 71-69 with 18 seconds to play. 
 
The visitors hit three of their four free throws down the stretch and Datcher IV's three-quarters court heave was just off the mark to close out the contest. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Henderson nearly doubled his career-high in assists in a single-game. The senior had never posted more than four assists in a game prior to Friday night. 
• Lewis & Clark finished with a massive 31-9 advantage in bench points. 
• Whitworth held edges in most of the counting categories including a 15-0 edge in points off turnovers, 19-8 in second-chance points and 11-2 lead in fast-break points. 
• In two games this season, Whitworth has outscored Lewis & Clark by a combined four points (150-146). 
• Lewis & Clark shot 56.9 percent (29-51) from the field, 6-15 from deep (40 percent) and 7-10 from the free throw line (70.0 percent). The Pioneers 56.9 field goal percentage is the team's third-best of the season and second-best in conference play. Lewis & Clark shot 59.6 percent (31-52) in a home win over Pacific University on January 4. 

WHO'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will look to bounce back on Saturday, when they host Whitman College at 4 p.m.