Whitworth is going dancing!

Better get your slippers ready because the Whitworth Pirates are going to the Big Dance! Here's the headline from SID Steve Flegel:

When it finally mattered most, Whitworth came through, as the visiting Pirates upset 3rd-ranked Puget Sound 90-80 in overtime on Saturday night in Memorial Fieldhouse to win the Northwest Conference men’s basketball tournament and pick up the NWC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.

A hot upset to get into the tournament? That usually leads to even more success and the Pirates are no strangers to the NCAAs as they've been their four times already. Looks like Spokane will be a busy city during March Madness time.

Whitworth in Championship Game

Couldn't wait until Wednesday to update everyone on this one. The Whitworth Pirates will be playing for the NWC Championship tomorrow and an automatic berth in the NCAA Div. III Tournament.

The Pirates finished the regular season in second place of the conference with a record of 21-5, and the first place team just so happens to be the same squad they're playing in the championship game, Puget Sound, who has a sparkling 24-2 record. Game time is Saturday in Puget Sound's house, at 7 p.m.

You can find all the info of the game here.

Whitworth got to that game after a win over Linfield 74-66 in the quarterfinals of the NWC tournament, led by junior post Nate Montgomery who had career highs of 31 points, 14 rebounds and SIX blocked shots.

Apparently he was doing his best Wilt Chamberlain impression. Holy crap that's an insane performance. Which is why I've come up with a list of nicknames for Nate:

Nate "Tyler Hansbrough is a pansy" Montgomery
Nate "Remember that British General in WWII named" Montgomery
Nate "He Nate Me" Montgomery
Nate "Yeah, I've blocked six shots before in a game" Montgomery
Nate "I'm not Stephon Marbury" Montgomery
Nate "Stimulus Plan" Montgomery

Okay, please dont hate me Whitworth fans.

Whitworth Weekly Update: They score a lot of points, folks

Division III men's basketball doesn't get as much media attention as say... professional goat roping but hey, that's alright, we get up to minute news stories on the condition of Josh Heytvelt's ankle. That's important stuff.

Now if you're able to pull your head out of your Gonzaga induced you-know-what, there's a pretty darn basketball team playing down the road in the Whitworth Pirates.

Currently 13-3, the Pirates don't have a single play under 6-0, which is more than you can say for the Eastern Washington Eagles (sorry Benny), and are averaging over 80 points per game.

Their latest outing? Well they crushed Whitman 101-70. Hoooot dog.

So if you can't get tickets to the Zags game (which you cant) and you don't want to watch another team leave the NCAA Tournament prematurely (you know this will happen) then head up to Whitworth's campus on Feb. 6 when they take on Willamette. Full Schedule.

More to come next week!