SPOKANE, Wash. - Using 13 3-pointers from six different players, No. 2 Whitworth lived up to its national ranking with a comfortable 70-43 win over Linfield Friday evening at the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

Whitworth (18-0, 9-0 NWC) set the tone early with a stingy defensive effort. The Pirates held Linfield (8-10, 4-5 NWC) to just 16 points and 23.1 percent shooting in the first half.

K.C. Wiser, who came into the game leading the Northwest Conference in scoring with 23.9 points per game, was not a factor for the ‘Cats. The senior was held to one point on 0-of-6 shooting from the field.

Whitworth opened the game with five-straight points and never looked back, building a 22-7 lead by the 8:10 mark of the first half.

After a David Lee score at the 7:01 mark cut the Whitworth lead to 22-9, Linfield would go scoreless over the next 4:27. During the stretch the Pirates pushed the lead out to 30-9.

The Wildcats cut the deficit to 16 on two separate occasions early in the first half but would get no closer the rest of the way. A 13-1 run extended the Whitworth lead to 52-24 with 11:48 remaining in the second half.

David Riley led the Pirates with a game-high 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including a 4-of-6 output from beyond the arc. Mike Taylor chipped in with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Whitworth shot 44.9 percent from the floor for the game.

Sergio Rosario paced the Wildcats with 10 points.

NEXT: Linfield picks up play Saturday when the ‘Cats travel to Whitman for an 8 p.m. game.