SPOKANE, Wash. – A trio of Pirates scored in double figures and fourth-ranked Whitworth easily took care of Linfield 80-50 in a Saturday evening Northwest Conference matchup at Whitworth Field House.

Taylor Farnsworth and Colton McCarger each had 13 points and Robby Douglas turned in a dozen more for the  three-time defending NWC champions.

Wildcats senior Zach Meikle (Sr., Tacoma, Wash.) led the way in the scoring department for Linfield with a career-high 17, while Andrew Batiuk (Soph., Tualatin, Ore.) was close behind with 16. Batiuk also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and completed a double-double. Linfield (3-14, 2-6 NWC) coughed up the ball 15 times compared to just seven miscues for Whitworth.

The Pirates got off to a hot 5-0 start while Linfield struggled to gain any momentum. Another 8-0 run from Whitworth had the Pirates up 19-7 just seven minutes into the game.

Whitworth (16-1, 8-0 NWC) distributed its scoring evenly with six different players finding the net in the opening 10 minutes. A layup from Farnsworth made the score 25-9 in favor of the hosts as Whitworth continued to display its dominance.

A three from George Valle sandwiched two buckets from long distance by McCarger as Whitworth stormed in front 37-13. The Pirates kept their foot on the gas and brought the score up to 48-19 at the half.

Whitworth was outstanding in terms of shooting percentage in the first, sitting at a clip of 63.3 percent. The ‘Cats, meanwhile, checked in at just 34.8 in the same category. The Pirates took care of the ball in the first, committing just three turnovers. McCarger’s 11 points led all scorers in the first.

The Pirates picked up where they left off in the first, beginning the second half with a 6-0 run. It was only a matter of maintaining a 20-point advantage for Whitworth, as Linfield failed to make any serious threat at a comeback.

Whitworth finished the game with a shooting percentage of 50, including 11-for-27 from downtown. The Pirates held a slight edge in rebounds, 38-33.

COMING UP: Linfield travels to Salem Tuesday night to take on NWC rival Willamette. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m., directly following the women’s game.