Men’s basketball takes silver in NWC playoffs

Mike Lenahan talks to his team during a match against Puget Sound on Jan. 10, 2026. Photo by Quinn Carbery.

Willamette fell to the host Whitworth Pirates in the finals of the Northwest Conference (NWC) tournament on Feb. 28, the Bearcats’ first appearance in the championship game since 2003. They lost 87-97 to the Buccs.

Despite a solid performance on the Bearcats’ side from Davis Hester (’28), who scored a career high 27 points and shot over 70% from the field, the Pirates were able to overwhelm Willamette with dominant rebounding and shot efficiency to secure the NWC title.

Whitworth had been dominant in the NWC all season, and as of March 5, they ranked No. 41 in the nation in the NCAA Power Index (NPI). Their win in the NWC earned them an automatic bid to the DIII March Madness Tournament, where they lost 63-71 in the first round to Trinity University.

The Bearcats only have one graduating senior in Nick Hardin (’26), and as of the time of writing, it’s expected that Willamette will be retaining the majority of their players, boding well for their tournament hopes next season.

This marks the 18th time that Whitworth has claimed the NWC title in 23 championship appearances since 2000. Had the Bearcats won, they would have claimed their third title in the NCAA era.

Coach Lenahan talks MBB future

Despite the tough loss, head coach Mike Lenahan and the Bearcats are optimistic about the program’s future. 

“We’re in a pretty unique situation where we had one senior on the team who didn’t get a ton of playing time, so every single person that played in the semifinal and championship game can come back,” he said.

The Bearcats are hoping to see all their starters back next year, including NWC player of the year Tanner Overby (’28), who broke the school record for most points-per-game in a season with 24.6, and won NWC Player of the Year.

The Pirates are a team of veterans, a stark contrast to the young Bearcats. All five of the players on the Buccs who average the most minutes per game are seniors, compared to the majority second-year starting roster for Willamette. 

For Lenahan, although the loss hurts, there’s a lot of good to be taken from it and the season as a whole. 

“[The team] accomplished what probably no one outside of the team, or at least outside of Willamette, expected: winning the first conference tournament game for the school since 2003,” he said.

Some priorities for the ’Cats going into the offseason are improving their 3-point percentage and hitting the weight room to avoid having to double-team for rebounding opportunities. Willamette, compared to most other schools in the NWC, is fairly undersized, with the majority of their rotation standing at around the 6-2 mark, about 2 inches under the NWC average.

“The great thing and the difficult thing about having such a good year is that you are almost guaranteed to end on a loss, unless you win a national title,” Lenahan said. “It’s so sudden and it hurts but you just try to appreciate the journey that we got to go on together and how much they accomplished and be proud of how well they represented Willamette.” 

For Lenahan, the way the ’Cats stepped up when no one expected them to and the successes they saw in the playoffs are more motivation to get back and outperform again. 

“The guys just came together and proved to themselves that they can perform under pressure and in those situations,” he said.