Colton Looney and Stephen Behil used to be rivals in the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League.
Now they are teammates playing big roles in the Whitworth men’s basketball team’s success. The Pirates are 15-2 overall, ranked No. 18 in NCAA Division III and sit in a first-place tie atop the Northwest Conference at 6-2.
Both scored in double-figures in a 77-62 win over Linfield last Friday. Looney, a junior from Skyview, scored a team-high 20 points. Behil, a junior from Camas, added 15 points.
Looney, a 6-foot-6 forward, made his first start Friday after coming off the bench for 16 games. He made 8 of 13 field goals, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range.
A finance major, Looney appeared in 27 games a sophomore. He was a second-team member of The Columbian’s All-Region team as a senior when he averaged 18 points and eight rebounds for the Storm.
Behil, a 6-foot-7 wing, has started all 17 games and is averaging 12.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. That includes scoring in double figures in four of Whitworth’s last five games.
The former Papermaker made an instant impact at Whitworth, playing in 27 games as a freshman, scoring 27 points in a game against Pacific and making 51.7% from 3-point range.
Behil was a second-team member of The Columbian’s All-Region team after leading Camas to a 20-4 record as a senior. He is majoring in business management.
Here are other notable performances from the past week by collegiate athletes from Clark County:
Jordan Chiles, UCLA gymnastics — The junior from Prairie won the floor exercise (9.950) and tied for first on the vault (9.925) as the Bruins won their home-opener over Illinois (197.200 to 194.750).
Mason Oberg, Western Washington women’s basketball — The junior from Union returned from injury to score 10 points in a 78-60 win over Simon Fraser on Saturday. Oberg, who missed the previous two games, leads the team with 54 assists in 16 games.
Kam Osborn, Oregon Tech men’s basketball — The graduate student from Prairie led the Owls in scoring in two road games last weekend. Osborn scored 21 points in a 82-76 loss to College of Idaho on Friday before scoring 18 points in an 85-84 win over Eastern Oregon.
Keanna Salavea, University of Providence women’s basketball — The sophomore from Heritage had a double-double (21 points, 10 rebounds) in a 79-71 win over Rocky Mountain on Thursday.
Kahlil Singleton, Holy Cross men’s basketball — The sophomore from Fort Vancouver scored a career-high 22 points, including five 3-pointers, in a win over Army on Jan. 22.