SPOKANE, Wash. – After holding a lead early, the Great Falls Argonauts slipped back into the lead in the closing minutes, defeating the Evergreen Geoducks, 64-61, in a non-conference men’s basketball game as part of the Red Lion Cascade/Frontier Challenge on Friday night at Spokane Falls Community College in Spokane, Wash.

Great Falls used a great start to build a 10-2 lead but the Geoducks fought back, pulling back within five on a three-ball by KJ Hong (Federal Way, Wash./Shoreline CC) with 14:49 to go in the first half. Senior Elzie Dickens (Seattle, Wash./Highline CC) go the Geoducks within two with 12:58 left to play as Evergreen continued to battle.

The Argos went on a bit of a run towards the midpoint of the first half, pushing the lead back to nine with 10:48 left in the opening half.  Evergreen fought back to get within one with 7:00 left to go on a free throw by Cody Peters (Coupeville, Wash./Western Oregon).  The Geoducks took their first lead of the game with just over six minutes left on a jumper by Darryl Jordan (Portsmouth, Va./Bluefield College).

Both teams continued to battle for the remainder of the first half as a three-pointer by Hong with 51 seconds left gave the Geoducks a 36-33 lead heading into the break, their first halftime lead in the last 22 games.  Evergreen shot 46.67% in the first half, compared with 41.38% by Great Falls.  The Geoducks also held a 24-14 advantage on the boards in the opening period.

In the second half, the Argos tied the game back up with a pair of free throws at 15:19 but the Geoducks answered right back on a Peters’ three-pointer.  The Geoducks continued to push the lead, pulling ahead by eight with 13:13 remaining, forcing UGF to take a time out.

The Argos tied up the game with 5:14 left on a jumper by Marcel Towns that knotted the game at 57 all and then took a one-point lead on the back-end of a pair of free throws with 4:06 remaining in the second half.  Hong hit a jumper with 2:08 that tied the game back up at 61 entering the final minutes of the game.

With time ticking down, Great Falls managed a free throw by Miguel Bocachica and then a jumper by TJ Harris with just six second left to put the Argos up by three.  The Geoducks had one final chance to force overtime but the three-point shot by Peters didn’t fall, allowing UGF to escape with a 64-61 win.

Evergreen was led by 17 points from Hong, including four baskets from behind the arc.  Peters finished with 15 points on the night.  The Geoducks finished the game shooting 38.9% from the field and outrebounding the Argos, 39-30, on the night.

Great Falls was led by 18 points from Towns.  Holmes finished with 14 points while Bocachica chipped in 11 points in the win.  The Argos made 21-of-50 attempts for the night and were aided by 20-of-33 free throws following 21 fouls called on the Geoducks, compared with just 14 for UGF.

The Geoducks are back in action on Saturday afternoon when they take Montana Tech as part of the Red Lion Cascade/Frontier Challenge.  Tip with the Orediggers is set for 2 p.m. at Spokane Falls Community College in Spokane, Wash.

Box Score

SEATTLE – Playing in the same building that the green and gold Seattle Supersonics called home, the green and white Evergreen Geoducks struggled against the NCAA Division I Seattle Redhawks, falling  117-34, in a men’s basketball exhibition on Tuesday night at KeyArena in Seattle, Wash.

In the first half, the Geoducks got their first points of the night early on a jumper by Lucky Lagerberg (Olympia, Wash./South Puget Sound CC) with 17:15 left to play in the period.  Evergreen didn’t get another point for nearly five minutes when Cody Peters (Coupeville, Wash./Western Oregon Univ.) fit the first of two free throws.

The Redhawks rattled off 38 straight points before the Geoducks would score again but a jumper by Lagerberg brought the house down with 4:50 left in the opening period as everyone in the building cheered for the green and white.  The Geoducks’ final point of the first half came with 2:06 left to go on a free throw by Jordan Emerson (Baton Rouge, La./Wenatchee Valley CC) as Seattle took a 61-6 lead into the break.

Evergreen warmed up slightly in the second half but the DI Redhawks continued to be too much for the Geoducks to handle as the Redhawks continued to shoot well en route to the 117-34 win.

The Geoducks were led by nine points off the bench from Peters.  Elzie Dickens (Seattle, Wash./Highline CC) had a team-high five rebounds and two blocks on the night.  After shooing just two-of-30 in the first half, Evergreen managed 25.0% shooting in the second half, making eight of 32 attempts, including three from behind the arc.

Seattle was led by 20 points each off the bench from Chad Rasmussen and Allen Tate.  D’Vonne Pickett Jr. added 13 points while Louis Green  earned the double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.  The Redhawks outrebounded the Geoducks, 65 to 27.

The Geoducks return to action on Friday night when they take on Great Falls as part of the Red Lion Cascade/Frontier Challenge.  Tip with the Argos is set for 8 p.m. at Spokane Falls Community College.

KIRKLAND, Wash. – Making nearly 62% of their attempts, the Northwest Eagles soared past the Evergreen Geoducks, 96-50, in a non-conference men’s basketball game on Tuesday night at NU Pavilion in Kirkland, Wash.

The Eagles (6-0) were able to push the lead into double-digits before the Geoducks (0-1) even made it on the board as Northwest scored the game’s first 14 points.  NU pushed the lead to 21 with 8:50 left to play on a three-pointer by Nick Crossan that gave the Eagles a 33-12 advantage.  Northwest managed to push the lead to 25 heading into the break at 49-24.

After switching baskets to start the second half, Northwest continued to dominate as the lead hit 30 on another Crossan three-ball with 16:55 left to play in the game.  At 9:56 remaining, the NU lead hit 40 and the Eagles cruised the rest of the way, earning the 96-50 win.

The Geoducks were led by nine points from KJ Hong (Federal Way, Wash./Shoreline CC).  Cody Peters (Coupeville, Wash./Western Oregon Univ.) picked up six rebounds for the Geoducks, who finished even with the Eagles on the glass at 33 rebounds each.  Evergreen managed seven three-pointers on the game.

Northwest was led by 22 points from Michael Greene.  Michael Russo added 19 points while Ryan McIntosh and Ryan Dornik each finished with 11 points on the night.  The Eagles were 39-of-63 from the field for 61.9%, including 13-of-30 from behind the arc for 43.3%.

Evergreen will be back in action in less than 24 hours as they head back north on Wednesday to take on NCAA Division I Seattle University in an exhibition.  Tip with the Redhawks is set for 7 p.m. at Key Arena.