SALEM, Ore. – Combining for 52 free throw attempts, the Corban Warriors proved victorious in a physical affair over the Evergreen Geoducks, winning the Cascade Conference men’s basketball game, 75-71, on Friday night at C.E. Jeffers Sports Center in Salem, Ore.

In the first half, the Geoducks did a good job taking care of the ball as Evergreen committed just two turnovers over the first 20 minutes.  Unfortunately for the Geoducks, Corban turned those two giveaways into five points and shot 50.0% from the field to take a 38-35 lead into the halftime break.

Corban used an 8-0 run to open the second half as they pushed the lead into double-digits but the Geoducks dug deep and fought back, pulling back within four points about midway through the period.  The Warriors pushed the lead back to 10 with 7:08 left to go following a pair of free throws by Jordan Carter.  Back-to-back buckets by Frankie Johnson (Renton, Wash./Hazen HS) and Marc Taylor (Boise, Idaho/Skyview HS/Edmonds CC) cut the deficit to five points just over a minute later.

After an exchange of free throws, Dre Taylor (Seattle, Wash./Garfield HS/North Idaho College) hit a three-pointer to pull Evergreen back within three points at 67-64 with just over three minutes to play.  Johnson hit a pair of free throws with 1:23 left to go to put the Geoducks within one point at 72-71. Toby Roth turned the ball over for Corban with 31 seconds left to give Evergreen the last possession but the Geoducks turned the ball over as the Warriors hit a pair of free throws with just a second left to escape with the 75-71 win.

Evergreen was led by 21 points off the bench from Dre Taylor, who was making his Geoduck debut.  Johnson finished with 13 points while Mark Taylor added 11.  Kyle Calhoun (Seattle, Wash./Hazen HS/Marshalltown CC) put up 10 points to round out the Geoducks in double-digit scoring.

Corban was led by 18 points from Caleb Herzberg. Carter added 14 points while Roth finished with 13 in the win.  The Warriors won the game on the foul line, making 19 of 28 attempts as the teams combined for 44 personal fouls on the night.

The Geoducks return to action on Saturday night as they visit Northwest Christian.  Tip with the Beacons is set for 7:30 p.m. at Morse Event Center in Eugene, Ore.

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