ASHLAND, Ore. – The Evergreen Geoducks gave it all they had but in the end, they couldn’t pull off the upset against 19th-ranked Southern Oregon, falling to the Raiders, 75-59, in a Cascade Conference men’s basketball game on Saturday night at McNeal Pavilion in Ashland, Ore.
The Geoducks came out ready to play, building a double-digit lead on a three-pointer by Frankie Johnson (Renton, Wash./Hazen HS) with 12:40 to go in the first half that put Evergreen up 20-9. SOU eventually found their shot to tighten the gap but the Geoducks held on to take a 35-29 lead into the break.
In the second half, the Raiders kept trying to close the gap but the Geoducks had an answer each time as SOU struggled to stop Evergreen. SOU finally retook the lead at 45-4 with 12:29 left to go as Eric Thompson gathered an offensive rebound and got the put back. The Raiders continued to pull ahead, as they push the lead to double-digits just over two minutes later as SOU held the Geoducks at bay the rest of the game, earning the 75-59 win.
Evergreen was led by 20 points from senior Kyle Calhoun (Seattle, Wash./Hazen HS/Marshalltown CC). Cody Peters (Oak Harbor, Wash./Coupeville HS/Western Oregon Univ.) added 13 points as the only other Geoduck in double-digit scoring.
Southern Oregon was led by 14 points each from Eric Thompson and Jeff Bush. Jordan West and Tim Weber each added 11 points, with Weber and Thompson each adding 10 rebounds to collect the double-double.
The Geoduck return home on Friday night, playing host to Warner Pacific. Tip with the Knights is set for 7:30 p.m. at CRC Gymnasium.