OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Warner Pacific Knights exploded for 53 second half points as the Evergreen Geoducks couldn’t keep pace, falling 87-71 in a Cascade Conference men’s basketball game on Friday night at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.
Warner Pacific got out to a quick start, putting up the games’ first 10 points before the Geoducks finally scored their first basket with 14:34 left to go in the first half. After WPC pushed the lead to 13 points, the Geoducks held the Knights without a field goal for the final 4:01 as a three-pointer by Kyle Calhoun (Seattle, Wash./Hazen HS/Marshalltown CC) with two seconds left pulled Evergreen within two points at half, 34-32.
In the second half, the Knights came out strong to pull ahead by double-digits less than four minutes into the period. WPC picked up their largest lead of the night with 6:17 left to play as Sean Gaines hit a jumper in the paint to put the Knights up 74-52.
The Geoducks fought back to get with 11 points with 3:54 left to play but the differential ended up being too much to overcome as Warner Pacific held on for the 87-71 win.
Evergreen was led by 14 points off the bench from Michael Potter (Ridgefield, Wash./Ridgefield HS). Marc Taylor (Boise, Idaho/Skyview HS/Edmonds CC) added 13 points while Jordan Dam (Tacoma, Wash./Wilson HS/Centralia College) finished with 10 points. The Geoducks shot 48.9% from the field, making 23 of 47 attempts from the field.
Warner Pacific was led by 19 points from Doug Thomas. Ryan Parks added 15 points while Marcus Moore added 14 points on the bench. Gaines finished with 13 points before fouling out to round out the Knights in double-digit scoring. WPC held a distinct advantage on the glass, outrebounding the Geoducks by a final tally of 38-23.
The Geoducks will play their final home game of the season on Saturday night when they host Concordia. Tip with the Cavaliers is set for 7:30 p.m. at CRC Gymnasium.