Mounties Come Back To Beat Geoducks, 63-60

LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Eastern Oregon Mountaineers overcame a halftime deficit to come back and defeat the Evergreen Geoducks, 63-60, in a Cascade Conference women’s basketball game on Saturday night at Quinn Coliseum in La Grande, Ore.

Neither team was able to take much control in the first half as the contest saw 10 lead changes over the first 20 minutes of the game.  Evergreen used an 11-2 run over the final 3:27 to take a four-point lead into halftime, up 36-32.

In the second half, a 6-0 run to open the half put Evergreen up by double-digits with 15:44 left to play.  EOU finally got its first points of the half with 14:09 left on the clock on a jumper by Kassy Larson.  The Mounties continued to chip away at the lead, pulling even with 3:19 left to go and Eastern would win the final minutes to earn the 63-60 win to clinch the regular season title.

Evergreen was led by 19 points and 10 rebounds from Brittany Gray (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Bainbridge HS/Skagit Valley CC).  Jessica Denmon (Oak Harbor, Wash./Oak Harbor HS/Skagit Valley CC) and Sadee Jones (Belfair, Wash./North Mason HS) each added 10 points as the only Geoducks in double-digit scoring.  The Geoducks went without a three on the night, missing on all 15 attempts.

Eastern Oregon was led by 21 points from Brittney Newcomb.  Nicole Redd added 16 points as the only two Mountaineers in double-digit scoring.  EOU shot 47.8% from the field, including 11-of-24 from behind the three-point arc.

Despite the loss, the Geoducks are headed to the postseason for the third straight year.  Evergreen will be the fourth seed and will travel to fifth-seed Southern Oregon on Tuesday evening to open up the 2014 CCC Championship presented by U.S. Bank.  Tip with the Raiders is set for 7 p.m. at McNeal Pavilion.

Box Score

No. 5 Yotes Blast Past Geoducks, 114-61

CALDWELL, Idaho – Putting up 67 points in the first half alone, the fifth-ranked College of Idaho Yotes made easy work of the Evergreen Geoducks, earning a 114-61 win in a Cascade Conference men’s basketball game on Friday night at the J.A. Alberston Center in Caldwell, Idaho.

The Yotes seemingly couldn’t miss in the first half, and when they did, they made quick work of the glass as they built a double-digit lead early.  While C of I put up six three-pointers in the first half to put points on the scoreboard, it was the Yotes’ work rebounding that told the story as the home squad outrebounded Evergreen, 34-9, in the first 20 minutes as they took a 67-26 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the Geoducks played a much better period as Evergreen shot 37.8% from the field, compared with 36.5% for the Yotes but C of I continued to control the glass, outrebounding the Geoducks, 38-22, in the final period.  The C of I bench played much of the second half as the Yote starters combined for just 35 of 100 minutes played.

Evergreen was led by 11 points each from Cody Peters (Oak Harbor, Wash./Coupeville HS/Western Oregon Univ.) and Marc Taylor (Boise, Idaho/Skyview HS/Edmonds CC) as the senior forwards were the only two Geoducks in double-digit scoring.  Evergreen uncharacteristically turned the ball over 21 times, compared with just nine times for C of I.

College of Idaho was led by 18 points from Demetrius Perkins.  Antonio Garrett, Sydney Donaldson and Taylor Pruett all added 15 points each while Devan Talken led the Yotes bench with 14 points.   Josh Wilson rounded out the C of I players in double-digits, adding 12 points and 10 assists for the double-double.  Pruett also recorded a double-double, bringing down 12 rebounds to go with his 15 points.

Evergreen wraps up the 2013-14 season on Saturday night when they visit Eastern Oregon. Tip with the Mountaineers is set for 7:30 p.m. at Quinn Coliseum in La Grande, Ore.

Box Score

Geoducks Silence Yotes, 73-69

CALDWELL, Idaho – Keeping alive their chances of hosting a playoff game for the first time in program history, the Evergreen Geoducks picked up a big road win at College of Idaho, defeating the host Coyotes, 73-69, in a Cascade Conference women’s basketball game on Friday night at J.A. Albertson Center in Caldwell, Idaho.

In the first half, the Yotes took the initial lead but the Geoducks showed early that they were ready to play taking the lead at 4-3 and holding it until C of I tied it up at 22 all.  A 9-0 run gave Evergreen the 31-22 lead with 3:19 to go in the first half. The lead continued to grow, hitting 14 points at the break following a buzzer-beating jumper by Jessica Denmon (Oak Harbor, Wash./Oak Harbor HS/Skagit Valley CC) that put the halftime score at 29-25.

In the second half, College of Idaho came out and showed why they are among those receiving votes in the NAIA DII Top 25, cutting the gap to three points with 13:56 left to go.  Evergreen dug deep again and pushed the lead back into double-digits on a Brittany Gray (Bainbridge Island, Wash./Bainbridge HS/Skagit Valley CC)  jumper with 5:50 left to play.

A steal and a three-pointer by Erica Martinez pulled C of I back within three-points with 46 seconds left.  With 10 seconds left, Denmon went to the line for the Geoducks, sinking a pair of free throws.  After the Yotes hit a pair of free throws with seven seconds left, Denmon hit a free throw to put the game out of reach as Evergreen earned their first win in Caldwell since 2005, 73-69.

Evergreen was led by 19 points from Denmon, including seven-of-eight on free throws.  Sadee Jones (Belfair, Wash./North Mason HS) added 15 points and 16 rebounds in the win while LaNiecia Weatherspoon (Seattle, Wash./Garfield HS/Yakima Valley CC) came off the bench to add 12 points.  Senior Sammi Clark (Monroe, Wash./Monroe HS/Edmonds CC) put up 11 points to round out the Geoducks in double-digit scoring.

College of Idaho was led by 18 points from Martinez.  Dayna Drager and Chakala Carthen each added 14 points with Carthen adding 10 rebounds for the double-double.  Elisha Hensey chalked up 13 points in the loss to round out the Yotes in double-digit scoring.

The Geoducks wrap up the regular season on Saturday night as they lead to La Grande to battle Eastern Oregon.  Tip with the Mountaineers is set for 5:30 p.m. at Quinn Coliseum.

Box Score

Geoducks Post NAIA Qualifiers at UW Open

SEATTLE – The Evergreen Geoduck delegation to the 2013 NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships grew on Sunday afternoon as a pair of Geoducks punched their ticket to the national championships with strong races at the UW Open at Dempsey Indoor in Seattle, Wash.

In the 800m run, junior Wes Jones (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma CC) posted a time of 1:55.22 to earn his spot.  He took 15th in the event behind a number of NCAA Division I and II athletes and his time currently ranks 19th in the NAIA this season.

Joining Wes in Ohio will be twin brother Les Jones (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma CC), who took second in the 1000m run with a time of 2:32.57 to earn his trip to the NAIA championships. Jones finished behind Nick Hampton of College of Idaho but ahead of Dean Willis of Northwest in a very Cascade Conference heavy race.

This week, most of the Geoducks will head down to Portland to take part in the Warner Pacific 50/50 Meet as well as the Pilot Indoor meet at University of Portland.  Freshman high jumper Anthony Johnson (Seattle, Wash./Garfield HS/Pima CC) will be on his way to Albuquerque, N.M. for the USA Track and Field Indoor Nationals where he will jump on Saturday.

Results

Seniors Lead Geoducks to Upset of No. 24 Concordia, 94-93

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Combining for 63 points, the trio of Marc Taylor (Boise, Idaho/Skyview HS/Edmonds CC), Cody Peters (Oak Harbor, Wash./Coupeville HS/Western Oregon Univ.) and Kyle Calhoun (Seattle, Wash./Hazen HS/Marshalltown CC) led the Evergreen Geoducks to an overtime upset win over the 24th-ranked Concordia Cavaliers, 94-93, in a Cascade Conference men’s basketball game on Saturday night at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.

After the nationally-ranked Cavaliers took the early lead, the Geoducks looked like they might struggle to keep pace as CU built a double-digit lead with 13:16 to go in the first half.  Evergreen began to chip away and used a record-breaking three pointer by Calhoun with 5:57 to pull within one at 32-31.  The trey for Calhoun was his 79th of the season, moving him past Nate Menefee for the most three-pointers made in a single-season.  CU went on a bit of a run late, pushing the lead back to six at halftime at 45-39.

The Cavaliers continued to hold the Geoducks at bay for much of the second half until a 10-0 Evergreen run gave the Geoducks their first lead of the game at 78-77 following a made free throw after  made basket by Peters.  The Geoducks looked like they might secure the win in regulation before Adam Herman sank a three-pointer with 10 seconds left to tie the game at 85-85 and force overtime.

In the extra period, Concordia took the early lead by a lay-up by sophomore Frankie Johnson (Renton, Wash./Hazen HS) with 1:20 left gave Evergreen the 92-91 lead.  Kory Kirwan hit a pair of free throws with 11 seconds left that put CU up by one but Jordan Dam (Tacoma, Wash./Wilson HS/Centralia College) drove the paint and put in a lay-up with three points as the Geoducks secured the 94-93 upset win.

“I’m proud of the way our guys came out tonight, especially our three seniors,” said Evergreen head coach Arvin Mosley.  “They saw the opportunity to play as a unit against one of the top teams in the country and they took advantage of it.  I couldn’t be happier.”

The Geoducks were led by 25 points and nine rebounds from Taylor.  Calhoun finished with 24 points while Dam finished with 18 on the night.  Peters earned the double-double in his final home game, scoring 14 points and bringing down 11 rebounds.  Johnson finished with a game-high 10 assists as the point guard did a great job distributing.

Concordia was led by 31 points from Herman, who also added eight rebounds in the loss. Willy Ligon added 20 points while Esvan Middleton earned the double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.  Kirwan came off the bench to add 11 and round out the Cavs in double-digit scoring.  CU held a 39-29 advantage on the glass but it just wasn’t enough.

Evergreen wraps up the 2013-14 season on the road, traveling to College of Idaho on Friday and Eastern Oregon on Saturday.

Box Score