By Corey Leneker
Evergreen Sports Information
DENVER, Colo. – After leaving the friendly confines of The Evergreen State College Campus the Geoduck Mens Basketball team travelled to Denver Colorado to play a two game series against nationally ranked powerhouse Metropolitan State University and Colorado School of the Mines (CSM) at the Auraria Events Center in downtown Denver.
Friday night the Evergreen men were bested by host Metro State. After a sluggish first half the Geoduck played an inspired final 20 minutes but ultimately came up short losing 83-51. The Geoducks were led by three players in double-digit scoring; Josh Troyer (Vancouver, Wash. / Evergreen HS) 10 points and 10 rebounds, Tyrell Dixon (Tacoma, Wash. / Mt. Tahoma) 10 points and 2 assists and Johnny Sarysz (Lindberg, Wash. / Lindbergh HS) with 10 points on 3-5 shooting from behind the arc.
First Year Head Coach Arvin Mosley, Jr. came away impressed with the team. “We learned a lot about ourselves this weekend. Our team showed the ability to fight back from such a huge deficit and compete at a high level. Instead of being disappointed, I have a new found respect for the competitive makeup of our team. Now they’ve raised our level of expectations.”
Saturday night Evergreen dropped a hotly contested affair to CSM. The Geoducks battled for 40 minute keeping the game close throughout but ultimately ran out of gas down the stretch losing to the Orediggers 96-76. The Geoducks managed to get as close as 7 point with 6 minutes to go but were unable to overcome a final run by a veteran CSM squad that returned 5 starters from last season.
The Geoducks were led by dynamic Junior Marice Tolliver, (Tacoma, Wash. / Mt. Tahoma HS) with 27 points and 10 rebounds and emerging Freshman Mikey Hope, (Tacoma, Wash. / Wilson HS) with 17 points and 3 assists.
Coach Mosley was pleased with the overall effort. “We continue to show improvement on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court. When we decide to do a better job of rebounding the basketball we will be a tough team to matchup with in league play. Overall this weekend was a tremendous learning experience and a great opportunity for the team to grow closer.”
Next up for the team is the Life Flight Network Tournament at Lewis and Clark State College next weekend. The team will travel to Lewiston, Idaho where they will face the home team on Friday night and Carroll College on Saturday.
