OLYMPIA, Wash. – Playing a rare January home game, The Evergreen State College Geoducks took advantage of playing on the home court, earning an 89-79 win over the visiting Concordia (Ore.) Cavaliers in a Cascade Collegiate Conference men’s basketball game on Friday night at CRC Gymnasium in Olympia, Wash.
The Geoducks (6-12, 3-5 CCC) took the initial lead on a jumper by freshman Mikey Hope (Tacoma, Wash./Wilson) just 53 seconds into the contest and it looked early like Evergreen was going to set the tempo, pushing the lead to double-digits with 12:33 left to play in the first half. The Cavaliers (6-12, 1-7 CCC) slowly began to chip away, tying the game at 34 with 2:47 left in the opening period. Concordia continued to push, pulling ahead by five before Larry Green (Seattle, Wash./Grays Harbor CC) hit a jumper to cut the gap to just three at halftime, 39-36.
In the second half, Evergreen took back the lead on another Green jumper two minutes in and the teams traded baskets for the early part of the final period. Just as the Geoduck shooters cooled off towards the end of the first half, they heated right back up in the second half as Evergreen was able to build a six-point lead midway through the period.
Concordia cut the lead back down to two with 9:08 left to play but two quick three-pointers by the Geoducks pushed them back up by eight with seven minutes left on the clock. With their first win of 2011 in sights, the Geoducks stayed focused for the final minutes, hitting the shots they needed to hit as they earned the 89-79 win.
Evergreen was led by 21 points from senior Josh Troyer (Vancouver, Wash./Lower Columbia CC). Green added 19 to go with nine rebounds while Hope chipped in 14 points and four assists in the win. As a team, the Geoducks shot 50.8% from the field and took advantage of charity opportunities, hitting 84.2% from the free throw line.
Concordia was led by 23 points from Kevan West, who also had seven rebounds on the night. Adam Herman added 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting while Austin Dunn scored 12 in the losing effort.
Evergreen remains at home on Saturday night when they play host to Warner Pacific in a CCC contest.
Game Stats
Upcoming Games
- January 15 Sat (Home) Warner Pacific 5:30pm
- January 21 Fri @ Northwest Christian 7:30pm
- January 22 Sat @ Corban 7:30pm
- January 28 Fri @ Northwest University 7:30pm
