EUGENE, Ore. – Hitting free throws down the stretch, the Evergreen Geoducks held off a late charge from the host Northwest Christian Beacons, winning the Cascade Collegiate Conference men’s basketball game by a final of 71-66 on Friday night in Eugene, Ore.
The Beacons (7-15, 1-9 CCC) got off to a very quick start, posting the game’s first eight points as the Geoducks (7-13, 4-6 CCC) were held scoreless for nearly five minutes to open the game. A 12-2 Evergreen run got the green-clad Geoducks right back into the game and the two squads see-saw’d back and forth but Evergreen got hot at the end, building a six-point advantage as they took a 36-30 lead into the break.
In the second half, the Beacons kept it close but the Geoducks kept making timely shots as they maintained the lead. NCU finally caught up with 5:15 left to go, taking a brief lead on a tip-in by Mitch Wilson but a pair of free throws by freshman Mikey Hope (Tacoma, Wash./Wilson HS) put Evergreen back in front with four minutes left to play.
The squads continued to trade leads for the few remaining minutes. A lay-up by Hope with 2:45 remaining gave Evergreen back the lead and missed shots by both squads forced the Beacons to foul late. With the Geoducks hitting their free throws down the stretch, NCU was able to manage a late layup with just two seconds remaining to pull them back within three but a pair of free throws by Tyrell Dixon (Tacoma, Wash./Mount Tahoma HS) with just one second left clinched the 71-66 win.
The Geoducks were led by 15 points from Hope, who also added three assists in the win. Marice Tolliver (Tacoma, Wash./Lower Columbia CC) added 15 points as Evergreen made 16-of- 20 free throw attempts on the night, compared with just six-of-16 by the host Beacons.
Northwest Christian was led by 17 points and 16 rebounds from Kellen Spicer. Brent McKee added 12 points while Wilson added 10 off the bench in the losing effort. NCU held a 55- 37 advantage in rebounds but turned the ball over 13 times, compared with just nine for Evergreen.
Evergreen will be in Salem on Saturday night as they continue the three-game road trip with a CCC contest at Corban. Tip-off with the Warriors is set for 7:30 p.m.
Game Stats
Upcoming Games
- Saturday, January 22 @ Corban 7:30pm
- Friday, January 28 @ Northwest University 7:30pm
- Friday, February 4 (Home) vs. Oregon Tech 7:30pm
- Saturday, February 5 (Home) vs. Southern Oregon University 7:30pm
