LACEY, Wash. – After waiting nearly 10 minutes for their first shot to fall, the Evergreen Geoducks couldn’t overcome an early deficit, falling 75-61 to the Saint Martin’s Saints in an exhibition men’s basketball game on Tuesday night at Marcus Pavilion in Lacey, Wash.
The Geoducks basket seemed to be covered by some sort of force field in the first half as Evergreen didn’t get a point until Tyrell Stephens (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma HS) hit a free throw with 10:12 left to play in the period, putting them behind 18-1. Evergreen did win the final ten minutes, outscoring the host Saints, 26-20, as SMU took the 38-27 lead into the break.
In the second half, the Geoducks continued to chip away at the SMU lead, pulling with 11 points with 10:45 left to play at 54-43. Despite consistent pressure on both ends of the court, Evergreen struggled to close the gap as the Saints earned the 75-61 win.
Evergreen was led by 22 points and 14 rebounds from senior Marice Tolliver (Tacoma, Wash./Lower Columbia College). Julian Holliday (Tacoma, Wash./Yakima Valley CC) added 10 points as the Geoducks shot just 30.0% from the field. Evergreen did hold a slight edge on the glass, outrebounding SMU, 39-38, on the night.
Saint Martin’s was led by 22 points from Jeremy Green, who was 8-of-10 from the field. Roger O’Neill chipped in 16 while Brok Pendleton and Eric Taylor chalked up 11 and 10 respectively. The Saints shot 50.9% from the field, making 27-of-53 attempts, including seven from behind the arc.
The Geoducks officially open the 2011-12 campaign on Friday night when they travel to Billings, Mont. to take on Rocky Mountain College. Tip-off with the Battlin’ Bears is set for 7:30pm MST.
