PARKLAND, Wash. – Senior forward Marice Tolliver (Tacoma, Wash./Lower Columbia College) put up career highs in both points and rebounds but the Evergreen Geoducks fell to the Puget Sound Loggers, 88-76, in a non-conference men’s basketball game on Friday afternoon at the PLU Thanksgiving Classic at Olson Auditorium in Parkland, Wash.
The Geoducks (0-6) took the initial lead and were in control early but the run-and-gun Loggers (4-0) quickly found their shot, taking the lead with 15:24 left to play in the opening period. Puget Sound pushed the lead into double-digits with 10:26 left to go, using a 15-0 run that put the Tacoma-based Loggers ahead, 30-14, with 8:10 left in the half. Evergreen battled back to cut the gap to seven at the halftime buzzer as the Loggers took a 44-37 lead into the break.
In the second half, the Loggers again sprinted out to a big lead leading by 15 with 13:37 left to play but an 11-0 run pulled Evergreen back within four. Despite the best effort by Tolliver, who equaled his 17 first-half points with 17 in the second half, and the rest of the Geoducks, the deeper Loggers were able to hold on, running their record to 4-0 win an 88-76 win.
Evergreen was led by the 34 points and 17 rebounds from Tolliver, both career-bests. Junior Travis Wagner (Federal Way, Wash./Green River CC) added 17 points while Elzie Dickens (Seattle, Wash./Highline CC) added 10 points off the bench.
Puget Sound was led by 18 points from Edric Egberuare. Kaleb Shelton-Johnson and Riggs Yarbro each added 16 while Anthony Gittens and Ryan Rogers finished with 12 points each. The Loggers out-rebounded the Geoducks, 49-36, on the game.
The Geoducks will look again for their first win of the season on Saturday afternoon when they take on tournament-host Pacific Lutheran. Tip-off with the Lutes is set for 2:00 pm at Olson Auditorium in Parkland, Wash.
