KENT, Wash. – The Evergreen Geoducks put up season-best 42 points in the second half but the Seattle Redhawks picked up the win, defeating the Geoducks, 77-54, in the Showare College Classic on Monday night at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Wash.
In the first half, the Geoducks (1-7) and Redhawks (2-2) each hit their first baskets but things would quickly go south for Evergreen, as they managed just 14.3% shooting in the first half against their NCAA Division I opponent. The Seattle lead hit double-digits with 12:32 left to go in the opening period as Clarence Trent hit a jumper that gave SU the 16-6 lead.
As Evergreen continued to struggle, the Redhawks continued to find the net, as their lead hit 20 with 8:30 left to play on a lay-up by Aaron Broussard. It wasn’t until the 5:58 mark and a pair of free throws by senior Marice Tolliver (Tacoma, Wash./Lower Columbia College) that the Geoducks hit double-digits as Seattle took a 39-12 lead into the break.
The Geoducks came out ready to play in the second half, using a 13-5 run to put the differential back into the teens at 44-25 with 16:41 left to play. Seattle finally stopped the Evergreen run but the Geoducks continued to force Seattle into making bad decisions, forcing five turnovers in the first eight minutes of the second half.
With just eight players suited up for Evergreen, the Redhawks eventually began to wear down the Geoducks as the lead slowly expanded for SU. Despite having the play from behind, Evergreen kept playing hard as they took the 77-54 loss.
Evergreen was led by a game-high 18 points from Tolliver. Senior Patrick Lewis (Bremerton, Wash./Olympic College) added 14 points to go with a team-high nine rebounds while Julian Holliday (Tacoma, Wash./Yakima Valley CC) came off the bench to score 10 in the losing effort. The Geoducks were tough defensively, forcing 14 Redhawk turnovers on the night, nine of them coming in the second half.
Seattle was led by 15 points from Trent, who also had nine rebounds on the night. Allen Tate and Louis Green each had 12 points in the win while Broussard chalked up 10 points in 25 minutes on the court. Seattle was nearly unstoppable in the paint, outscoring Evergreen, 42-8, under the basket.
Evergreen opens up Cascade Conference play on Saturday night when they continue to move north, heading to Kirkland, Wash. to take on in-state rival Northwest. Seattle U next takes to the court on Thursday evening when they play host to Stanford at KeyArena in Seattle, Wash.
