PORTLAND, Ore. – Playing with just seven men, the Evergreen Geoducks couldn’t hold off the Concordia Cavaliers, falling 91-68 in a Cascade Conference men’s basketball game on Friday night at Cavalier Gym in Portland, Ore.
The Cavaliers (9-7, 2-4 CCC) took the early lead over the Geoducks (1-14, 0-6 CCC), building an eight-point advantage less than five minutes into the game at 10-2. The lead didn’t last long for the Cavaliers as Evergreen used a three-ball by Travis Wagner with 8:34 to play in the first half to pull ahead by one at 21-20. The scored stayed close for the next few minutes but Concordia exploded for 15 unanswered points down the stretch as the Cavs too the 45-31 lead into the break.
In the second half, Concordia slowly began to stretch the lead as the Cavaliers used a dunk by Kevan West to pull ahead by 21 points, 58-37. The Cavs remained on cruise-control for the remainder of the contest as Evergreen was unable to pull back within a competitive range as CU collected the 91-68 win.
Evergreen was led by 18 points from Mike DeRosier (Puyallup, Wash./South Puget Sound CC). Senior Patrick Lewis (Bremerton, Wash./Olympic College) put up 17 points while Travis Wagner (Federal Way, Wash./Green River CC) and Les Jones (Tacoma, Wash./Mt. Tahoma HS) each added 12 points. The Geoducks were without the services of senior Marice Tolliver (Tacoma, Wash./Lower Columbia College), who did not make the trip to Portland after averaging 18.6 ppg in the first 14 games of the season.
Concordia was led by 18 points from Adam Herman, who also added 12 rebounds to collect the double-double. West added 13, as did Jourdan Sweeney and Anthony Holton. The Cavs shot 52% from the field, compared with 37% for the Geoducks, and CU held a brief advantage in rebounding, 45-44.
The Geoducks will face another tough task on Saturday night when they remain in Portland to take on first-place Warner Pacific. Tip with the Knights is set for 7:30 pm at C.C. Perry Gymnasium.
