Hope Scores 19 as Geoducks Nearly Knock Off SOU
Box Score
ASHLAND, Ore. – With the game still undecided after 40 minutes, The Evergreen State College Geoducks gave it their all but fell in overtime to the Southern Oregon Raiders, 81-74, in a Cascade Collegiate Conference men’s basketball game on Friday night in Ashland, Ore.
Playing on the road for the first time in nearly a month, the Geoducks (5-11, 2-4 CCC) took the initial lead but SOU junior Jordan Highland was nearly unstoppable, making his first five shots to give the Raiders (11-6, 4-3 CCC) the first-half lead. Despite the play of Highland, Evergreen stayed on SOU’s heels. A free throw by freshman Mikey Hope (Tacoma, Wash./Wilson HS) with 4:55 left nodded the game at 25 and a bucket by Ramone Johnson (Las Vegas, Nev./South Puget Sound CC) gave Evergreen the lead just 43 seconds later.
After trading points for the final few minutes of the game, Michael Brumsey (Tacoma, Wash./South Puget Sound CC) took advantage of a late SOU foul to hit a pair of free throws and give Evergreen a 33-31 halftime lead. The Geoducks were led in the first half by 10 points from Brumsey, who was four-of-five from the field and two-of-two from the charity stripe.
In the second half, the Evergreen push continued as the Geoducks held the Raiders scoreless for the first 3:27 of the second period. Southern Oregon finally pulled out of slump around the 15 minute mark but Evergreen continued to work hard to hold onto the lead. The Raiders continued to push and retook the lead with 12:08 left to play, forcing the Geoducks to play from behind.
After committing just two fouls in the first half, Evergreen found themselves in foul trouble early, allowing the Raiders a multitude of opportunities from the charity stripe. Senior Johnny Sarysz (Seattle, Wash./South Puget Sound CC) hit a three-ball with 6:30 to play to tie the game back up at 53 as the two squads continued to clash.
With 39 minutes played, the game remained tied at 61. After Highland hit the back end of a pair of free throws to give SOU a one-point lead, the Geoducks took a timeout and Hope drew the foul to get a pair from the line with just 14 seconds remaining. After missing the first, the freshman hit the second to tie the game up and the Raiders couldn’t make a basket as Evergreen and SOU headed to overtime.
In the extra period, the Raiders struck first but the Geoducks stayed close, using a jumper by Josh Troyer (Vancouver, Wash./Lower Columbia CC) to take a 67-66 lead with 2:46 left to play. SOU answered back with six straight to pull ahead by five. Lewis hit a basket with a minute to play to get TESC back within three but Evergreen’s short bench simply ran out of gas as the Raiders escaped with the 81-74 overtime win.
Evergreen was led by 19 points from Hope and 18 from Sarysz. Larry Green (Seattle, Wash./Grays Harbor CC) had a strong game defensively, bringing down a game-high 12 rebounds, two steals and one block.
Southern Oregon was led by 18 points each from Highland and Kyle Tedder. The Raiders held a 53-41 rebounding margin in the home win.
The Geoducks will look to carry over Friday’s momentum into Saturday night’s contest with nationally-ranked Oregon Tech.
GAME NOTES: Evergreen is now 1-1 in overtime games this season
Upcoming Games
- January 14 (Fri) – vs. Concordia University (Home) 5:30pm
- January 15 (Sat) – vs. Warner Pacific (Home) 5:30pm
