EUGENE, Ore. – The Evergreen State shot 57% in the second half including a 4-for-8 performance from three-point range, handing Northwest Christian their fourth straight loss on Tuesday, 78-69. The Beacons were unable to hold onto a six-point halftime lead. All-American Point Guard Nate Menefee led the Geoducks with 30 points, scoring 19 in the second half as he shot 10-for-18 from the field, adding eight free-throws.
Northwest Christian was ahead 33-27 after a strong first half in which they held Evergreen to just 37% shooting. The Beacons stretched their lead to eight points, 39-31, on a three-point play by Ben Voogd with 17:44 remaining, but ESC never backed down, and went on a 10-2 run to finally tie the game with 14:10 to play, 41-41.
After surrendering an early 2-0 lead in the opening minutes, Evergreen finally took back the lead again with just over ten minutes to play when Ben Wilson hit a free-throw to make it 49-48. The teams soon saw their fifth tie score of the night and battled through six lead changes in just four minutes before the Geoducks emerged. Trailing 57-54 with 7:39 remaining, ESC went on a 14-2 run over a four-minute stretch, establishing a nine point lead, 68-59. The Beacons would get no closer than four points the rest of the way.
The Beacons (9-6, 1-2 CCC) were led in defeat by Voogd, finishing with 20 points along with a game-high four assists. Erik Quick-Warner added 13 points, shooting 6-for-6 at the charity stripe, and Kellen Spicer came off the bench to score ten for Northwest Christian. Brent McKee led the Beacons with nine rebounds.
Evergreen (10-4, 3-1 CCC) was a two-man shot as Julio Feliciano combined with Menefee for 48 of the teams 78 points. He shot 7-for-11 from the field, scoring 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Ben Wilson added 14 points off the pine as the ESC bench out-scored the NCU reserves, 26-19. Menefee, who earlier this year scored a CCC record 57 points in a game, crossed the 30-point threshold for the fifth time.
Northwest Christian will be back in action on Wednesday night as they travel to face Southern Oregon in Ashland at 7:30 pm.