Geoducks Rally and Then Hold on For 72-71 Win
Corban missed a pair of potential game-winning layups inside the final three seconds and Evergreen held on for a 72-71 Cascade Collegiate Conference men's basketball victory on Sunday night inside Costantino Recreation Center.
The Geoducks (5-10 overall, 1-6 CCC) picked up their first conference victory after rallying from an 11-point deficit early in the second half. Dalton Groenewold poured in 22 points and Mana Niu added 15 points and eight rebounds off of the bench to lead the home team to victory.
The Warriors (10-5, 1-4) got a game-high 23 points from Joel Johnson, 20 more from AJ Hodges and 12 points and 14 rebounds from Beau Roggenbach.
Corban led for most of the first half, taking a 14-4 lead in the first 5 1/2 minutes before Hanley Shum and Groenewold nailed three-pointers to stem the tide. The Warriors later built a 33-25 lead following two Chandler Cavell free throws with 4:26 left in the opening half, but Groenewold hit back-to-back threes and Jared Roffler hit a jumper to tie the game momentarily. The Warriors closed the half with seven straight points to take a 40-33 advantage into the half.
With Evergreen trailing 46-35 a little more than a minute into the second half, Groenewold hit a three-pointer and converted a three-point play to kick start a comeback that led to the Geoducks taking their first lead at 54-53 on a Malik Redmond fastbreak layup with 13:42 on the clock.
The hosts built a six-point advantage before Corban made one last push. After Niu scored five consecutive Geoducks points on a layup and three-pointer, Hodges nailed a three to make it a 68-67 Evergreen advantage with 1:50 to play. Raven Frazier hit four free throws down the stretch and Evergreen led 72-69 when Johnson cut his team's deficit to one on a rebound basket with 24.1 seconds to play.
After a missed Geoducks free throw with 14.7 seconds left, the Warriors worked the clock down for the winning shot, but both Hodges and Johnson missed near the basket as Niu grabbed the last rebound when the buzzer sounded.
In ending an eight-game losing streak, Evergreen shot 46.4 percent overall and 43.5 percent from three-point range (10-for-23), including 4-for-9 by Groenewold and 3-for-4 by Niu. Joining that duo in double-figure scoring were Elijah Fuller and Redmond with 10 apiece.
Corban shot 45.9 percent overall and 31.8 percent from long range (7-for-22), and it also held a 37-30 edge in rebounding.
Evergreen returns to action next Friday when it travels to La Grande, Ore., for a game against Eastern Oregon University.