TACOMA, Wash. - Evergreen State guard Nate Menefee put up 57
points as the Evergreen State Geoducks knocked off the 18th-ranked
Puget Sound Loggers, 108-97, in a non-conference men's basketball
game on Tuesday night at Memorial Fieldhouse in Tacoma, Wash.
The Loggers (0-1) got off to a quick start, scoring the first
seven points of the game but the Geoducks (2-2) battled back,
evening things up at 10-10 with 15:49 left to play in the first
half. The Logger shooters went cold as the Geoducks continued
to heat up, giving TESC a ten-point lead with 10:09 left to play in
the opening period.
Puget Sound battled back, using a layup by Colin Koach
(Portland, Ore./Franklin) to tie the game up at 41-41 with 3:02
left in the first half. After UPS took a brief lead, Meneffee
scored four quick points at the end of the half to give the
Geoducks a 53-48 lead heading into the break.
In the second half, the Geoducks built a 17-point lead with
13:52 left to play but the Loggers battled back. A jumper by
Austin Boyce (Kent, Wash./Kentwood) with 4:45 left to go got the
Loggers back within five points but that would be as close as Puget
Sound would get as Evergreen pulled away again, taking the 108-97
win.
The Loggers were led by 25 points from Boyce, who also added
nine rebounds and three steals. Nadav Heyman (Corvallis,
Ore.) added 21 points and six assists while Koach finished with 19
points on the night. Sophomore Edric Egberuare (San Jose,
Calif./Milipitas) added 13 off the bench. The Loggers were
solid from the line, making 24 of 28 attempts for 85.7%.
Evergreen was led by the monster game from Menefee, who added
seven rebounds, eight assists and three steals to go with his 57
points. Anthony Gallagher chipped in 21 points and 10
rebounds to collect the double-double while Ben Wilson came off the
bench to score 13. The Geoducks shot an impressive 58.7% from
the field, making 37 of 63 attempts.
The Loggers will look to bounce back on Friday night when they
play UC Santa Cruz in the second game of the Puget Sound Tip-Off
Classic. The first game featuring 10th-ranked
Wisconsin-Stevens Point and 16th-ranked Whitworth, followed by the
Loggers and Banana Slugs.
