L-C smokes out Geoducks; Evergreen State's free-for-all style affects Warriors, but not enough to reverse outcome of last week's game in Olympia
Copyright of The Lewiston Morning Tribune

By MATT BANEY
OF THE TRIBUNE

When the Evergreen State players took the Warrior Gym court for pregame warmups, it was clear they were primed for gutbucket basketball. They lined up in rows and performed football-type calisthenics, ending with a simultaneous flop onto their backsides.

Once the game started, bodies from both teams went crashing to the floor with regularity.

So, yes, the Geoducks did force the Lewis-Clark State men to play an untidy game. But the Warriors still registered a 75-67 nonconference win Saturday night -- their second victory in eight days over ESC.

This game, however, was unlike the Warriors' sound 27-point blowout at Olympia last weekend. The squads combined for 45 turnovers and 40-percent shooting.

In their previous meeting, the Geoducks did their best to devise a game plan to deal with LCSC's strengths. Obviously, that strategy wasn't successful.

"It was almost like we gave them so much respect we were kind of hesitant and became a little more reactionary," ESC coach John Barbee said of the earlier contest. "This time we just said, 'Hey, we've got to go out and do what we do.' We try to pressure you, get up in you and create some turnovers."

The Warriors (7-3) mustered lukewarm resistance to the Geoducks' insistence on rag-tag play. "I thought there were times that we bought into it," L-C coach George Pfeifer said, "and I thought there were times when we slowed it down and actually got into what we wanted to run."

Although the Geoducks (2-5) were competitive, the Warriors were in charge throughout. They built a 23-point lead in the first half and were up by 19 at the break. ESC's perpetual second-half rally got no closer than the final eight-point margin.

L-C missed a few chances to slam the door in the second half. With over eight minutes left, back-to-back pairs of free throws from Martin Brothers and Skyler Wilson made it 56-42.

Point guard Danny Allen then stole the ball and, on the break, fed Brothers in the center of the court. But when the senior forward tried to squeeze the ball, it squirted into the air, and the Geoducks intercepted it. They scored five quick points to trim the deficit to single digits.

The Warriors went 28-for-35 from the foul line, including a 10-for-14 clip in the final three minutes.

Wilson, a senior transfer, hit for a team-best 14 points and added seven rebounds. Clarkston's Justin Fraser contributed 12 points while Brothers and Allen tossed in 10 apiece.

The Warriors also got 10 points and eight rebounds from Chris Pitts. The tone of the game seemed to suit the 6-foot-8, 230-pound sophomore from Hillsboro, Ore.

"It was really ugly, because their defense pressured us enough to make mistakes on offense, and the same with us for them on their offense," Pitts said. "So it really came down to who could play the better defense, and it turned out to be us."

NOTES -- Senior guard Joey Ray, who didn't suit up, is still nursing a foot injury. Pfeifer said he isn't sure what Ray's status will be, since the Warriors won't play again until Dec. 10. ... This is one of the more unfamiliar Geoduck teams in recent memory. Of the 15 players in the program, 10 are newcomers. "It's just a matter of our guys getting into our system, getting comfortable with each other," Barbee said. "We're still learning."

EVERGREEN STATE (2-5)

Tucker 8-14 1-2 19, Marshall 7-11 2-3 16, Collins 1-2 1-2 3, Newton 2-5 0-0 6, Hammond 3-6 1-1 8, Woods 3-5 0-0 7, Flynn 0-3 0-0 0, Dietz 1-5 0-0 3, Estill 1-3 0-0 2, Jones 1-3 1-1 3, Shanahan 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 27-60 6-9 67.

LEWIS-CLARK STATE (7-3)

Wilson 2-6 9-11 14, Idoko 0-2 0-0 0, Brothers 3-7 4-7 10, Allen 3-8 3-3 10, Fraser 4-13 1-2 12, Bishop 0-1 8-8 8, Jaekel 0-2 0-0 0, Moore 3-10 0-0 6, Orr 0-0 0-0 0, Pitts 4-5 2-3 10, Tikker 2-4 1-1 5. Totals 21-58 28-35 75.

Halftime score -- LCSC 42, ESC 23. Three-point goals -- ESC 7-21 (Tucker 2-2, Newton 2-4, Hammond 1-4, Woods 1-3, Flynn 0-2, Dietz 1-3, Estill 0-1, Jones 0-1, Shanahan 0-1); LCSC 5-18 (Wilson 1-3, Allen 1-2, Fraser 3-11, Jaekel 0-2). Rebounds -- ESC 36 (Tucker 8); LCSC 40 (Brothers, Pitts 8). Assists -- ESC 9 (Hammond 5); LCSC 14 (Allen 4). Total fouls -- ESC 27; LCSC 14. Technical fouls -- none. Fouled out -- Collins, Hammond, Woods.