Despite shooting nearly 50 percent from the field, the Lewis-Clark State College men’s basketball team didn’t have enough firepower to match Evergreen State and fell to the Geoducks 92-85 in a nonleague contest at the LCSC Activity Center on Friday night. 

The Warriors, 6-5 on the season after suffering their third straight loss, led 48-45 at halftime in the high-scoring affair, but was outscored 47-37 in the final 20 minutes to suffer the rare home setback. 

Evergreen State guard Nathan Menefee had a big night with a game-high 32 points, along with four steals and two assists. He hit 9-of-16 shots from the field, including 3-of-4 from the 3-point line, and added an impressive 11-of-12 performance at the foul line. 

Evergreen State was solid at the foul line in the foul-laden game. The Geoducks hit 29-of-35 attempts for 87.9 percent, compared to 25-of-36 for LCSC, 69.4 percent. A total of 55 fouls were called in the contest, but only two players fouled out. 

Senior forward Mike Gordy (shown above) had another big night for the Warriors. He finished with a team-high 27 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and a 13-of-18 effort at the foul line. He also had six rebounds. Mikel Watson added 17 points and tied for team-high rebounding honors with Jon Daly at eight. Justin Fraser also was in double figures with 11 points, while Rob Comer added 10. 

The Warriors had 22 turnovers in the contest. 

With about six minutes left in the game, Watson converted a three-point play for the Warriors to cut Evergreen State’s lead to 75-73, but the Geoducks went on a 9-3 run and made it 84-76. LCSC cut it to 88-85 with 35 seconds left, but the second free throw attempt by Gordy rolled off and the Warriors wouldn’t score again as the Geoducks iced the game with free throws. 

The Warriors have three games left this year and will take a small break before resuming play on Dec. 19 against Walla Walla University at 7 p.m. at LCSC. On Dec. 28 and 29, the Warriors will play host to Thompson Rivers University. The Dec. 28 game is at 7 p.m., while the Dec. 29 contest is at 2 p.m.