By Christian Bond, PLU Sports Information Student Writer
OLYMPIA – A hot-shooting second half helped Evergreen surpass Pacific Lutheran in the second half as the Geoducks defeated PLU 93-83 in a nonconference men's basketball game Friday night.
After PLU used dominant free throw performances to close out each of the last two games, the Lutes were on the opposite end of a great performance from the free throw line Friday. The Geoducks shot 95 percent. (20 of 21) from the charity strip, including 17-of-18 in the second half and eight straight in the final 40 seconds after PLU pulled within four.
The big three of Bryce Miller, Brandon Lester and Dylan Foreman combined for 60 points in the loss. Miller filled up the stat sheet with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Lester was efficient from the floor as he made seven of his 11 shots. Lester was 6 of 8 from the free throw line for 23 points. Foreman had 21 points and five rebounds, his fifth straight game with at least 20 points.
The duo of Alix Hernandez and Danny Powell led Evergreen, as each scored 30 points and the two combined to shoot 20-of-33 from the field and 16-of-16 from the free throw line. Powell grabbed 14 rebounds for the Geoducks.
"They were a good team," PLU head coach Steve Dickerson said of Evergreen. "We couldn't figure out a way to stop them."
Pacific Lutheran shot an even 50 percent in the first half (15-of-30), including 9-of-13 from three-point range, but the Lutes' shooting cooled in the second half to 40.6 percent overall (13-of-32) and 16.7 percent from long-distance (2-of-12). At the same time Evergreen shot 54.8 percent after the break (17-of-31) to rally back after PLU took a 49-42 lead with 16:31 to play.
From that point Evergreen used a 12-4 run to regain the lead, but a jumper by Lester put PLU back on top and the Lutes stretched their advantage back to six points midway through the period. That proved to be the turning point, as Evergreen followed with 10 straight points, and after the Lutes scored four in a row to tie it one final time at 67-67 the Geoducks out-scored PLU 14-1 over the following five minutes.
One final PLU rally included five points by Miller, a layup and free throw by Foreman and a three-pointer by Kasey Johnson to pull the Lutes within four at 83-79 with 53 seconds remaining. At that point the Geoducks' eight straight free throws sealed the win for Evergreen.
"We had opportunities throughout the game, but we did not take advantage of them," Dickerson said. "We had 14 turnovers, and they came in crucial situations. That is not like us."
After two weeks off for finals and Christmas, the Lutes head to Las Vegas for the d3hoops.com Classic Dec. 28-29, with games against Mary Hardin-Baylor and Wisconsin-Stout.
