Southern Oregon University surged late to down The Evergreen State College men’s basketball team 97-89 in Cascade Collegiate Conference action on Friday, Jan. 23 in Olympia at the Costantino Recreation Center. Tony Frohlich-Fair led the Geoducks with 35 points and six rebounds in the matchup.
With the loss, Evergreen falls to 3-10 overall and 3-8 in conference play.
It was another big game for Frohlich-Fair, who has scored 30 or more points three times this season and 20 or more points nine times. Against Southern Oregon, Frohlich-Fair was 13 for 18 from the field and 8 of 10 from the free-throw line.
The Raiders built an 11-point lead near the midway point of the first half, and Evergreen closed the gap to pull within 29-23 with 10:12 left in the first. There was a two-minute scoring gap after that, but the Geoducks eventually pulled to within 31-28 on two Frohlich-Fair free throws and a 3-pointer by Kohrey Bridges with 6:32 left in the half.
Zach Jefferson hit a 3-pointer to pull the Geoducks to within 46-41 at halftime.
After the break, Evergreen had several instances in which it tied the game and even grabbed the lead at 68-67 on a jumper by Jefferson with 9:27 left.
Southern Oregon, however, regained a 77-72 lead with 6:54 left. While Evergreen pulled to within two points four times over the next few minutes, SOU hit a layup and a triple to pull ahead 88-81 for good with 3:03 and ended the game on a 14-8 run.
Evergreen shot 53.1% from the field and shot 15 for 17 from the free-throw line. Southern Oregon, however, shot 64.8% from the field, going 11 of 19 from the 3-point line and 16 of 17 from the free-throw line. The Raiders also held a 30-22 rebounding edge in the game.
Jayson Mathews finished with 17 points, shooting 7 of 7 from the field, while Jefferson had 16 points, grabbed four rebounds and collected three steals. Bradley Graham also had 10 points.
Elijah Jackson led Southern Oregon with 27 points.
The Raiders improved to 12-7 overall and 9-2 in conference play.
The Geoducks host Oregon Tech on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 5 p.m.
