Box Score PORTLAND, Ore. – Clutch free throws by
Darius Redrick and
DJ Ahana in the final 20 seconds enabled the Multnomah University Lions to pick up their first Cascade Collegiate Conference men's basketball win of the season 74-69 over the visiting Evergreen State College Geoducks Saturday night here at Lytle Gym.
The Geoducks controlled a majority of the first half, jumping out to a 10-4 lead in the first four minutes behind a pair of three-pointers and two free throws by Pat Ling. The Lions briefly tied it 10-10 on a three by
Stephen Sedlock, but a 10-2 outburst pushed the Evergreen advantage back to eight at 20-12 at the 11:36 mark. The Geoducks were up by nine at 27-18 following a Shawn Spencer power layup with 8:47 left when the Lions started their comeback.
A three by
Ry Paulsen off the bench got the hosts going. Redrick and Evergreen's Ryan Quigley traded free throws, then a
Ben Grandle three and consecutive layups by
Trey Fountain gave Multnomah its first lead of the game at 30-29 with 3:51 to go in the half. Redrick sparked an 11-4 run to the break with a pair of driving layups as Multnomah took a 41-33 halftime lead.
Grandle hit a three to open the second half as the Lions took their largest lead of the game at 44-33, but the winless Geoducks were persistent. A 13-3 run, capped by a Quigley layup, made it a one-point game at 47-46 with 14:40 remaining, but the Lions ended the streak with a Redrick free throw and a Grandle layup and never surrendered the lead.
Three more times the Geoducks closed within a point, the last at 70-69 on a pair of Kevin Clayton free throws with 59 seconds left. An offensive foul on Grandle gave Evergreen the ball with 37 ticks left and a chance for the lead, but Fountain made a huge steal moments later and Redrick drained two freebies with 20 seconds left for a 72-69 lead. After Clayton missed a quick drive at the other end, Ahana was fouled and iced the game with eight seconds left, sinking a pair of rim-rattling free throws.
--- By the Numbers: Redrick had a game-high 22 points, sinking 7-11 field goals and 7-8 free throws, and passed out five assists, while Grandle had a double-double of 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Three-point shooting was critical to the Lions' win as they sank 11-of-39 from long range to only 3-of-17 for the visitors. The rebounds were even at 44 apiece.
Evergreen got 19 points from Ling, 12 from Quigley, and 11 from Jaurence Chisholm. Quigley and Dustin Meade had nine rebounds each, and Ling handed out four assists.
Multnomah is now 3-6 overall and 1-1 in the conference, while Evergreen State falls to 0-7 on the season and 0-2 in the CCC.
--- Quoting coach Curt Bickley: "Great to get that first (CCC) win. Great job by Redrick and Grandle, keeping us in the game like veterans do.
Tyler Walker was a big plus off the bench as well. DJ had the clutch free throws to win it at the end. TESC played with a lot of heart all night. This was a great win for us."
--- Next: Multnomah goes to Warner Pacific College Tuesday for a CCC game at 7:30 p.m. … Evergreen State visits Lewis & Clark College Wednesday for a non-conference contest at 7:00 p.m.
