COMING UP: Evergreen (5-19 overall, 1-15 CCC) closes out its 2018-19 men's basketball season this weekend with two games in Portland, Ore., and while the Geoducks have been eliminated from postseason contention, both contests will have an impact on the conference tournament. The Geoducks go against the Multnomah Lions on Friday and the Warner Pacific Knights on Saturday with both contests scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.
FOLLOW THE GEODUCKS: Evergreen basketball fans can follow their favorite team on the road in Portland via live stats and live video stream. Click on the Schedule link on
www.gogeoducks.com and then click on the plus sign underneath the opposing logos for links.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS: No longer in the conference tournament picture, the Geoducks can have an impact on which of three teams is the final playoff participant. Seven of the eight CCC postseason playoff berths are already taken, leaving Northwest University, Multnomah and Warner Pacific in the mix for the final spot. Not only do the Geoducks play at Multnomah and Warner Pacific, Northwest plays the same two opponents on the alternate night. Evergreen last made the conference tournament during the 2009-10 season when they also advanced to the first round of the national tournament.
ABOUT THE GEODUCKS: Junior guard
Elijah Fuller is the team's leading scorer with11.8 points per game but missed the previous two contests because of ongoing injury concerns. Senior forward
Ryan Quigley is a notch below Fuller, averaging 11.7 points per game, and he ranks second in the conference in free throw percentage at 87.7 percent. Senior forward
Malik Redmond and
Dalton Groenewold both average 9.7 points per game, and Groenewold leads the Geoducks with an average of 6.8 rebounds per game. Evergreen has been outscored by nearly 18.0 points per game and trails its opponents in rebound average by 3.5 per contest.
SENIOR MOMENTS: Five seniors will play their final games for the Geoducks this weekend - forwards
Ryan Quigley,
Dalton Groenewold,
Malik Redmond and
Jared Roffler and guard
Brandon Kohler.
QUIGLEY APPROACHING 1,000 CAREER POINTS - AND OTHER FACTS: Ryan Quigley has quietly had an outstanding four-year career in Olympia and teeters on the verge of becoming the fifth player in Evergreen men's basketball history to surpass 1,000 career points. Quigley needs 26 points in his final two games to reach the four-digit scoring barrier, and if he does he will join career scoring leader Nathan Menefee (2,182 from 2007-10), Trelton Spencer (1,740 from 1997-2001), Andre' Stewart (1,262 from 2000-02) and Mike Parker (1,180 from 2001-03) on that list. Additionally, Quigley ranks in the top five in career rebounding with 542, that list led by Julio Feliciano (569 from 2007-10), and in the top five in games played with 101. He set the program's single-season free throw percentage record at 87.1 percent, set last season, and his current career mark of 83.1 percent is ahead of the Evergreen record 82.3 set by Andre' Stewart (2000-02).
ABOUT MULTNOMAH: The Lions (14-14 overall, 5-11 CCC) lead all of NAIA Division II men's basketball with 97.46 points per game (they allow an average of 96.0), and junior guard Justin Martin ranks second nationally with an average of 31.39 points per game. Earlier this season, Martin set a NAIA Division II single-game scoring record with 71 points, including 15-for-19 shooting from three-point range, in a win over Warner Pacific. Martin, junior forward Ben Grandle and freshman guard Zach Richardson ranks first through third nationally in total made three-pointers, and Martin is well ahead of the pack with an average of 5.62 made three-pointers per contest. Senior forward Brett Blackstock averages 17.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, Richardson adds 17.4 points per game, and Grandle comes in with averages of 15.7 points and 8.4 rebounds. Junior forward Stepan Zavydovskyy averages 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, the latter number ranking him fourth nationally.
THE FIRST TIME: Justin Martin scored 36 points and visiting Multnomah knocked down 23 three-point shots to beat Evergreen, 100-86, on Dec. 1 inside Costantino Recreation Center. The Geoducks put five players in double figures with
Elijah Fuller scoring 19 and
Dalton Groenewold adding 18 points and 12 rebounds.
RECENT RESULTS: Multnomah swept Evergreen last season, 74-69 and 100-82, and with this year's result has five victories compared to the Geoducks' two since Multnomah joined the Cascade Collegiate Conference during the 2015-16 season.
ABOUT WARNER PACIFIC: A team that was picked to finish fourth in the preseason coaches poll finds itself fighting for a playoff spot. The Knights (14-13 overall, 5-11 CCC), losers of six straight conference starts, are led by standout senior forward Collin Malcolm with averages of 18.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
THE FIRST TIME: Visiting Warner Pacific outscored Evergreen by 23 points in the second half as the Knights defeated the Geoducks, 96-62, in the conference opener for both teams played on Nov. 30 in Olympia.
Elijah Fuller scored 16 points and both
Brandon Kohler and
Ryan Quigley added 11 for Evergreen.
RECENT RESULTS: The Knights have won 16 of the last 17 games played between the two squads, including sweeping the Geoducks by 94-66 and 95-77 scores last year. The lone Evergreen win over the last 17 contests was a scintillating 87-85 home court decision during the 2016-17 season that broke a string of 12 consecutive Warner Pacific wins.
LAST WEEK: The Geoducks played one game and ended up with a 2-1 record for the week. How does that happen? The week started with an 81-62 loss to Northwest University on Tuesday, followed by Evergreen officially picking up a pair of forfeit wins from Walla Walla.
