OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The Evergreen State College battled Lewis-Clark State College in a Cascade Collegiate Conference men's basketball game at the Costantino Recreation Center on Saturday, Dec. 7. LCSC held a slim 48-44 lead over the Geoducks with 10:51 remaining. The Warriors, ranked #21 in the NAIA, put together a 10-0 run to take control on their way to a 69-53 win.

Lewis-Clark State advanced its record to 7-1 overall and to 3-0 in the CCC. Evergreen fell to 0-5 on the season, 0-2 in the CCC.

Bradley Graham (Jr., G) topped the Geoducks with 14 points. He hit two 3-pointers and was 4 for 5 at the free throw line. Solomon Campbell (Jr., F) grabbed 12 rebounds to lead all players on both teams. Campbell also earned five points, two blocks, and two steals.

Jourdan Joseph (Sr., G) provided Evergreen with 10 points and three assists. Graham and Joseph each hauled down four rebounds.

The game's leading scorer was Alton Hamilton of LCSC, who scored 26 points and hit 9 of 15 field goal attempts. Hamilton went 7 for 9 at the free throw line, grabbed a team-high seven boards, and also supplied three blocks and two steals. John Lustig scored 10 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists. Grayson Hunt also tallied 10 points for the Warriors and was 5 for 6 from the field.

Lewis-Clark State led 10-3 following a jumper by Lustig with 14:00 left in the first half. Layups by Joseph and Campbell cut the margin to 10-7. The Warriors answered with a 4-0 run, but a 3-pointer by Graham moved Evergreen within 14-10 at the 9:58 mark.

A bit later, the Geoducks reduced the deficit to 16-14 on a layup by Campbell with 8:19 on the clock. The Warriors scored 11 of the next 13 points to increase their advantage to 27-16 with 5:37 left in the half. LCSC held a 31-25 lead at the break. Leading scorers in the first half were Hamilton with 11 points for the Warriors and Joseph with eight points for the Geoducks.

Evergreen scored four of the first six points in the second half to get as close as 33-29 with 19:11 left following a pair of free throws by Garret Long (Jr., G/W). The Warriors expanded the lead to 37-29, but the Geoducks were within 39-35 at the 16:03 mark after Graham was fouled on a 3-point shot and sank all three free throws.

LCSC owned a 46-39 edge with 11:48 left on a layup by MaCarhy Morris. Evergreen countered with a 3-pointer by Jamoi Davis (Jr., W). After Hamilton added a layup for the Warriors, Nick Gutierrez (Sr., G) hit a layup for the Geoducks to move as close as 48-44. Lewis-Clark State responded with their key 10-0 run that started with a basket by Hamilton and ended with eight points from Taden King on three free throws, a layup, and a 3-pointer. The Warriors led 58-44 with 7:14 to play.

The Geoducks shot just 29.8% from the field (17 of 57) and made 7 of 22 three-pointers (31.8%). Evergreen was 12 for 16 at the free throw line (75.0%). Lewis-Clark State was 26 of 58 from the field (44.8%) but made just 4 of 20 long-range shots (20.0%). The Warriors were 13 of 17 on free throws (76.5%). LCSC won a good rebounding battle 39-36.

Evergreen will host Northwet University in a CCC game on Tuesday, Dec. 10. Game time at the Costantino Recreation Center is set for 7:30 p.m. PST.