WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- The Evergreen State College lost a high-scoring Cascade Collegiate Conference road game against Walla Walla University 94-91 on Saturday, Jan. 25, in a match-up that featured 22 ties and 20 lead changes. Bradley Graham (Jr., G) and Zach Jefferson (Jr., G) each registered 22 points to top four Geoducks in double digits. The game was played at Walla Walla Community College due to a conflict on the WWU campus.

Walla Walla moved to 3-15 , 2-12 in the CCC. Evergreen lost a tight battle for the second consecutive night, after falling to #21 Lewis-Clark State College 85-83 on Friday. The Geoducks slipped to 1-15 overall, 1-2 in the CCC with Saturday's loss.

Graham put together a solid night for Evergreen. In addition to scoring 22 points, he provided nine assists, earned four rebounds, and had one steal. He played 37 of the 40 minutes. Graham was 7 of 9 on field goals, hit 2 of 4 shots from 3-point range, and went 6 for 6 at the free throw line. Jefferson added three rebounds, three steals, and a blocked shot.

Evergreen held a 73-69 lead with 6:44 remaining after Jamoi Davis (Jr., W) completed a traditional 3-point play for the Geoducks. The Wolves grabbed a 74-73 advantage following a 3-pointer by Thomas Mestrov and two free throws from Andrew Vaughan. Evergreen regained the lead at 75-74 when Graham sank two free throws with 6:03 left.

Walla Walla moved in front 76-75 with a layup by Soren Dalan at the 5:50 mark. The Wolves kept the lead for the rest of the game, but the margin was just three points at 89-86 following two free throws by Graham. With 41 seconds to go, Graham missed a 3-pointer in an attempt to tie the game, but Kekoa Beard rebounded the ball. Beard was fouled and hit 1 of 2 free throws. After a turnover by Evergreen, Vaughan added a layup to give WWU a 92-86 lead.

Graham was fouled with 19 seconds to go. He hit both free throws to cut the lead to 92-88. The Geoducks stole the ball from the Wolves on the ensuing possession, but Zach Jefferson (Jr., G) missed a jump shot. Mestrov hit two free throws for Walla Walla with 11 seconds left for a 94-88 lead. Jefferson sank a 3-point shot as time expired.

Following Graham and Davis on the Geoducks' scoring chart was Jourdan Joseph (Sr., G) with 15 points. Joseph was credited with six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Davis tallied 13 points to go with five rebounds. Solomon Campbell (Jr., F) finished with eight points and seven boards.

The Wolves were led by Mestrov with 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting. He was 5 for 6 on 3-pointers. Mestrov also had six rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Vaughan produced 24 points and 10 boards, while going 7 for 7 on free throws. Dalan scored 13 points and matched Vaughan with 10 rebounds. Almonds Sebirokwa tacked on 11 points and five boards. 

In the first half there were 11 ties and eight lead changes. The Geoducks earned their largest lead of the half at 41-36 with 3:05 on the clock after Graham put through a jump shot. A bit later, TESC owned a 44-40 advantage on a 3-pointer by Davis. Walla Walla scored the final six points of the half to take a 46-44 lead.

The lead for WWU reached five points at 49-44 when Vaughan sank a 3-pointer 40 seconds into the second half. Evergreen tied the score at 51-51 on a 3-pointer by Davis at the 16:31 mark. After Davis' 3-pointer, neither team led by more than two points until the traditional 3-pointer by Davis with 6:44 on the left.

Evergreen shot 46.3% for the game (31 of 67) and made 9 of 22 three-pointers (40.9%). The Geoducks converted 20 of 25 free throws (80.0%). Walla Walla was 31 of 63 from the field (49.2%) and 9 of 19 on 3-pointers (47.4%). The Wolves hit 23 of 38 free throws (60.5%) and earned a 46-31 rebounding edge. Evergreen committed just nine turnovers and forced WWU into 14 turnovers.

The Geoducks will host Oregon Tech at the Costantino Recreation Center on Friday, Jan. 31. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. PST.