OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Tony Frohlich-Fair (Sr., W) from The Evergreen State College led all players with 24 points, but Pacific Lutheran University scored the final five points, as the Lutes won 77-73 in an exhibition game for the Geoducks on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at the Costantino Recreation Center. The game counted for the Lutes, who improved to 4-2 overall. Evergreen remained 0-2 on the season.

Evergreen grabbed a 73-72 lead on a layup by Gabriel Wigginton (Jr., W) with 45 seconds to play. Cale Berry hit two free throws for the Lutes with 34 seconds left. Berry added two more free throws with 11 seconds on the clock to give PLU a 76-73 advantage. Ben Tellez made the first of two free throws with three second remaining to clinch the win.

Frohlich-Fair was 11 of 16 on field goals on his way to providing the Geoducks with 24 points. He also tied for the team lead with seven rebounds. Wigginton finished with 13 points and matched Frohlich-Fair with seven boards. Zach Jefferson (Sr., G) tallied 11 points, and Jayson Mathews (Jr., G) earned 10 points, as four Evergreen players reached double digits. 

Mathews was credited with four assists for Evergreen, while Jefferson led the Geoducks with three steals. Wigginton added two steals.

Dom Perasso topped Pacific Lutheran with 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Charlie Kapranos contributed 17 points and registered game-highs with 13 rebounds and five assists. Tellez also recorded 17 points. Henry Smith and Tellez each ended the game with three steals.

PLU took a 13-4 lead on a dunk by Kapranos with 16:24 left in the first half. The Geoducks cut the margin to 14-8 when Jamoi Davis (Sr., W) scored on a layup about one minute later. The Lutes countered with a 9-3 run for a 23-11 lead after Mack Hepper put through a jumper at the 11:39 mark.

The Geoducks used a 9-2 run to move within five points at 25-20 following a layup by Jacob Laff (Jr., W) with 8:27 on the clock. Later, Evergreen was as close as 34-30 with 3:13 left in the half on a pair of free throws by Mathews. Pacific Lutheran led 40-32 on a jumper by Perasso with 49 seconds remaining, but the Geoducks cut the lead to 40-37 at the break with a traditional three-point play by Mathews and a layup by Laff.

Evergreen scored the first five points of the second half on a layup by Frohlich-Fair and a 3-pointer by Wigginton for a 42-40 lead. The five points began a 14-4 run that gave Evergreen a 51-44 advantage with 15:29 to play following a traditional three-point play by Frohlich-Fair. 

The Geoducks led 58-51 with 12:49 on the clock after Kenzel Massey (So., G) sank a 3-point shot. Pacific Lutheran tied the game 60-60 at the 10:26 mark when Smith scored on a layup. The teams were tied two more times before the Lutes claimed a 67-65 edge with a layup by Kapranos with 7:30 left.

PLU eventually held at 71-67 lead after two free throws by Berry with 3:07 remaining. Evergreen tied the game with four points from Wigginton, as he sank two free throws with 1:50 to go and hit a layup with 1:26 to play. Tellez converted 1 of 2 free throws with 1:14 on the clock to give PLU a 72-71 edge. Wigginton put through a go-ahead layup for the Geoducks with 45 second left, before the Lutes tallied the game's final five points.

Evergreen shot 48.3% on field goals (29 of 60) during the game, while connecting on just 4 of 24 three-pointers (16.7%). The Geoducks were 11 of 14 on free throws (78.6%). The Lutes made 26 of 65 field goals (40.0%), including 6 for 30 on 3-point attempts (20.0%). PLU was 19 of 23 at the free throw line. The Lutes earned a 39-23 rebounding margin.

The Geoducks will open Cascade Collegiate Conference play on Friday, Dec. 5 at Oregon Tech. Game time in Klamath Falls, Oregon, is set for 7:30 p.m. PST.