OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Tony Frohlich-Fair (Sr., W) scored 29 points and Jacob Laff (So., W) contributed 18 points, as The Evergreen State College defeated Warner Pacific University 93-75 at the Costantino Recreation Center on Saturday, Jan. 10. Evergreen led 45-30 at halftime, but Warner Pacific got as close as 67-66 with 6:52 left in the game before the Geoducks sealed the win. Tyson Parker topped WPU with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. 

Evergreen moved to 2-8 overall, 2-6 in the CCC. The Knights fell to 5-11 on the season, 1-7 in the CCC.

In addition to providing the Geoducks with 29 points, Frohlich-Fair earned three rebounds, three assists, and three steals. He was 8 of 13 on field goals and 12 for 15 at the free throw line. Laff reached 18 points by connecting on 6 of 7 field goals, including 5 of 6 three-pointers. Laff and Jayson Mathews (Jr., G) tied for the team lead with five rebounds. Zach Jefferson (Sr., G) scored 17 points to go with five steals and three assists. Bradley Graham (Sr., G) registered 14 points for Evergreen.

The Geoducks gained a 27-18 edge in points off turnovers. Evergreen forced WPU into 27 turnovers, while the Geoducks lost the ball 15 times.

Parker's 24 points led three Knights in double figures for scoring. Nzube Mekkam tallied 12 points. Jurrien Sparks claimed 11 points and eight rebounds. Josh Lincoln supplied Warner Pacific with six rebounds. 

WPU led 11-7 with 16:29 left in the first half on a layup by Apollo Eugene, but a 3-pointer by Jefferson with 15:55 left and a layup by Frohlich-Fair at the 14:55 mark gave Evergreen a 12-11 lead. The Geoducks owned another one-point margin at 16-15 with 12:24 to go but went on a 7-0 run for a 23-15 advantage after Frohlich-Fair put through a 3-pointer at the 9:33 mark.

A bit later, back-to-back three-pointers by Laff offset a layup by Josh Lincoln of WPU as Evergreen took a 29-21 lead with 7:43 to play. Warner Pacific scored the next four points, but Evergreen closed the half with a 16-5 run to grab a 15-point margin at the break.

Warner Pacific opened the second half with seven consecutive points, starting with a 3-pointer and a layup by Sparks, to get within 45-38. Parker completed the surge with a jumper as the clock hit 17:58. The Knights reduced the margin to 49-43 before Evergreen used a 7-0 run to take a 56-43 advantage on a 3-pointer by Graham with 13:54 to go. The Geoducks led 64-54 after Frolich-Fair made a jump shot at the 9:35 mark.

A 12-3 run by the Knights reduced the lead to 67-66 with just under seven minutes left. Laff hit two 3-pointers in a 6-2 offensive outburst as the Geoducks claimed a 73-68 edge with 5:14 remaining. The next basket was a 3-pointer by Parker for WPU to cut the margin to 73-71, but the Geoducks countered with an 11-0 surge for an 84-71 lead with 2:15 to go. The run featured two steals by Kenzel Massey (So., G) that created dunks for Massey and Frohlich-Fair.

For the game, Evergreen shot 44.4% from the field (27 of 61) and hit 11 of 32 three-pointers (34.4%). Evergreen was 6 of 13 on threes in the first half (46.2%) while WPU was just 1 of 8 (12.5%) on long-range shots during the first 20 minutes. Warner Pacific finished the game 26 of 57 on field goals (45.6%) and went 7 for 26 (26.9%) on 3-pointers.

Evergreen was 28 for 34 (82.4%) on free throws. The Knights made 16 of 20 free throws (80.0%). WPU achieved a 36-32 rebounding margin.

The Geoducks will play at Walla Walla University on Friday, Jan. 16. Game time in College Place, Washington, is set for 2 p.m. PST.