A deep bench and an attacking full-court press are two of the University of Puget Sound men’s basketball team’s strengths.
Both aspects were on full display against The Evergreen State College on Friday.
Fueled by its depth and relentless pressure, UPS used a 15-0 first-half run to take control and then put the game away with a late 15-5 run to remain unbeaten with an 88-76 victory over the Geoducks at the inaugural Pacific Lutheran University Thanksgiving Classic at Olson Auditorium.
Six Loggers scored in double figures, led by Edric Egberuare’s 18 points.
Kaleb Shelton and Riggs Yarbro had 16 points each, and Anthony Gittens and Ryan Rogers both added 12 and Derek Jobe chipped in 10 as the Loggers (4-0) eclipsed the 80-point mark for the third time this season.
“I was very pleased with the demeanor of the team and the maturity they showed down the stretch,” UPS coach Justin Lunt said. “It’s a major improvement from where we were last year.”
Gittens also pulled down 12 rebounds to notch his second double-double of the season to help the Loggers post a 49-36 rebounding edge.
Evergreen (0-6) was paced by Marice Tolliver’s 34 points and 17 rebounds. The Geoducks also received 17 points from Travis Wagner and 10 from Elzie Dickens.
A Yarbro field goal 12 minutes into the contest capped 15-0 UPS run, giving the Loggers their largest lead at 30-14.
Despite playing short-handed due to injuries, the Geoducks charged back behind Tolliver, a Mount Tahoma graduate who scored Evergreen’s final 11 points of the first half to pull his team to 44-37 at halftime.
Tolliver’s onslaught carried over – at one point he had scored 19 consecutive points for Evergreen.
Evergreen cut the deficit to 60-56 with 11:07 left after Tolliver capped an 11-0 Evergreen run by scoring six points in six seconds. UPS, however, answered with a 15-5 run.
Wisconsin-River Falls 68, at PLU 59: Five players scored in double figures as the Falcons (4-1) beat the Lutes (2-1), who got 15 points for Kai Hoyt.
WOMEN
At PLU 77, St. Joseph’s 45: Samantha Potter’s 16 points and 13 rebounds lifted the Lutes (2-0) over the Bears (0-4) from Brooklyn.
News Tribune news services contributed to this report
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