SOU-Evergreen Photo Gallery (BUY THESE PHOTOS)

The 25th-ranked Evergreen State men's basketball team survived a late scare by Southern Oregon, but held on for a 79-73 victory.

Evergreen State improved to 17-7 overall and 10-4 in Cascade Conference play. Southern Oregon dropped to 11-13 overall and 3-12 in conference. SOU travels to Oregon Tech next Saturday night.

All-American Nate Menefee led all scorers with 26 points for Evergreen.

Ryan Staker (Las Vegas, Nevada/Centennial) led SOU with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Humphrey Jackson (Redwood City, Calif./Woodside) finished with 17 points and five 3-pointers and Drew Herrera (Medford, Ore./North Medford) had 12 points.

For the second straight night, SOU found itself down 22-8 to start the game. The Geoducks turned that in to a 46-34 halftime advantage.

In the second half, SOU came back and made a game of it thanks to Jackson's 3-point shooting.

Jackson hit three 3-pointers on three straight possessions to cut the Geoducks' lead to 74-70 with 3:22 to play.

Senior Jarrad Childs (Paso Robles, Calif./Paso Robles) hit a free throw to cut the lead to 74-71, but Meneffe scored four of Evergreen's last five points to wrap up the victory.