Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 2015)
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015 SPORTS 7A Heppner scores post-season win over Loggers, again By ERIK SKOPIL EO Media Group PENDLETON — With the game hanging the balance, Patrick Collins let his football instincts kick in. Leading by a deuce with less than two ticks remaining on the clock, Heppner’s two- sport star snared Knappa’s baseline inbounds pass out of WKHDLUKDOWLQJWKH/RJJHUV¿- QDO SRVVHVVLRQ EHIRUH D ¿QDO heave was possible. Collins’ interception sealed the deal for the No. 3 Mustangs, earned them a 56-54 overtime state TXDUWHU¿QDO ZLQ RYHU 1R Knappa and advanced the school further into the state basketball tournament than ever before. “I saw the end zone,” he VDLG RI WKH ¿QDO SOD\ ³, ZDV ready to score. I read that and I knew game over.” Heppner (19-5) has never SOD\HG LQ D VWDWH VHPL¿QDO LQ basketball contest. Tonight that will change. They’ll face off with No. 2 Toledo at 8:15 p.m. at the Pendleton Con- vention Center with a berth in the state championship on the line. “This was our goal from the beginning of the season to get to this moment,” sophomore guard Logan Grieb said. “I’m just really happy.” The historic victory was far from a cakewalk. The Loggers (22-6) are fueled by &ODVV$¶VPRVWSUROL¿FVFRU- er. In his last two outings, se- nior guard Tyson Burnard had scored a combined 82 points — including a 50-point out- pouring versus Vernonia in a 1RUWKZHVW /HDJXH GLVWULFW ¿- nal win. Burnard was no less im- pressive Thursday in Pendle- ton. He had 16 points by the half and his 13 third quarter points vaulted Knappa to a 43- 40 lead entering the fourth. He ¿QLVKHGZLWK With their season on the line, the Mustangs turned de- fensive in the fourth. Burnard scored just two points, the Loggers four total and Hep- pner was able to piece together enough baskets to force over- time. The Loggers mighty mite made things interesting at the regulation buzzer, howev- HU %XUQDUG¶V KDOIFRXUW ÀLQJ reached the rim, and almost ended it there, but was just a hair too strong. Collins, who scored 12 LQ WKH ¿UVW KDOI WR OHDG +HS- pner, reasserted himself in the overtime. An outside jumper opened the extra time scoring and a layup on a feed from CJ Kindle gave Heppner the lead for good. “Part way through overtime E.J. HARRIS — EO Media Group Knappa’s Dakota Sever- son makes an off-balanced rebound in the Loggers’ 56-54 loss to Heppner on Thursday in Pendleton. I said ‘Go to work big man’, and he said ‘Feed me the bas- ketball. Just give it to me’,” Heppner coach Jeremy Rosen- balm said of Collins. “My team needed me,” Collins said. “It took us a few extra minutes than normal but we got it done.” After Burnard missed a ÀRDWLQJ MXPSHU *ULHE VDQN two free throws to give the Mustangs a four-point edge with 12.7 seconds remaining. Burnard wasted little time, hurrying down the court to drain a three-pointer to make it a one-point game. CJ Kin- dle made one-of-two free throws next to push it back to two and then Collins jumped in front of Knappa’s Dale Takalo’s inbounds pass to ce- ment the win. The nail-biting, heart-pound- ing variety of victory is nothing new for the Mustangs. Heppner has won four games this year decided by two points or less, including the state playoff berth FOLQFKLQJZLQRYHU6WDQ¿HOGWZR weeks ago. “I’m not very old, but they’re aging me,” Rosen- balm said. “I don’t know if some of my kids have ice wa- ter in their veins or what it is, EXWVRPHKRZZH¿QGDZD\WR make the play when it really matters.” &ROOLQV¿QLVKHGZLWKWHDP high 18 points and 10 re- bounds. Grieb added 14 and Weston Putman chipped in with 12. No Logger besides Bur- QDUGPDGHPRUHWKDQWZR¿HOG goals, but Just Dragoo blocked nine shots. “It’s a huge deal,” Collins said. “I know that the city of Heppner is so proud of us. I’m just happy to say that I’m a part of it and I’ve got my best friends beside me.” Toledo ended Heppner’s perfect 10-game start earlier E.J. HARRIS — EO Media Group this season with a 62-36 win at the Central Linn Holiday Tour- Knappa’s Tyson Burnard shoots the ball guarded by Heppner’s C.J. Kindle in the Mustangs’ 56-54 win against the Loggers on Thursday in Pendleton. nament. Seaside hosts Klamath Union Saturday SCOREBOARD PREP SCHEDULE BASKETBALL TODAY Boys Basketball — 4A State Play- off: Seaside at North Valley, 7 p.m.; 2A State Tournament: Knappa vs. TBA. SATURDAY Girls Basketball — 4A State Play- off: Klamath Union at Seaside, 6 p.m. Boys Basketball — 2A State Tour- nament: Knappa vs. TBA HIGH SCHOOLS Class 2A Boys Quarterfinal at Pendleton Heppner 56, Knappa 54 KNA (54): Tyson Burnard 36, Da- kota Severson 6, Dale Takalo 4, Jus- tin Dragoo 4, Jason Miller 2, Chase Rusinovich 2, Andy Miller, Colton Weirup, James Hendrickson. HEP (56): Patrick Collins 18, Logan Grieb 14, Weston Putman 12, Ross Cutsforth 6, C.J. Kindle 3, Jesse Corbin 3, Caden Hedman, Kevin Murray. Knappa 12 11 20 4 7—54 Heppner 10 16 14 7 9—56 Field goals: Knappa 22-59; Hep- pner 21-49. 3-Point Goals: Knappa 6-17 (Burnard 5, Takalo); Heppner 5-10 (Putman 2, Grieb 2, Corbin). Free throws: Knappa 4-7; Heppner 9-12. Fouls: Knappa 14, Heppner 13. Turnovers: Knappa 9, Heppner 16. Rebounds: Knappa 28 (Dragoo 10); Heppner 40 (Collins 10). Blocks: Knappa 9 (Dragoo 9); Heppner 2 (Collins, Cutsforth). Assists: Knappa 5 (Burnard 2); Heppner 12 (Kindle 6). Steals: Knappa 7 (Burnard 2, Dragoo 2, Severson 2); Heppner 4 (Collins 2). Fouled out: None. Players of the Game: Tyson Bur- nard, Knappa; Logan Grieb, Hep- pner. The Seaside girls basketball team will host the Klamath Union Pelicans at 6 p.m. Saturday at Seaside High School in the Sweet 16 of the Class 4A OSAA state playoffs. Doors open to spectators at 5 p.m. Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for students. Accepted passes include the OSAA Gold Card, OSAA VIP pass, OSAA Media pass, OSAA Basketball Discount ticket and OSAA Basketball Media pass, with photo ID. 6FKRRO DWKOHWLF GLVWULFW RI¿FLDOV DVVRFLDWLRQ HWF SDVVHV will not be accepted. Baby orca, other discoveries made by tracking team SEATTLE (AP) — A new baby orca wasn’t the only in- teresting discovery research- ers made while tracking en- dangered killer whales. Researchers aboard a Na- tional Oceanic and Atmo- spheric Administration vessel returned to Oregon earlier this week with a wealth of new data about the whales and their ocean environment. The information was gained after NOAA Fisheries researchers followed the gi- ant marine mammals for 21 GD\V WR ¿QG RXW ZKHUH WKH\ go during the winter, what they eat, and what risks they encounter. The data and other research will help determine what crit- ical areas offshore need to be protected for the whales, re- searchers said during a brief- ing Thursday. The study came as the Na- tional Marine Fisheries Ser- vice is considering whether to expand protections for the orcas to include offshore areas from Cape Flattery, Washing- NOAA photo This orca was photographed near the mouth of the Columbia River on Feb. 24 by re- searchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. North Head Lighthouse and Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center can be seen in the background. ton, to Point Reyes, California. The agency has already designated inland waters of Washington as critical to orca conservation. Using satellite tags, the team tracked the orcas as they swam about 100 miles or so, mostly along the Washington coast and as far south as cen- tral Oregon. The trip that began Feb. 11 provided a unique opportuni- ty to spend up to 24 hours at a time observing the whales, listening to their sounds and collecting samples of what they eat and expel. Orcas were listed as en- dangered in 2005. Local and regional efforts began in the 2000s to save them. The satellite tagging proj- ect, research cruises and other efforts are helping scientists ¿OO LQ WKH JDSV DERXW WKHLU travels and diet. Among the highlights was the discovery of the new baby orca off the coast of Washing- ton in late February, the third such baby documented this winter. “I never expected to see WKLVDQGLWZDVDNH\¿QGLQJ´ said Brad Hanson, wildlife bi- ologist with NOAA’s North- west Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. )RUWKH¿UVWWLPHUHVHDUFK- ers also observed groups of whales reuniting offshore, he said. The orcas were also seen farther from the coast than be- fore — about 15 miles from Washington and 10 miles from Oregon. Researchers were also sur- SULVHGWR¿QGWKHRUFDVDWRQH point foraging in relatively shallow waters, with a depth of about 26 feet (or 8 meters), near Willapa Bay in south- west Washington. The scientists were able to get out on a smaller boat to FROOHFWIHFDOVDPSOHVDQG¿VK scales to study what the orcas eat and even which stock of Chinook salmon they prefer. They also gathered in- formation about the ecosys- tem where the whales spent their time. While at sea, the scientists collected data on sea surface temperatures, observed the abundance of seabirds in the area, and re- corded the sounds the orcas made through a series of hy- drophones, or underwater mi- crophones. “This is such an exciting cruise with so much great data,” said Lynne Barre, branch chief for protected re- sources, West Coast region. Hanson said there’s still more to learn, including whether the movements of the orcas change from one year to the next.