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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017
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Gary Henley | Sports Reporter
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Submitted Photos
Astoria boys’ eighth-grade team, from left to right: Hunter Ficken, Mikey
Burger, Anthony Reed, T.J. Colvin, Dylan Junes, Bo Williams, coach Ty Wil-
liams, Tony Tumbarello. Front: Xander Marincovich.
Lady Fish eighth-grade tournament team. Back row, left to right: coach Nick
Both, Shelby Rasmussen, Ally Pritchard, Emma Roe, Tajarae Tuimato, So-
phie Long, Kelsey Fausett. Front row: Halle Helmersen, Maddie Sisley, Elle
Espelien, Madi Both. Front: Coach Alex Eterno.
Fishermen youth teams head to state
The Daily Astorian
A pair of Astoria eighth-grade basketball
teams will be competing in the 2017 Oregon
Middle School Championships, which begin this
weekend.
The tournaments take place in Bend, Redmond
SPORTS
IN BRIEF
AP Photo/Nick Wass
Washington Wizards head
coach Scott Brooks, left,
talks with referee Ken Mau-
er (41) during the first half
of an NBA basketball game
against the Golden State
Warriors in February in
Washington. notforsale
Foul! NBA
plans to
keep stats on
referees, too
By BRIAN MAHONEY
Associated Press
NEW YORK — The NBA
will start keeping stats on offi-
cials, too.
The league plans to hire
more officials, plus change the
way they are scheduled and
evaluated.
The NBA will launch an
Officiating Advisory Council,
among a number of initiatives
announced Thursday follow-
ing a six-month review of the
officiating program conducted
by Byron Spruell, the presi-
dent of league operations.
Salary cap for
2017 season is,
up $12 million
and Sisters, with the girls’ championships (grades
five through eight) beginning today and running
through Sunday.
Astoria’s “Lady Fish” eighth-grade tournament
team is headed to state for the fourth year in a row.
Coached by Nick Both and Alex Eterno, the
Astoria team includes Madi Both, Elle Espelien,
today at Elton Gregory Middle School. The boys’
tournament takes place March 10-12.
Players for Astoria include Mikey Burger,
T.J. Colvin, Hunter Ficken, Dylan Junes, Xander
Marincovich, Anthony Reed, Tony Tumbarello
and Bo Williams. The Fishermen are coached by Ty
Williams.
Lillard scores 33 as Trail Blazers beat Thunder
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
PORTLAND — The Trail
Blazers huddled in a timeout
with just more than 17 sec-
onds left against Oklahoma
City, and the overwhelming
sentiment was simple: relax.
The Thunder had trimmed
Portland’s lead to 110-109,
but the Blazers refused to get
rattled and came away with
a 114-109 victory Thursday
night.
“Even though it got scary
there at the end, we were
still able to calm ourselves
down and get the win,” said
Damian Lillard, who fin-
ished with 33 points.
Russell Westbrook scored
45 on 12-of-36 shooting
for the Thunder, who had
their four-game winning
streak snapped. Oklahoma
City newcomer Taj Gib-
son added 15 points, includ-
ing a high-arching buzz-
er-beater from 61 feet away
to put the Thunder up 60-57
at halftime.
Alex Abrines’ 3-pointer
gave the Thunder their big-
gest lead at 97-89 with 7:48
left, but Al-Farouq Aminu
made a layup that tied it
at 101 with 3:43 to go. He
missed the free throw, but
Jusuf Nurkic got the tip-in to
give Portland the lead.
Lillard’s
3-pointer
extended it to 106-101 before
Westbrook’s driving layup and
AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer
Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, left, shoots over Oklahoma City Thunder forward Doug McDermott during
the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland Thursday. The Blazers won 114-109.
free throw pulled Oklahoma
City to 110-106.
Abrines’ 3-pointer with
17.7 seconds left narrowed it
to 110-109. After the timeout,
Lillard was fouled twice in
the final seconds and made all
four free throws before West-
brook and Doug McDermott
missed 3-pointers at the end.
Nurkic, acquired by the
Blazers just before the All-Star
break in a trade with Denver,
was a spark with 18 points,
12 rebounds, a career-high six
assists and five blocks.
“He has a good sense of the
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Portland hosts
the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday
night.
game,” Portland coach Terry
Stotts said. “When you have
that, I think the integration
goes a little bit better.”
Westbrook hit all 15 of
his free throws. He had eight
rebounds and four assists, end-
ing a streak of four straight
triple-doubles.
Enes Kanter added 18
points and 10 rebounds.
“Difference tonight was we
just couldn’t make our shots,”
Westbrook said. “We missed
the same shots that we’ve
been making every game.”
The Thunder were com-
ing off a 109-106 victory
over Utah. Westbrook had 43
points, 11 rebounds and 10
assists in that game for his
30th triple-double of the sea-
son. The Thunder opened the
game against the Jazz with 12
straight 3s.
The Blazers were coming
off a 120-113 overtime loss at
Detroit, which capped a 2-7
February.
AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer
Portland Trail Blazers for-
ward
Al-Farouq
Aminu
dunks during the second
half of an NBA basketball
game in Portland Thursday.
Basketball builds character at Naselle Youth Camp
Coach Smith
leads stellar
team of athletes
Associated Press
NEW YORK — The NFL
salary cap for the upcoming
season will be $167 million
per team, up more than $12
million over last year.
The league and the NFL
Players Association compile
the cap from specific reve-
nues, and it has risen annu-
ally. It was $143.28 million
two years ago.
This is the fourth consecu-
tive year the cap has risen at
least $10 million.
Player benefits also are
included under the 10-year
labor agreement reached to
end the 2011 lockout. That
comes to $37 million per
team, bringing the players’
total compensation package
to over $200 million per club
for the first time.
In comparison, baseball
had 12 teams with luxury-tax
payrolls beyond $167 million
in 2016.
Since 2011, the cap has
increased by $47 million.
Kelsey Fausett, Halle Helmersen, Sophie Long,
Ally Pritchard, Shelby Rasmussen, Emma Roe,
Maddie Sisley and Tajarae Tuimato.
The Lady Fish are in the same pool with
the Hermiston Lady Ballerz, the Hidden Valley
Hoops, and Molalla.
Astoria opens play against Molalla, 5 p.m.
By AARON MEAD
EO Media Group
NASELLE, Wash. — The
Naselle Youth Camp basket-
ball program, which com-
pleted its season last month,
gives players direction and
goals to pursue, and brings
the whole camp together for
home games.
The team played only
three games this season, two
against other facilities and
one against Naselle High
School alumni, finishing the
year 2-1. Still, there was no
shortage of camp residents
EO Media Group/File Photo
A.J. “Mooch” Smith leads
the basketball program at
Naselle Youth Camp.
who were willing to commit
to an intense effort to become
a team and prepare for these
chances to represent their
camp.
“I tell the kids (basketball)
is a chance, for two hours
each day, to forget about
things, about any difficulties
in their lives. It’s a chance to
be normal kids again,” said
coach A.J. Smith. Forty-five
kids turned out, of which
Smith picked 14 players for
the team. Eligibility depends
on good behavior.
Most players hadn’t had
opportunities for organized,
team basketball in their
past. “They’ve played on
the street, in the courtyard,”
Smith said. “The challenge
is teaching the team game. In
terms of athleticism, they’re
the best high school team
in the region. Ten of the 14
players on the team can dunk,
or at least touch the rim.”
Smith starts off the season
teaching basic fundamentals
of team basketball. He insists
on players staying within the
structure, rather than trying
to go one-on-one. On defense
he ran a 1-3-1 zone, which
Smith sees as well-suited to
the team’s length, athleti-
cism, and inexperience.
Smith’s goals go beyond
winning basketball games, of
course. “We teach them how
to do things right,” and rep-
resent the youth camp well
on road trips, Smith says. But
that doesn’t necessarily mean
having a team of nice guys.
“Throughout my coach-
ing career, I’ve tried to teach
players they need to have a
little swagger,” said Smith,
who in the past has coached
high school softball and
eighth grade girls’ basketball
at Ilwaco. “With these guys, I
don’t have to teach that. It’s
the most competitive group
you can imagine.” What he
Ilwaco girls on track for state title
By AARON MEAD
EO Media Group
SPOKANE, Wash. — Ilwaco
High School girls won an exciting
nail-biter vs. St. George School,
50-49, in overtime of the quarter-
finals Thursday to advance to the
semifinals of the State Basketball
Tournament.
Makenzie Kaech sank a2-foot
shot with 31 seconds left to win
it.
Eliza Bannister hit a3-pointer at
the end of regulation to send the
game into overtime.
At halftime, hometown Spo-
kane team St. George’s led Ilwaco,
22-15.
Ilwaco is now one win away
from the championship game.
tries to teach them is how to
apply that same spirit to the
rest of their lives. “I teach
them life is competition. If
you go for a job interview,
you want to be better than the
next person.”
The basketball team is
part of the camp’s larger goal
of giving kids a source of
camaraderie, a constructive
group to belong to. “Every
kid is part of one group or
another,” Smith said. At
home games, the entire camp
comes together to cheer on
the team. As a medium/min-
imum security institution,
“statistically, we’re taking in
kids who have a better shot”
in life than other juvenile
inmates, Smith said. “When
they all participate, that helps
down the road.”
SCOREBOARD
PREP SCHEDULE
TODAY
Girls Basketball — Washington 2B State Tourna-
ment: Davenport vs. Ilwaco (at Spokane), 7:15 p.m.
Boys Basketball — 4A State Playoff: Cascade at
Seaside, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY
Girls Basketball — 4A State Playoff: Seaside
at Molalla, 7 p.m. Washington 2B State Tourna-
ment: TBA vs. Ilwaco, 7 p.m.