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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 6, 2018)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 CONTACT US FOLLOW US facebook.com/ DailyAstorianSports Gary Henley | Sports Reporter ghenley@dailyastorian.com SPORTS IN BRIEF Tillie leads No. 7 Gonzaga over San Francisco LAS VEGAS — Killian Til- lie scored 26 points on 10-of-11 shooting, including connecting on all five 3-pointers, to lead No. 7 Gonzaga past San Francisco 88-60 on Monday night in the West Coast Conference Tournament semifinal game. Tillie has made all 10 3-point attempts at the tournament and is 19-of-23 from the field. Top-seeded Gonzaga will be going for their sixth consecutive WCC Tournament title on Tuesday night. They await the winner of the Saint Mary’s-BYU game. Also for the top-seeded Bull- dogs (29-4), Rui Hachimura had 17 points and Zach Norvell Jr. added 14. Johnathan Williams had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Gon- zaga, which won its 13th straight, and 16th at the WCC Tournament. Nate Renfro led the fourth- seeded Dons (18-15) with 15 points. Frankie Ferrari and Sou- ley Boum each added nine points for San Francisco, which lost its 14 straight to Gonzaga. Gamel out, Mariners thin in outfield, Ichiro could return The Seattle Mariners are run- ning out of healthy outfielders. To the rescue — Ichiro? Ben Gamel will miss opening day, the Mariners said Monday, because of a strained oblique mus- cle that’s expected to sideline him four to six weeks. That could open a spot for Ichiro Suzuki, and a deal with the Mariners might be close. Suzuki was the AL MVP and Rookie of the Year for Seattle in 2001 and remained a fan favorite until he was traded away in 2012. The 44-year-old Suzuki spent the past three seasons in Miami, bat- ting .255 last year and starting 23 times in the outfield. Gamel hit .275 with 11 home runs and 59 RBIs in 134 games last year during his first full sea- son in the majors. The Mariners were hopeful Gamel would miss only a few days, but an MRI showed a more extensive problem. He first felt the injury after batting practice late last week. Gamel joined a growing list of banged-up Mariners. Seattle has already seen first baseman Ryon Healy (hand), outfielder Mitch Haniger (hand) and pitcher Felix Hernandez (bruised forearm) slowed by injuries during spring training. Outfielder Guillermo Heredia is still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, leaving Seattle thin at the position. Raiders release Smith following brush with law ALAMEDA, Calif. — The Oakland Raiders released pass rusher Aldon Smith on Monday after his latest run-in with the law. The Raiders retained Smith’s contractual rights even as he spent the past two seasons on the NFL’s suspended list. But the team decided finally to cut ties one day after San Francisco police said authorities were searching for Smith in connection with a domestic violence allegation. San Francisco police said Monday an arrest warrant has been obtained for Smith stem- ming from allegations that Smith assaulted a woman on Saturday night. Smith left before police arrived to respond to the 911 call and authorities are working with Smith’s attorney to arrange a time for him to surrender. Smith is facing misdemeanor charges of willful infliction of cor- poral injury, assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, false imprisonment and vandalism, according to Sgt. Michael Andraychak. — Associated Press Gary Henley/The Daily Astorian Jeff Ter Har/For The Daily Astorian Astoria senior Karsten Johnson was one of two Fishermen who earned all-league honors. Junior Chase Januik was one of three Seaside players named first team all-league. COWAPA ALL-LEAGUE Player of the Year: Dalton Renne, Banks Def. Player of the Year: Blake Gobel, Banks Coach of the Year: Marc Roche, Banks First Team Dalton Renne, Sr., Banks Chris Bendle, Sr., Scappoose Ian Collett, Sr., Tillamook Blake Gobel, Jr., Banks Ryan Hague, So., Seaside Chase Januik, Jr., Seaside Karsten Johnson, Sr., Astoria Andrew Plambeck, Sr., Valley C. Jacob Slifka, So., Banks Anthany Taylor, Sr., Tillamook Jack Tetzloff, Jr., Valley Catholic Joey Wagenknecht, Sr., Scappoose Payton Westerholm, Jr., Seaside Honorable Mention Nathan Abbott, Sr., Tillamook Dakota Bunn, Jr., Banks Bret Cameron, Sr., Banks Ramon Flores, Sr., Tillamook Jack Grasberger, Sr., Valley C. Ian Hunt, Jr., Astoria Ben Robbins, Sr., Banks Duncan Thompson, Jr., Seaside Jerad Toman, Sr., Scappoose Seaside and Astoria boys hoopsters earn all-league honors The Daily Astorian T he top two teams in the state this season at the 4A level will probably be the top two teams next year as well, as the Banks Braves and Seaside Gulls are both loaded with all-league players who will return next season. The No. 1-ranked Braves placed six play- ers on the Cowapa All-League boys basketball team, released last week. The Gulls were right behind, with four selections. League champion Banks swept the top awards. Senior Dalton Renne was named Player of the Year, junior Blake Gobel was selected as Defensive Player of the Year, and the Braves’ Marc Roche was named Coach of the Year. Banks also had four other all-league selec- tions — seniors Bret Cameron and Ben Rob- bins, junior Dakota Bunn and sophomore Jacob Slifka. Seaside juniors Chase Januik and Payton Westerholm were both selected to the first team, along with sophomore Ryan Hague. Junior Duncan Thompson was named honorable men- tion for the No. 2-ranked Gulls. Astoria senior Karsten Johnson made the first team, and Fishermen junior Ian Hunt was honorable mention. Lillard rallies Trail Blazers for 108-103 win over Lakers By DAN GREENSPAN Associated Press LOS ANGELES — When Damian Lillard starts knocking down shots, no deficit is insurmountable for the Portland Trail Blazers. Down 11 to the Los Angeles Lak- ers with 5:26 remaining? No problem. Lillard scored 19 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter and the Trail Blazers won their 15th consecutive game over the Lakers, 108-103 on Monday night. “Damian Lillard is special,” Port- land head coach Terry Stotts said. “If it’s not obvious, I’ll say it.” Lillard scored 15 in a row for the Trail Blazers down the stretch, giv- ing them a 104-103 lead with 1:08 remaining by hitting 1 of 2 free throws. “I’ve seen a lot of great basketball in my life, but today I was like wow. He made it look so easy, effortless,” Shabazz Napier said. “I just saw it in his eyes. He wanted the ball every single time, he wanted to take the shot. He definitely willed us today.” CJ McCollum had 22 points, and Jusuf Nurkic added 16 points and 16 rebounds. The Trail Blazers have won seven straight and nine of their last 10, climbing to third place in the Western Conference. Julius Randle had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who had their five-game winning streak ended. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 16 points, and Lonzo Ball had 10 points, two rebounds and two assists. Isaiah Thomas had a chance to tie it in the closing seconds but was stripped by Napier, who then made two free throws. Thomas finished with 19 points. The Lakers led 97-86 when Lil- lard took over. He knocked down four straight 3-pointers, including a step- back to tie the game at 97 with 3:37 remaining. He was 5 of 7 from the floor and 4 of 5 from 3-point range in the fourth quarter, and added a criti- cal offensive rebound with 32.8 sec- MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL Virginia is unanimous No. 1 in AP Top 25 By AARON BEARD Associated Press AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, center, shoots as Los An- geles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma defends during the first half of Mon- day’s game in Los Angeles. nix on Feb. 24. UP NEXT: BLAZERS • New York Knicks (24-40) at Portland Trail Blazers (38-26) • Tonight, 7 p.m. TV: NSNW onds remaining to extend a posses- sion while up 106-103. “I figured we had to just get really aggressive, start attacking and try to make a run for it,” Lillard said. It was a dramatic reversal from the third quarter when Lillard had three points and was 1 of 6 from the field. Portland shot 21.7 percent in the third, making 5 of 23 shots, and Los Angeles led by as many as 12. “We tried to get a blitz on him, but a lot of times he was just attack- ing before the screen even got there,” Lakers coach Luke Walton said. “But our execution down the stretch on offense and defense, that was the frustrating part.” It was the second time in three games Lillard scored 19 in the fourth quarter, after engineering a 15-point comeback in a 106-104 win at Phoe- Tip-ins Trail Blazers: Lillard was 12 of 25 for the game, including 6 of 11 from 3. He also had five rebounds and six assists. ... Portland has won eight straight road games against the Lakers. Lakers: Los Angeles lost at home for the first time since Jan. 5, ending a nine-game winning streak at Staples Center. ... Six Lakers finished in dou- ble figures, including 14 points for Brook Lopez and 11 for Kyle Kuzma. ... F Brandon Ingram (groin strain) is out for one week. Under wraps Randle gashed the Trail Blazers with nine points in the third quar- ter but was contained by Al-Farouq Aminu in the fourth. Randle made his only shot and had one rebound, and Stotts said limiting his impact was critical to the rally. “Randle gave us a bunch of trou- ble,” Stotts said. “He had his way with us.” RALEIGH, N.C. — Virginia is now the unquestioned No. 1 in the AP Top 25. The Cavaliers earned all 65 first-place votes in Monday’s poll after finishing four games ahead of the field in the Atlantic Coast Con- ference regular-season race. This was Virginia’s fourth straight week at No. 1, with the Cavaliers acquir- ing more first-place votes each time until claiming them all this week. Virginia joined fellow ACC team Duke as teams to be unani- mous No. 1 in the AP Top 25 this season. Pretty good for a team that was picked to finish sixth in the ACC during the preseason. The Cavaliers (28-2, 17-1 ACC) open ACC Tournament play in Thursday’s quarterfinals in Brooklyn with a chance to sweep the league regular-season and tour- nament titles for the second time in five seasons. “Now you are in one-and-done tournament play — the ACC Tour- nament and the NCAA Tourna- ment,” coach Tony Bennett said after Saturday’s win against Notre Dame. “You continue on, but you understand that it is quality play,” he said. “You do not change who you are, but you know that if you drop one, you are out.” With Michigan State’s stum- ble in the Big Ten Tournament, it looked like Xavier was set to move up a spot to No. 2 behind Virginia after winning the Big East regu- lar-season race outright. Instead, Villanova — which beat the Musketeers this season by 24 and 16 points but finished a game back in the Big East stand- ings — hopped over Xavier from No. 4 while Xavier remained third.
