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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, NOvEmbER 21, 2019
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Gary Henley | Sports Reporter
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HOMETOWN REPORT
BIG ‘HOMECOMING’
WELCOME FOR UTTI
Seaside grad scores
career-high 29 points
By GARY HENLEY
The Astorian
ORTLAND — There were lots
of red shirts in the stands at the
Chiles Center on Sunday for a
University of Portland women’s college
basketball game.
And the red shirts weren’t Fresno
State red. They were Seaside red.
Seaside High School’s Maddi Utti
was making a “homecoming” of sorts,
as the Bulldogs paid a visit to Portland
in a battle of unbeatens.
And except for the Pilots’ 75-64 win,
the night could not have been more
memorable for Utti.
On her 21st birthday and in front
of a large contingent of fans from her
hometown, Utti scored a career-high 29
points.
Fresno State led 17-12 after one quar-
ter, but Portland rallied and outscored
the Bulldogs 63-47 over the final three
quarters.
The Pilots improved to 4-0, while
Fresno State (3-1) lost its first game of
the season.
Utti was 14-of-24 from the field and
pulled down 11 rebounds for her first
double-double of the season, and 12th of
her college career.
Utti tried to rally the Bulldogs. Her
10th point of the third quarter had Fresno
State within 57-50 to end the quarter, and
she scored Fresno State’s first six points
of the fourth period to cut Portland’s lead
to 59-56.
The Bulldogs got within 63-62 before
the Pilots regrouped and rebuilt their
lead to close out the win.
Now in her junior season, Utti was on
the Mountain West Conference all-defen-
sive team last season, in addition to mak-
ing honorable mention all-conference.
Fresno State hosts Brigham Young
Thursday and Northern Arizona next
Sunday, before playing a pair of games
in Los Angeles vs. Yale and George-
town, Nov. 29-30.
P
Jeff Ter Har
Maddi Utti, in the back row, poses with a few of her Seaside fans who were in attendance Sunday in Portland.
Jeff Ter Har
Maddi Utti, right, takes a break in the action
during last Sunday’s game in Portland.
Jackson scores
career-high 22 points
Utti wasn’t the only former Gull to
come up big on the court in the first week
of the college basketball season.
In a men’s game Nov. 15 in New-
berg, Seaside’s Jackson Januik scored a
career-high 22 points to lead George Fox
to an 87-82 win over Colorado College.
Januik, a junior guard, was 6-of-10
from the field and 8-for-9 from the free
throw line, and added five rebounds and
four assists in the victory. George Fox
improved to 2-1.
George Fox Athletics
Jackson Januik goes up for a shot against
Colorado College.
SCOREBOARD
PREP SPORTS SCHEDULE
FOOTBALL — 2A Semifinal: Knappa vs. Heppner, 2:15 p.m.
(Hillsboro Stadium)
Jeff Ter Har
Maddi Utti drops in two of her 29 points in Sunday’s game at the Chiles Center.
Anthony brings new outlook despite Trail Blazers loss
By BRETT MARTEL
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — Carmelo
Anthony had accepted the possi-
bility that his NBA career might
be over.
That seems to have liberated
him to come back on his own
terms when he signed with the
Portland Trail Blazers.
“I came to a point where I was
willing to accept it either way,”
Anthony said after playing the first
game of his 17th season with his
sixth NBA team on Tuesday night.
“I had to get myself mentally pre-
pared for that and I did, to be hon-
est with you.
“I stayed with it, but there was
times where I didn’t want to. I
wanted to just say, ‘Forget it,
move on with my life, spend more
time with my family.’ I started
getting more comfortable with
that,” Anthony continued. “I come
into this game with a totally dif-
ferent mindset, totally different
motivation.”
Anthony’s Portland debut —
played across the street from
where he led Syracuse to the 2003
NCAA championship — was not a
triumphant one. He missed 10 of
14 shots, finished with 10 points,
and the Blazers lost 115-104 in
UP NEXT: BLAZERS
• Portland Trail Blazers (5-10)
at Milwaukee Bucks (10-3)
• Tonight, 5 p.m. TV: TNT, NSNW
Gerald Herbert/AP Photo
Portland Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony is defended by New
Orleans Pelicans guard Kenrich Williams (34) during the second half of an
NBA basketball game in New Orleans Tuesday.
New Orleans.
But Anthony was in good spir-
its when he exited the locker room
and stood in a hallway, patiently
taking questions and often smiling
as he spoke introspectively about
the significance of his first NBA
game action since his unceremo-
nious departure from the Houston
Rockets a year ago, after appear-
ing in just 10 games.
“The greatest feeling of it all
was to feel wanted by a group of
guys who believe in me and my
talent and what I can bring to
the table,” said the 10-time All-
Star, who has averaged about 24
points per game during his career.
“It wasn’t just the players, it was
the coaching staff. They showed a
strong belief in me and what I can
still do.”
He started right away, even
before he’d participated in a single
full practice with the Blazers. He
joined them the day after they’d
lost at Houston on Monday night,
and approximately 72 hours after
getting confirmation by phone
that the Blazers were ready to sign
him.
“That was something that was
established from the gate, when we
had that phone call: Let’s be trans-
parent. That was a miscommuni-
cation over the last couple seasons
over what my role would be and
things that was expected from me,
and that was a big point,” Anthony
said. “There’s not nothing I won’t
be willing to do, but just let me
know up front. Whatever it is, just
let me know, put it out on the table
and let’s go from there.
“That was a big reason why
I made my decision,” Anthony
added. “It worked. I’m here. They
had a vision. They had a plan and
I was part of that plan. When it
came down to it, I wanted to be
part of that plan.”
Anthony said it was hard to
tune out speculation over which
teams might give him another shot
during his year out of the game.
“It’s been a roller coaster,” he
said. “There was one point where
I told my agent: “Just let me know
when it’s first and goal. Don’t call
me when it’s first and 20.”
In the meantime, Anthony
assured that he “wasn’t on the
couch” waiting for a call, but con-
tinuing to train.
“Physically, as far as basket-
ball goes, that comes easy to me,”
Anthony said. “I still have to put
the work into that, but it was more
of a mental and emotional chal-
lenge, more so than a physical
challenge.”
For the time being, the 35-year-
old Anthony is steering clear of
setting expectations.
“Who knows? I don’t think
anyone knows what’s going to
happen this year,” he said. “I’m
here now. That’s what’s import-
ant. I could have still been home,
right? So, Portland pulled the trig-
ger. No matter what happens, I
will always appreciate that.
“I have a new outlook,” he
added. “For me, where I’m at,
mentally, emotionally, the way I
see things now, the way I approach
the game, the way I approach this
situation is more so me just hav-
ing another different appreciation
of just what this is and what the
game of basketball brings.”