SPORTS
Friday, November 6, 2015
East Oregonian
NBA
Lillard leads Blazers to win over Grizzlies
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) —
Damian Lillard scored 27 points,
including 14 in the third quarter,
and the Portland Trail Blazers
defeated the Memphis Grizzlies
115-96 on Thursday night.
It was the second game of a
back-to-back for the Blazers, who
have strung together a modest
three-game winning streak. C.J.
McCollum added 20 points and a
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Courtney Lee
led the Grizzlies
with 18 points
while
Zach
Memphis
Randolph, who
played for the
Blazers for the
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his career, had
16 points and 10
Portland
rebounds.
Lillard
hit
seven 3-pointers,
including one that
put Portland ahead 95-71 early in
the fourth quarter.
The Blazers were coming off
a 108-92 victory over Utah on
Wednesday. Lillard and McCo-
llum combined for 62 points
against the Jazz.
The Grizzlies, in the midst
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routed by reigning NBA champion
Golden State 119-69 on Monday,
but rebounded to beat Sacramento
103-89 on Tuesday.
The Grizzlies defeated the
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Lillard is the only starter that
remains with Portland from that
team, following the offseason
departure of LaMarcus Aldridge,
Nicolas Batum, Wesley Matthews
and Robin Lopez.
Lee and Randolph iced their
knees on the Memphis bench to
start the second quarter but Lee’s
3-pointer gave the Grizzlies a
35-32 lead midway through the
period.
Jeff Green hit a half-court shot
at the buzzer that was originally
called good but review showed
that time had run out and the
Blazers led 50-46 at halftime.
Lillard hit a 3-pointer and
Portland added free throws to pull
Memphis
Grizzlies
forward
Zach
Randolph,
left,
shoots
over Port-
land Trail
Blazers
forward
Ed Davis,
right,
during
the
second
half of
an NBA
basket-
ball game
in Port-
land, Ore.,
Thursday,
Nov. 5,
2015.
96
AP Photo/Craig
Mitchelldyer
115
ahead 67-62 midway through the
third quarter. Maurice Harkless
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Portland would lead by as many as
26 points.
TIP-INS
Grizzlies:
Seventeen-year
veteran Vince Carter needs just
three more games to pass Steve
Nash for 30th on the NBA’s
all-time games played list. Carter,
who did not play against the
Blazers, is sitting at 1,215.
Trail Blazers: Portland has
19 back-to-backs this season.
... Lillard and Oklahoma City’s
Russell Westbrook are the only
players to be ranked within the
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assists. ... McCollum has scored at
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season.
RAINING 3S
Lillard’s seven 3-pointers were
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came in the second half, which
was one off the team record for a
half. Lillard has 23 3s this season,
second only to Golden State’s
Stephen Curry, the reigning MVP,
who has 28.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Host Detroit on
Sunday.
Grizzlies: Visit Utah on
Saturday.
TIGERSCOTS: Reedsport reminiscent of recent opponents
Continued from 1B
here and practice what we watched
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“We’ll take notes, and then we
write their plays so we can run
them in the scout (offense), so then
we’re prepared for it. Watching
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prepared and we know what we’re
doing.”
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tapes to watch on the Braves, and
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when the two teams meet at Ruppe
Field at 2 p.m.
“Their whole offense is based
off speed,” Bailey said. “They’ve
got some very talented skill posi-
tions, they like to get them out in
space. They run kind of a split-veer
offensive with some motion in
there.
“What they try to do is get to the
corners. They’re not afraid to put it
in between the tackles, but if they
can get their guys to the sidelines
then they’ll have a lot of success.”
If that sounds familiar to Tiger-
Scots fans it’s because the team
has already hosted a pair of teams
this season that run very similar
schemes.
“Their offense kind of had a
Heppner formation, but they like
to run it how Irrigon does,” said
senior linebacker Devon Rhoades.
“If we treat it somewhat like that
then we should do pretty good.”
Heppner and Irrigon are both
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Saturday as well and rank second
and third, respectively, in 2A
scoring this season. Both teams
were held to season-low totals
against Weston-McEwen — the
TigerScots beat Irrigon 37-12
and lost to Heppner 20-0 in their
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Reedsport (8-1) enters the game
with the No. 5 offense in 2A aver-
aging 38.8 points a game. However,
the Braves’ 349 total points would
rank fourth in the CBC, and they’re
the only team from the Sunset
Conference that scored more than
230 points this season.
When the Braves have the ball the
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who at 5-foot-8, 145 pounds, does
most of his damage on the edges of
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long touchdown. Running back Joey
Herr (5-11, 176), and wide receiver/
punt returner Mike Mitchell (6-3,
177) also have proven big-play
ability that the TigerScots will need
to contain.
“Not over-pursuing, just doing
your job and not over-pursuing
anything,” Rhoades said of the key
on defense.
The Braves have also put a few
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senior running back/linebacker
Vince Roff said he’s more worried
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score their own points this week.
“I’m not worried about our
defense, we’ve kind of taken care
of business all year and just played
defense solid,” he said of a unit
that enters ranked No. 4 giving
up 13.8 points a game. “But our
offense just needs to make sure we
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everything how it’s supposed to be
done.”
While last week’s 20-0 score
against Heppner may have been
encouraging for the defense, it was
a little troubling for an offense that
will face the No. 1 Braves D that
has allowed just seven points in its
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The TigerScots had just 13 net
rushing yards against Heppner, but
Bailey said their spread wing-T
scheme wasn’t the problem.
“We just didn’t block,” Bailey
said. “We had the kids in the
right spots, and I don’t know if
it was because we were playing
the University of Heppner or
what, but the kids just shied away
offensively. Defensively our boys
played fabulous, they didn’t shy
away from contact, but offensively
when we needed a key block we
just weren’t there and if we do that
against Reedsport we’ll suffer.”
“I think what we needed to
do as an offensive line was to
communicate better and sustain
our blocks a little better,” Flores
said. “If we would have done that
we would have put some points on
the board.”
Outside of the Heppner loss,
Weston-McEwen averages 36.5
points a game.
The offensive line’s play is
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had the team practicing mostly on
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anticipation of rain.
“We know that the weather is
going to be a little bit crazy a little
bit wet, but the only adjustment
we’re going to make is running
a little bit more downhill,” said
Bailey, who will make his playoff
debut as a head coach. “As long as
we can keep our offensive line low
and getting off the (snap quickly)
we should have some success
moving (the ball).”
Weston-McEwen has only
reached the second round four
times in 12 postseason appear-
ances since 1980, the last coming
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“Past years I think it’s just been
a mind game,” said Rhoades, who
was on the 2013-14 one-and-done
squads. “We get out there and
think, ‘Well we’ve held them this
long,’ then our mind kind of gets
out of it and they score the last
point. Looking at stats and how
people played other teams, we’re
right up there with (the state’s
best). We’ve just got to go out
there and show it.”
“We’re a better team I feel like,
so hopefully we can bring it to
them,” said Flores, who was on last
season’s team that lost 6-0 in the
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this year it feels like we have that
brotherhood. We work as a team
and I think we can get the job done.”
———
Contact Matt Entrup at
mentrup@eastoregonian.com or
(541) 966-0838.
KNIGHTS: Kennedy ‘hyper-aggressive’ in 3-5 defensive front
Continued from 1B
football team but they don’t look
like world beaters.”
The Trojans line up on offense
in an I-formation with 5-foot-9,
178 pound speed back Bishop
Mitchell behind fullback Jacob
Lopez (5-11, 210) and quarterback
Brett Traeger (6-1, 175).
Mitchell is the offense’s focal
point and his speed combines
with enough tackle-breaking force
to make him an effective runner
between the tackles and on the
edges. Lopez is an effective bruiser
that sticks mostly between the hash
marks but can also catch the ball
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Mitchell will sometimes split
out wide, but Traeger’s favorite
target in the passing game is
possession receiver Owen Seiler
(6-1, 175).
Containing Mitchell is the key
to slowing the Kennedy offense,
and the Trojans average just 26.1
points a game.
But that’s been plenty for a defense
that is ranked No. 3 in the state and
allows just 11 points a game.
Sheller said the Trojans employ
a “hyper-aggressive” 3-5 front that
mirrors what they saw in a 37-12
loss to Weston-McEwen.
“They just come at you from
all angles,” he said. “We had our
troubles with Weston but I think
we were on our way to scoring
(more), but we lost (quarterback)
Nate (Verley) at that point.
“I think (that game) helps us but
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who makes the plays. Kennedy is
a well-coached football team with
a bunch of good athletes so we’ll
have to play our best football game
on Saturday to win.”
Also out against Weston-
McEwen was center/linebacker
Cougar Kroske, who Sheller
called the “heart and soul” of their
defense. Both are healthy and back
in the lineup this week and team
enters the game at full strength.
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looks good based on the photos
he’s seen this week, but with rain
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mud.
“We’re preparing for a sloppy
game,” he said before adding it
wouldn’t affect the game plan
much. “It’s been my long-held
belief that you’ve got to run off
tackle to win in 2A football.”
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Knights put a strong foot forward
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Saturday. (The only other team to
ever compete in the football post-
season under the Irrigon banner
was the Irrigon Comets in a 36-22
loss to Sisters in the 1957 Class
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“It’s all new to the boys, they’ve
never done any of this stuff before,
having to practice under the lights
and stuff like that, having to play
on Saturday afternoon. It’s all
new,” he said. “We addressed the
fact that they’ve never played in
a meaningful game this late in the
season, and we don’t have to be
perfect, but we know we have to
be better each game than we were
in the last one.”
———
Contact Matt Entrup at
mentrup@eastoregonian.com or
(541) 966-0838.
Page 3B
Prep playoff
action
abundant
this weekend
East Oregonian
The playoffs are heating up here
in Oregon, as several area teams
take center stage this weekend.
In volleyball, Weston-McEwen
will attempt to advance in the 2A
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ship since 2010, while Ione is after
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And in boys soccer action,
Hermiston hopes to use its home-
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Riverside looks to keep its post-
season run alive against a red-hot
opponent in St. Mary’s.
Volleyball
(Class 2A) No. 2 Culver Bull-
dogs vs. No. 10 Weston-McEwen
TigerScots — At Redmond,
Columbia Basin Conference foes
Weston-McEwen and Culver will
meet for the fourth time this season
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the OSAA state playoffs.
The Bulldogs (28-3, 10-0 CBC)
has won all three matches this
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then defeating the TigerScots (22-9,
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weekend.
Weston-McEwen has made the
postseason every year since 2004,
winning two Class 2A titles during
that span. Last season the TigerScots
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the other side, Culver has made the
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seasons, winning the 2A title in
2012.
The match starts today at 10
a.m. at Ridgeview High School in
Redmond, and will be broadcast on
the web at NFHSnetwork.com.
The winner will continue Friday
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at 6:30 p.m., while the loser will
move to the consolation bracket and
play at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
(Class 1A) No. 2 North Douglas
Warriors vs. No. 7 Ione Cardinals
— At Redmond, the Ione Cardinals
will try and knock off the North
Douglas Warriors in an OSAA quar-
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Ione (21-6, 13-1) comes into the
match off of a 3-0 sweep of Elkton
in the play-in round, while North
Douglas (22-6, 13-0) beat Lowell
handily with a 3-0 sweep of its own.
Ione’s last trip to the postseason
came in 2013, when they lost to
Lowell in the second round. Before
missing the playoffs in 2014, Ione
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every year from 2009-2013, winning
one 1A title in 2011.
The match is set to begin at 3:15
p.m. at Ridgeview High School in
Redmond and will be broadcast
online at NFHSnetwork.com.
The winner of the match will
play again at 8:30 p.m. on Faturday
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move to the consolation bracket and
play again at 8 a.m. on Saturday.
Boys Soccer
(Class 5A) No. 4 Hermiston
Bulldogs vs. No. 5 Woodburn
Bulldogs — At Hermiston, the
‘Battle of the Bulldogs’ will
decide who advances and who
goes home.
Woodburn (10-2-3) has won
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have outscored the opponents 22-1.
Woodburn defeated Marist Catholic
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Hermiston (12-2-2) has been
strong of late, as well, going
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— most recently a 3-1 win over
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Saturday.
The game starts at 2:30 p.m. at
Kennison Field in Hermiston. The
winner of the game will advance
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played on Tuesday.
(Class 3A) No. 6 Riverside
Pirates at No. 3 St. Mary’s
Crusaders — At Medford, the
Riverside Pirates will look to send
St. Mary’s home with a rare loss to
advance in the OSAA playoffs on
Saturday.
St. Mary’s (14-2) dropped its
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combined score of 8-3, and then won
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— allowing all of nine goals along
the way. Most recently, St. Mary’s
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round of the playoffs on Saturday.
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opponents 36-3 over that span. The
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round on Saturday to advance into
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Saturday’s game is set to start at
5 p.m. and will be broadcast on the
radio on 580 ESPN in Medford or
online at 580ESPN.com.
The winner will advance to the
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