Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Thursday, December 31, 2015
NBA
McCollum helps Trail Blazers knock off Nuggets
Associated Press
PORTLAND — While
Damian Lillard rehabs a
left foot injury, C.J. McCo-
llum and Allen Crabbe are
providing a lift for the Port-
land Trail Blazers.
McCollum scored 29
points, Crabbe had 20 and
Portland beat the Denver
Nuggets
110-103
on
Wednesday night for their
third consecutive victory.
“We look forward to
having Damian back. It’s
cliche, but everybody has
kind of picked up their game
a little bit,” Portland coach
Terry Stotts said.
At the forefront is McCo-
llum, who moved from
shooting guard to the point
in Lillard’s absence. McCo-
llum, who nearly got a triple
double in Sunday’s win over
Sacramento, was 12-for-19
shooting against Denver.
McCollum said his role
has changed into someone
trying to get everyone to
share the ball, while keeping
a scorer’s mentality.
“I like how he’s scoring
without necessarily forcing
the issue. He’s picking his
spots well, he’s running
the team well,” Stotts said.
“He’s playing with a lot of
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not only as a scorer, but as a
NBA
Portland
Denver
110
103
point guard.”
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straight game with left foot
plantar fasciitis. Portland lost
at Atlanta and New Orleans
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with Lillard out, but then
rebounded with victories
against Cleveland, Sacra-
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three-game win streak since
early November.
Crabbe has started the past
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least 20 points in two of the
three wins.
“It’s what I’ve been
waiting for since I got into
the league. A lot of hard work
is paying off,” Crabbe said.
“We’re out there moving the
ball, executing and the game
is just fun for us right now.”
Six Blazers scored in
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Nuggets, including 14 points
from Al-Farouq Aminu.
What Stotts admired most
about Wednesday’s win was
that it didn’t come easily.
Portland struggled at times
with rebounding and turn-
overs, but quickly regrouped.
“Every time something
wasn’t going right, we
bounced back,” Stotts said.
Will Barton, traded by
Portland to Denver last
season, led the Nuggets
with 31 points, one off his
career high. Barton hit four
3-pointers and made 12 of 22
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Denver has lost seven of
eight. Gary Harris scored 19
points for the Nuggets.
“I told the guys after the
game, I’m tired of saying,
‘I’m proud of you guys, you
played hard, you competed,
but we came up short.’
That gets old after a while,”
Denver coach Michael
Malone said. “Obviously
we need to see some wins.
We need some payoff for the
hard work.”
Portland trailed 27-26
after one quarter, but took
control midway through the
second quarter and led by as
many as 16 points early in the
IRXUWK'HQYHUFXWWKHGH¿FLW
to 98-93 with 5:05 remaining
after running off 11 consecu-
tive points, but McCollum hit
a 20-footer and Crabbe made
a 3-pointer, and the Blazers
had the lead back to 103-93.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Malone said
F Danilo Gallinari (left
ankle sprain) and C Jusuf
Nurkic (left patellar tendon)
could return for Saturday’s
game against Golden State.
Gallinari has missed the past
six games, while Nurkic
hasn’t played this season. G
Emmanuel Mudiay (right
ankle sprain) is still a week to
10 days away, Malone said.
... Denver has lost nine of its
last 10 games to Portland.
... Barton has scored at least
10 points in 18 consecutive
games.
Blazers: Reserve forward
Ed Davis returned to the
lineup after missing one
game with a left ankle
bone bruise. ... Lillard went
through a pregame workout.
WELCOME
BACK
WILL
Barton, a 2012 second-
round draft pick by Portland,
was traded to Denver in
February. The 6-foot-6
Barton has since become the
Nuggets’ leading scorer at
16.3 points per game, even
though he comes off the
bench.
Barton’s
improvement
doesn’t surprise Stotts, who
often watched the former
Blazer put on crazy perfor-
mances during practice.
“I have to hand to Will.
+H¶V SOD\LQJ WHUUL¿F +H¶V
SOD\LQJZLWKFRQ¿GHQFH:LOO
has put in a lot of time. He’s
a gym rat, and it’s showing,”
Stotts said.
(AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer)
Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum, right,
shoots over Denver Nuggets guard Jameer Nelson,
left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game
in Portland, Ore., Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015.
WRESTLING: Skramstad, Chester shine for Mac-Hi
Mac-Hi’s
Cole
Skrams-
tad pins
Walla
Walla’s
Justin
Evens
in a
160
pound
bout
Wednes-
day in
Pendle-
ton.
pounds.
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16 placers. Walla Walla placed
the tournament in eighth place
second with 213 points, while
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Willamina placed third with 209.5
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points.
132 pounds. Rockwell earned the
“I’m really impressed with the
victory over Jose Rayo-Landa
effort,” said Phillips. “I didn’t
from Vale with a fall at the 4:07
see anyone lay down or wrestle
mark. Other placers for the Pirates
scared, which is good. And I keep
ZHUH $QGUHZ %DUNHU ¿IWK DW
getting more and more impressed
120 pounds, Silvestre Vazquez
with the young guys and our
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upperclassmen are improving.”
Calvillo (third) at 145 pounds,
Other placers for Pendleton
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included Lane Evens (second)
pounds.
at 106 pounds, Chris Chambers
The Heppner Mustangs took
Staff photo by
(third) at 106 pounds, Caleb
E.J. Harris
eight wrestlers to the tournament,
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and head home with two placers
Blake Davis (fourth) at 120
and one winner. Ryan Smith
pounds, Koby Jones (third) at 126
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pounds, Alex Rendon (third) at 132
over Ethan Howard with a fall
pounds, Shawn Yeager (fourth)
at the 3:22 mark. And at 220
at 138 pounds, Brendon Bedolla
SRXQGV &RUG )O\QQ ¿QLVKHG LQ
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second place after losing by a fall
Pointer (sixth) at 145 pounds, J.D.
at 3:41.
Peters (second) at 160 pounds,
The Irrigon Knights also
Alex Gear (sixth) at 170 pounds,
competed at the tournament,
Greg Lee (third) at 182 pounds, The Pioneers performance was seconds into the match. Chester =HUED¿IWKDWSRXQGV.DGHQ ¿QLVKLQJ 1R RXW RI WHDPV
Marcus Taylor (second) at 195 highlighted by Riley Chester faced Edwin Romero from Walla Kilburg (fourth) at 160 pounds, with 28 points and did not place
pounds, and Jeff Priester (sixth) at WDNLQJ ¿UVW SODFH DW SRXQGV :DOOD LQ WKH ¿QDO DQG HDUQHG WKH Alyxander Shaw (second) at 170 any wrestlers on the podium.
220 pounds.
DQG&ROH6NUDPVWDGWDNLQJ¿UVWDW victory with an 8-2 decision.
pounds, Brandyn Chaney (sixth)
———
The Mac-Hi Pioneers also had a 160 pounds.
2WKHUWRS¿QLVKHUVIRU0DF+L at 182 pounds, Joshua Torres
Contact Eric Singer at
strong showing at the tournament
Skramstad made quick work of included Zach Crisman (second) (fourth) at 195 pounds, Greg esinger@eastoregonian.com,
DV ZHOO ¿QLVKLQJ LQ IRXUWK SODFH 3HQGOHWRQ¶V-'3HWHUVLQWKH¿QDO at 113 pounds, Zach MacPherson Moreno (second) at 285 pounds, (541) 966-0839, or follow on
with 188.5 points and 11 placers. earning the win with a fall just 19 (fourth) at 113 pounds, Deazen and Donnie Clark (sixth) at 285 Twitter @ByEricSinger.
Continued from 1B
PREPS: Pendleton girls wrap up tournament with win over Summit
Continued from 1B
on a good note, defeating
Crescent Valley to earn the
Bucks’ third win in their last
four games.
Caden Smith led the
Buckaroos with 21 points
and Daniel Adams was close
behind with a career-high
19 points. James Bradt also
added 19 points for the
Bucks.
Free throw shooting was
a big key in the Bucks’ win,
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but most importantly hitting
on 12 of 14 attempts in the
fourth quarter to grab the win.
Pendleton (4-5) hits the
ÀRRUDJDLQRQ0RQGD\ZKHQ
they host Century at 6:30
p.m.
————
PHS (4-5) 20 13 10 25 — 68
CV (6-4)
14 16 15 18 — 65
PENDLETON — C. Smith 21, D. Adams
19, J. Bradt 19, W. Morris 4, D. Roe 3,
J. Stuvland 2, J. Peterson, K. Quinn, M.
Foreman.
CRESCENT VALLEY — J. Casey 27, C.
Gray 16, T. Hufanga 12, K. Phillips Houston
8, N. Van Tamelen 2.
3-pointers — PHS 7, CV 5. Free throws —
PHS 15-20, CV 19-23. Fouls — PHS 19, CV
19. Technicals — Bench (PHS), Hufanaga
(CV).
and Dylan Grogan 12 points.
Stanield plays again next Tuesday when
they travel to Riverside for a 7 p.m. game.
———
STAN (6-1) 12 14 18 20 — 64
TCP (0-1)
9 12 11 13 — 45
STANFIELD — B. Woods 16, R. Bailey 15,
D. Grogan 12, J. Garcia 8, T. Monkus 4, A.
Flores 4, A. Nunez 3, L. Moreno 2.
TRI-CITIES PREP — L. Jones 18, M.
Peterson 9, S. Giest 7, C. Dickson 5, J.
Almedo 4, K. Mercedo 2.
3-pointers — STAN 5, TCP 2. Free throws
— STAN 7-11, TCP 9-14. Fouls — STAN 13,
TCP 15.
UMATILLA
51,
HORIZON CHRISTIAN
40 ²$W6DOHPWKH8PDWLOOD
Vikings halted their four
game losing streak by
defeating Horizon Christian
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New Year’s Invitational on
Wednesday.
No details were reported.
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on Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m. when
they travel to Riverside to
begin league play.
BURNS 45, PILOT
ROCK 26 — At Irrigon, the
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up play at the Irrigon Round-
ball Holiday Tournament on
a bad note, falling to Burns
on Wednesday.
STANFIELD
64,
No details were reported.
TRI-CITIES PREP (WA)
Pilot Rock (5-8) next
45 — At Pasco, Wash., the plays on Saturday at 1 p.m.
6WDQ¿HOG7LJHUVXVHGDJUHDW when they travel to Echo.
defensive effort to put away
Tri-Cities Prep (WA) on
ARLINGTON
49,
Wednesday for their third- MCKENZIE 22 — At
straight win.
Dufur, the Arlington Honkers
“We
played
great ended a short two-game
man-to-man defense which losing streak at the 1A Hoops
caused a lot of problems Classic, defeating McKenzie
for (Tri-Cities Prep),” said on Wednesday.
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No details were reported.
“Offensively we took advan-
Arlington (6-5) next plays
tage of our inside game, had on Jan. 8 when they travle
a lot of close shots.”
to Mitchell/Spray for a 7:30
Brody Woods led the p.m. tip-off.
Tigers with 16 points, while
Ryan Bailey added 15 points
CONDON/WHEELER
42, PACIFIC 35 — At
Pendleton (3-7) next plays
Dufur, the Condon/Wheeler on Tuesday at 7 p.m. when
Knights pulled out their they host Baker.
fourth win of the season on
———
(3-7) 12 11 14 16 — 53
:HGQHVGD\GHIHDWLQJ3DFL¿F PHS
SHS (5-3) 10 7
6 23 — 46
PENDLETON — H. Greb 19, K. McGlo-
to end the 1A Hoops Classic. than
10, J. Leimberger 5, R. Gentner 4,
No details were reported. E. Nirschl 4, H. Porter 4, M. Davies 4, L.
2, C. Hoffman 1, S. Greb, T. Fell.
Condon/Wheeler
(4-5) Richards
SUMMIT — S. Heinly 17, M. Hagfors 10,
next plays on Jan. 8 at 7:30 O. Loberg 8, M. Hagfors 4, C. Naegele 3, E.
2, M. Shelton 1, T. West 1.
p.m. at Ione to begin league Huntsman
3-pointers — PHS 3, SHS 4. Free throws
— PHS 8-17, SHS 8-12. Fouls — PHS 12,
play.
SHS 16. Fouled out — K. McGlothan (PHS).
DUFUR 53, ECHO 46 —
At Dufur, the Echo Cougars
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of the season on Wednesday,
falling to Dufur 53-46 at the 1A
Hoops Classic.
No details were reported.
Echo (4-7) next plays
on Saturday when they host
Pilot Rock at 1 p.m.
The Irrigon vs. Nixyaawii
game score was not reported
by press time.
Girls Basketball
PENDLETON
53,
SUMMIT 46 — At Summit,
the Pendleton Buckaroos
earned their second-straight
win on Wednesday, defeating
Summit at the Oregon
Holiday Hoopfest.
Haley Greb led the
Buckaroos with 19 points on
6-10 shooting, while Kalan
McGlothan added 10 points
on 5-7 shooting.
“We gained a lot from this
trip,” said Pendleton coach
Michelle Gomez. “(Today)
we were able to slow it down
and keep our composure and
hold on for the win.”
After starting the season
with six-straight losses, the
Buckaroos have won three of
their last four to end the 2015
calendar year.
PILOT ROCK 43,
ELGIN 19 — At Irrigon, the
Pilot Rock Rockets downed
the Elgin Huskies for the
third time this season on
Wednesday with a 24 point
win at the Irrigon Roundball
Holiday Tournament.
“We knew (Elgin) as well
as anybody so we knew what
we needed to do,” said Pilot
Rock coach Butch Wilson.
“We held their offensive
weapons so six points
combined and did a real good
job.”
Madison Dave paced
the Rockets with a double-
double in the game, netting
12 points and grabbing 11
rebounds. Wilson also said
the Rockets did a great job
sharing the basketball in the
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15 assists.
Pilot Rock next plays
———
PRHS (8-5) 12 11 10 10 — 43
EHS (4-8)
8 4
4
3 — 19
PILOT ROCK — M. Dave 12, J. Wilson 10,
B. Roe 6, S. Weinke 6, T. Ostrom 3, K. Deist
3, R. Oates 2, L. Bray 1.
ELGIN — H. McClure 6, C. Wilhelm 4, K.
Harris 3, J. Vermillion 3, S. Davidson 3, M.
Ledbetter 1.
3-pointers — PRHS 2, EHS 3. Free throws
— PRHS 15-20, EHS 2-9. Fouls — PRHS
13, EHS 17.
NIXYAAWII
38,
IRRIGON 37 — At Irrigon,
Nixyaawii guard Mary
Stewart scored a bucket at
the buzzer to give the Golden
Eagles a win over the Knights
on Wednesday night.
The Golden Eagles never
led in the fourth quarter
until that basket, giving the
Knights a heartbreaking loss.
Stewart led the Golden
Eagles with 12 points, while
Jada Burns led Irrigon with
10 points, 11 rebounds and
four assists.
Nixyaawii next plays
on Tuesday at 5 p.m. at
Sherman. Irrigon next plays
on Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at
home against Heppner.
———
35 — At Pasco, Wash., the
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a close three-point victory
on the road in overtime
on Wednesday night over
Tri-Cities Prep.
The win ends a three-
game losing streak for the
Tigers. No other details were
reported.
6WDQ¿HOGQH[WSOD\V
on Tuesday at Riverside at 6
p.m.
HOSANNA
CHRIS-
TIAN 47, CONDON/
WHEELER 38 — At Dufur,
NIXYAAWII (11-1) — M. Stewart 12, A.
the Condon/Wheeler Knights
Farrow 9, S. Fitzpatrick 8, D. Maddern 5, S.
Fuentes 2, K. Melton 2.
HDUQHG WKHLU ¿UVW ORVV RI WKH
IRRIGON (3-7) — B. Aguilera 12, J. Burns
season, falling to Creswell
10, L. Ramirez 5, T. Davis 4, K. McLaughlin
4, A. Zacarias 2.
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3-pointers — NIX 5, IRR 5.
Classic on Wednesday.
No details were reported.
SPRINGFIELD
44,
Condon/Wheeler
(9-1)
HERMISTON 39 — At
next
plays
at
Ione
on
Jan.
8 at
Lake Oswego, the Hermiston
6
p.m.
to
begin
league
play.
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Interstate Shootout play
ARLINGTON
42,
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MCKENZIE
15
—
At
on Wednesday, earning the
%XOOGRJVDVL[WKSODFH¿QLVK Dufur, the Arlington Honkers
stopped its two-game losing
in the Swoosh bracket.
No details were reported. streak by earning a blowout
Hermiston (9-3) returns win against McKenzie at
home on Saturday for a home the 1A Hoops Classic on
game against Kennewick Wednesday.
No details were reported.
(WA) at 5:45 p.m.
Arlington (7-4) next plays
CRESWELL
46, on Jan. 8 against Mitchell/
UMATILLA 42 — At Spray at 6 p.m. to begin
6DOHP WKH 8PDWLOOD9LNLQJV league play.
dropped their second game
ECHO 61, PACFIC
in a row at the Crusader New
Year’s Invitational, falling to 16 — At Dufur, the Echo
Cougars rolled to their sixth
Creswell on Wednesday.
No details were reported. win of the season by blowing
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home on Monday to host Classic on Wednesday.
No details were reported.
Mac-Hi at 6 p.m.
Echo (6-5) next plays
STANFIELD
38, on Saturday when they host
TRI-CITIES PREP (WA) Pilot Rock at 1 p.m.