East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, March 01, 2016, Image 12

Historic Oregon Newspapers

East Oregonian : E.O., March 01, 2016, Page 3B, Image 12

Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR

About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2016)

Prev Page of 15 Next Prev Issue Next Text PDF JP2 (1.4 MB) Clip/Print Image

Return to Top

Prev Page of 15 Next Prev Issue Next

Newspaper Page TextSPORTS Tuesday, March 1, 2016 East Oregonian IRRIGON Page 3B MISSION Knights bounced from postseason by Trojans Eagles Kennedy halts Irrigon’s soar back trek for third title with ¿rst round win LQWR¿QDO bracket By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian With just two seconds left on the clock and his team down by three, Fredy Vera gathered Boys Hoops the basketball and rose into a 3-point shot. Kennedy The ball left his hand cleanly and traveled towards the basket with hundreds of eyeballs Irrigon watching closely, only to have the shot clank off the front of the rim as the ¿nal buzzer sounded. The missed shot brought an end to Irrigon’s season as the Kennedy Trojans jumped off the bench in excitement after earing a 8-5 victory in a 2A ¿rst-round playoff game. Before the 3-pointer, Vera had missed two-straight free throws but out-ran the Kennedy (15-10) defense to gather the rebound and set-up the game-tying attempt. Vera — who had been a key player on the Knights’ two state title teams — ¿nished the game with a team-high 15 points and drew high-praise from coach Mitch Thompson after the game. “That kid plays so hard and he left it all on the Àoor tonight,” Thompson said. “He’s just a tremendous kid and I’m excited for his future and it’s a shame he doesn’t get to go back to (the) Pendleton (Convention Center).” Thompson said that the loss was especially hard to swallow with how prepared he felt his team was. “We knew every single one of (Kennedy’s) sets and knew every- thing they were going to do,” he said, “it was just a matter of their physicality. We lost rebounds, we lost 50-50 balls, so it’s a tough one.” The game was the de¿nition of a tale of two halves, as the Knights controlled the game for most of the ¿rst half and Kennedy had the advantage in the second half. Irrigon (17-8) started the game Nixyaawii heats up in second half to pull away from Triad By MATT ENTRUP East Oregonian 48 45 Staff photo by E.J. Harris Irrigon’s Fredy Vera is consoled on the court after missing a game-tying three-point shot at the end of the Knights’ 48-45 loss to Kennedy on Saturday in Irrigon. on an 11-0 run as the Knights offensive and defensive quickness had Kennedy rattled early. The Trojans did not make its ¿rst ¿eld goal until the 330 mark when Brett Traeger put in a close lay-in to make it an 11-2 game. The Trojans settled down as the quarter wore on, and by the 1 mark of the second quarter Kennedy had whittled down the de¿cit to 15-13 and later got closer at 17-16. But after Kennedy got close, the Knights went on a 7-3 run over the ¿nal three-and-a-half minutes to close out the half with a 2-19 lead. Irrigon shot 9-25 (36 percent) from the Àoor in the half, while Kennedy shot 8-21 (38 percent). At the half, Kennedy coach Karl Schmidtman said he gave his team a simple message on what to do in the second half. “I didn’t need to tell these guys much,” he said. “I just said to keep grinding away and to believe in each other and it showed in the third quarter.” In the second half, Kennedy came out looking like a more deter- mined squad working the ball into the posts and beating the Irrigon defense on drives to the hoop. The Trojans opened the quarter on a 9-1 run to grab their ¿rst lead of the game at 26-25 when Bishop Mitchell scored a transition lay-in off of an Irrigon turnover. The game took a big swing late in the third quarter when Irrigon’s Hayden White was whistled for a technical foul for slapping the backboard while a Kennedy shot attempt was still in the air. The basket counted for the Trojans who tacked on two free throws for Traeger four a quick four-point swing to put Kennedy up 37-27. Kennedy also earned the momentum by winning most of the battles in the quarter, earning second and sometimes third possessions by attacking the offen- sive glass and hustling after loose balls. The Trojans ended the third quarter outscoring Irrigon 18-5, but Thompson said he told his guys during the quarter break to just ¿nd and play in a rhythm. They found that rhythm right as the third quarter began, as the Knights found a spark when Austin Rice hit back-to-back transition 3-pointers from the right corner to get back within two points at 37-35 and get the fans on their feet. Less than one minute later, Irrigon tied the game at 37-37 on a Àoater from Vera which brought a deafening cheer from the crowd. Over the ¿nal 610, the two teams traded the lead six times, with Kennedy grabbing the lead for good with 110 left in the game on a 3-pointer by Owen Seiler for the 6-5 advantage. One downfall for Irrigon was its inability make shots throughout the second half. The Knights made just 5-15 (33 percent) ¿eld goals in the half missing numerous shots from close proximity to the basket, as well as missing nine free throw attempts — including four in a row near the end of the game. Kennedy was led in scoring by Traeger with 17 points, Seiler and forward Jacob Lopez each added nine points. The Trojans now advance to the quarter¿nals of the 2A bracket. Thompson, who coached his last game for the Knights on Saturday, said that he thinks the program is set up to be successful with the amount of young players coming back. “I think so, it just comes down to hard work for those guys over the summer and to keep trusting the system,” he said. ——— KHS (15-10) 6 13 18 11 — 48 IHS (17-8) 13 11 5 16 — 45 KENNEDY — B. Traeger 17, J. Lopez 9, O. Seiler 9, B. Mitchell 6, R. Carley 2, J. Suing, T. Schmidt. IRRIGON — F. Vera 15, A. Rice 9, H. White 8, X. Rambo 8, D. Vera 5, O. Vera. 3-pointers — KHS 4, IHS 5. Free throws — KHS 6-15, IHS 11-20. Fouls — KHS 15, IHS 16. Technicals — H. White (IHS) HEPPNER *ULHEQHWVDV0XVWDQJVDGYDQFHWRTXDUWHU¿QDOV East Oregonian The Heppner Mustangs fought off the Lost River Raiders in a physical battle on Saturday afternoon to advance to the 2A quarter¿nals with a 6-9 victory. Logan Grieb led the Mustangs with 2 points on 9-16 shooting and nailed three 3-pointers in more than 28 minutes of game action. Patrick Collins also added 16 points on 6-10 shooting while Weston Putman had 13 points on -6 shooting to round out the Boys Hoops Lost River Heppner 49 64 double-digit scorers. Andrew Taylor was the lone Raider to reach double ¿gures as he ¿nished with 22 points. As a team, Heppner shot 23-6 (50 percent) from the Àoor, while Lost River was 21-52 (0 percent). But the Mustangs created some real separation by out-shooting Lost River at the free throw line, where Heppner made 13-20 attempts while the Raiders made just 1-2 attempts. The Mustangs also used its muscle in the rebounding battle again, earning a 33-17 advantage in rebounds — including a 13-2 advantage on the offensive glass. Heppner held just a two point lead at the end of the ¿rst quarter and then led by ¿ve at halftime before gradu- ally growing the lead in the second half. The third quarter saw the most offense as the two teams combined for points in the quarter. With the win, Heppner advances to the 2A quarter¿nals to play the No. 6 seed Bandon Tigers on Thursday night at the Pendleton Convention Center with tip-off scheduled for 630 p.m. ———— LRHS (15-11) 11 10 20 8 — 49 HHS (21-3) 13 13 24 14 — 64 LOST RIVER — A. Taylor 22, C. Hartman 7, A. Vera 6, C. Chavez 6, W. Moore 5, G. Cobian 3, T. Frisendahl, L. Orozco, C. McAuliffe. HEPPNER — L. Grieb 24, P. Collins 16, W. Putman 13, C.J. Kindle 9, K. Murray 1, K. Hedman 1, K. Clark. 3-pointers — LRHS 6, HHS 5. Free throws — LRHS 1-2, HHS 13-20. Fouls — LRHS 20, HHS 10. Fouled out — Chavez (LRHS). BOARDMAN Riverside boys ousted from 3A ranks by No. 1 Dayton East Oregonian DAYTON — The Riverside Pirates saw their season come to an end on Saturday as they fell to the No. 1 seeded Dayton Pirates 81-35 in a 3A ¿rst round playoff match-up. “We knew we had a tough one with (Dayton),” Riverside coach Clair Costello said. “They won it last year, and they’re the real deal.” Dayton (23-) jumped on River- side early and often, outscoring them 25-3 in the ¿rst quarter and eventually expanding that de¿cit to 0-12 which the two teams would take into halftime. Costello said that his team was overwhelmed by the No. 1 seed. “We came out way too soft,” he said. “It was a much different style of game than we were used to, much more physical.” Riverside (11-1) came out of the break with a different mindset and found some scoring in the third quarter with 16 points as the team stepped up its physicality, which Dayton did not like. “We didn’t back down in the second half, got more physical, and they (Dayton) tried to ¿ght us on it,” Costello said. Eon Castillo led Riverside in Boys Hoops Riverside Dayton 35 81 scoring with 10 points and added in ¿ve rebounds in the game. Castillo was the only Riverside scorer to reach double ¿gures, as Felipe Olvera was the next highest scorer with seven points. Zach Bernards led Dayton with 33 points. The loss brought the end of the road for Riverside’s three seniors in Humberto Lopez, Felipe Olvera, and Sergio Navarro, but Riverside returns numerous key contributors for next season which Costello said sets up for a good year. “It’s looking good for next year, a lot of our guys are juniors and sophomores,” he said, “and at least they got to have a taste of the state tournament, which should help them come next year.” ——— RHS (11-14) 3 9 16 7 — 35 DHS (23-4) 25 15 20 21 — 81 RIVERSIDE — E. Castillo 10, F. Olvera 7, M. Hegar 6, N. Madrigal 4, R. Rosales 3, S. Navarro 3, F. Apari- cio 2, A. Martinez, J. Carmona, J. Garcia, H. Lopez. DAYTON — Z. Bernards 33, Z. Spink 13, J. Ashley 9, K. Blanco 6, T. Lewis 4, T. Fergus 2, C. Capener 2. 3-pointers — RHS 3, DHS 8. Free throws — RHS 10-15, DHS 13-22. Fouls — RHS 22, DHS 15. SCOREBOARD Local Slate BOYS PREP BASKETBALL Wednesday 5A play-in: La Salle at Hermiston, 6 p.m. Thursday 1A Quarterfinals: Nixyaawii vs. Hosanna Christian (at Baker High School), 6:30 p.m. 2A Quarterfinals: Heppner vs. Bandon (at Pendle- ton Convention Center), 6:30 p.m. Friday Nixyaawii vs. TBD (at Baker High School), TBD Heppner vs. TBD (at Pendleton Convention Center), TBD Saturday 5A first round: TBD at Pendleton, TBD Nixyaawii vs. TBD (at Baker High School), TBD Heppner vs. TBD (at Pendleton Convention Center), TBD GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL Today 5A play-in: Pendleton at Liberty, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday 1A Quarterfinals: Nixyaawii vs. Adrian (at Baker High School), 3:15 p.m. 1A Quarterfinals: Condon/Wheeler vs. North Douglas (at Baker High School), 6:30 p.m. Thursday Nixyaawii vs. TBD (at Baker High School), TBD Condon/Wheeler vs. TBD (at Baker High School), TBD Friday 5A first round: TBD at Hermiston, TBD Nixyaawii vs. TBD (at Baker High School), TBD Condon/Wheeler vs. TBD (at Baker High School), TBD Saturday Nixyaawii vs. TBD (at Baker High School), TBD Condon/Wheeler vs. TBD (at Baker High School), TBD Basketball OSAA 2A state tournament schedules (at Pendleton Convention Center/Pendleton High School) BOYS Thursday G1: #5 Imber vs. #4 Western Mennonite, 1:30 p.m. G2: #9 Kennedy vs. #1 Regis, 3:15 p.m. G3: #6 Bandon vs. #3 Heppner, 6:30 p.m. G4: #7 Burns vs. #2 Vernonia, 8:15 p.m. Friday G5: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser (at Pendleton HS), 9 a.m. G6: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser (at Pendleton HS), 10:45 a.m. G7: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 3:15 p.m. G8: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 8:15 p.m. Saturday G9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 10:45 a.m. G10: Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser, 3:15 p.m. G11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 8:30 p.m. GIRLS Thursday (at Pendleton High School) G1: #9 Bonanza vs. #1 Kennedy, 1:30 p.m. G2: #12 Imbler vs. #4 Western Mennonite, 3:15 p.m. G3: #6 Grant Union vs. #3 Burns, 6:30 p.m. G4: #7 Lost River vs. #2 Monroe, 8:15 p.m. Friday G5: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 9 a.m. G6: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 10:45 a.m. G7: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 1:30 p.m. G8: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 6:30 p.m. Saturday G9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 9 a.m. G10: Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser, 1:30 p.m. G11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 6:30 p.m. NCAA Men’s Top 25 Sunday’s Games Seton Hall 90, No. 5 Xavier 81 No. 6 Michigan St. 88, Penn St. 57 Ohio State 68, No. 8 Iowa 64 No. 13 Oregon 86, Washington 73 Pittsburgh 76, No. 15 Duke 62 No. 24 SMU 74, Tulane 53 Monday’s Games No. 1 Kansas 86, No. 23 Texas 56 No. 8 North Carolina 75, Syracuse 70 No. 21 Iowa St. 58, Oklahoma St. 50 Today’s Games No. 22 Kentucky at Florida, 4 p.m. No. 4 Virginia at Clemson, 4 p.m. DePaul at No. 3 Villanova, 4 p.m. Georgia Tech at No. 11 Louisville, 5 p.m. No. 19 Baylor at No. 6 Oklahoma, 5 p.m. Wake Forest at No. 17 Duke, 5 p.m. No. 15 Purdue at Nebraska, 5 p.m. No. 20 Texas A&M at Auburn, 6 p.m. No. 12 Indiana at No. 16 Iowa, 6 p.m. NBA Sunday’s Games Washington 113, Cleveland 99 Atlanta 87, Charlotte 76 Portland 111, Indiana 102 Detroit 114, Toronto 101 Orlando 130, Philadelphia 116 Dallas 128, Minnesota 101 Miami 98, New York 81 Monday’s Games Cleveland 100, Indiana 96 Washington 116, Philadelphia 108 Boston 100, Utah 95 Milwaukee 128, Houston 121 Memphis 103, Denver 96 Oklahoma City 131, Sacramento 116 L.A. Clippers 105, Brooklyn 95 Today’s Games Phoenix at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Chicago at Miami, 4:30 p.m. Portland at New York, 4:30 p.m. Orlando at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Atlanta at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. Brooklyn at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Motorsports NASCAR Sprint Cup Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Top 10 (Sunday) At Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Ga. Lap length: 1.54 miles (Start position in parentheses) 1. (19) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 330 laps, 44 points. 2. (16) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 330, 39. 3. (39) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 330, 39. 4. (1) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 330, 38. 5. (7) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 330, 37. 6. (6) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 330, 37. 7. (9) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 330, 35. 8. (24) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 330, 33. 9. (17) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 330, 32. 10. (5) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 330, 31. PENDLETON — It took Nixy- aawii’s shooters an entire half to get warmed up, but it hardly mattered as the Golden Eagles found plenty of scoring opportunities Saturday against Triad. Nixyaawii never trailed and convincingly punched its ticket Boys Hoops back to the state Tuarter¿nals with a 56-38 win at Blue Triad Mountain Commu- nity College’s Mosby Court. Playing in an unfamiliar setting, the Golden Eagles Nixyaawii started the game attacking the rim while occasionally testing the limits of their accuracy to nudge ahead 10-8 after one quarter. Neither team seemed to be able to dial in from outside early and Ira Ashley’s 12-foot jump shot in the second quarter was the longest ¿eld goal of the game going into halftime. “Early in the game it’s kind of just that jitters,” said Ashley, who led Nixyaawii with 16 points. “It’s a playoff game — you win you’re going to state, you lose and you’re done. It’s kind of just throwing all that out the window, and then once you’re focused on the game you can start hitting shots.” The Golden Eagles had no reason to panic, because they were winning the battle inside as Chan- dler Case and Damon Kipp made it tough for the Timberwolves to ¿nd any open routes to the rim. Case had two blocks before heading to the bench with his second foul midway through the ¿rst quarter, and Kipp came off the bench to lead Nixyaawii with six points at halftime. Kipp scored the ¿nal four points of a 6-0 run that put the lead at 22-12 headed into the locker rooms. “Good defense is what got us here and we were just looking to do that against Triad,” Kipp said. “We came out and got it done and executed as far as I’m concerned.” “They scored 12 points, so I credit our defense pretty much,” said Nixyaawii coach Shane Rivera of the ¿rst half. “I thought we got a lot of good looks. Everything we got in the ¿rst half for the most part were still good looks. Whether or not they went down, eventually I ¿gured they were going to start to fall.” Nixyaawii was clearly determined to get its outside game going in the third quarter, but continued to rely on layups until Fredy Campos popped the cork on a run of ¿ve-straight three-pointers to close out the frame. “+e sparked the Àame,” Ashley said. “Just keep shooting and it will fall, that’s the mentality that we have going into the game.“ Campos took a kick-out from Ashley and rattled in the game’s ¿rst triple with 38 left in the third. Ashley then hit three straight to get the capacity crowd worked into a frenzy before Hunter Melton capped the run with a swish from the corner to make it 1-21 after three quarters. Ashley gave Nixyaawii its largest lead of the game at 8-2 with 621 to play in the fourth when cut to the rim and scored off a pass from Melton. Campos added 10 points for Nixyaawii, Melton ¿nished with nine and Kipp had eight. Triad’s Alex Holland slashed to the hoop for most of his team-high 19 points and Michael Barrett added a breakaway dunk to his seven points that gave the Triad fans something to cheer for late in the game. Nixyaawii, which was runner-up at last year’s state tournament, will open this year’s bracket against Hosanna Christian on Thursday at 630 p.m. in Baker City. The Lions earned their berth by beating MonumentDayville 6-6 in overtime on Saturday. “We’re going in with the same mindset we had last year,” Ashley said of state. “Just get there, work hard and get a W.” ——— 38 56 THS (19-11) 8 4 9 17 — 38 NCS (25-1) 10 12 19 15 — 56 TRIAD — A. Holland 19, E. Builta 7, M. Barrett 7, I. Franklin 2, D. Claybaugh 2, N. Patel 1, B. Bay, J. Holmfeldt. NIXYAAWII — I. Ashley 16, F. Campos 10, H. Melton 9, D. Kipp 8, J. Quaempts 6, C. Case 4, W. Oatman 2, L. Lewis 1, A. Corona. 3-pointers — THS 0, NCS 6. Free throws — THS 10-13, NCS 4-7. Fouls — THS 7, NCS 11. Technicals — D. Claybaugh (THS).