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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2016)
SPORTS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2016 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS PENDLETON Prep Roundup Bucks’ fi rst loss a heartbreaker Hermiston Mayhue hits clutch lets one 3-pointers to lift South Albany in overtime slip away By MATT ENTRUP East Oregonian As soon as the ball left her fi ngertips, South Albany’s Katie Mayhue was calling her shot. “I said, ‘Swish,’” said the junior guard. “And it was swish.” Mayhue’s prescience Girls Hoops didn’t earn her any extra points, but the three she did get brought her game-high total to 27 South Albany and were enough to make the difference in a 59-56 overtime win over Pend- leton on Tuesday at Blue Mountain Community Pendleton College. Pendleton still had four seconds to try and force another extra period, but turned the ball over on the inbound pass to seal its fi rst loss of the season. Mayhue was the thorn in Pendleton’s side most of the game, and even more impressive than her called shot was the off balance buzzer-beating bank shot at the end of regulation to knot the game at 50-all. It came from the same spot on the fl oor in front of the South Albany (6-1) bench as her game-winner, and was her only fi eld goal of the second half. “We had it,” said fi rst-year Pendleton coach Kevin Porter. “Number three (Mayhue) hits a great shot at the end of the game, she probably doesn’t hit one of those in 400, but she did today so tip your hat to her.” After lighting the Bucks up for 19 points by halftime, there were none at Mosby Court doubting Mayhue’s ability to put the ball in the hoop. But with Pendleton (3-1) senior Haley Greb fastened to her hip for the second half, it appeared her ability to impact the game had been neutralized. Late turnovers prove costly for Bulldog boys East Oregonian CORVALLIS — The Hermiston Bull- dogs had win No. 7 within their reach on Tuesday night, but ultimately the victory slipped right through their fi ngers. Hermiston turned the ball over four straight times down the stretch of the game, leading Crescent Valley to a 55-50 victory over the Bulldogs at the Crescent Valley Tournament. “It was defi nitely a winnable game, but we just didn’t take care of the ball enough,” Hermiston coach Casey Arstein said. “We were solid defensively, but we have some things to work on offensively with our execution and things like that.” Chance Flores paced Hermiston (6-2) with 18 points and Xavier Rambo added 14 points. Hermiston had its hands full with Crescent Valley’s Talanoa Hufanga, who netted a game-high 19 points. Arstein said that Hufanga, who holds scholarship offers from numerous Power Five colleges, is one of the best athletes that his Bulldogs will face all year. The Bulldogs will play Ashland today at 1:30 p.m. to wrap up the Crescent Valley Tournament. ———— 59 56 See BUCKS/2B HHS 13 9 16 12 — 50 CV 12 10 15 18 — 55 HERMISTON — C. Flores 18, X. Rambo 14, J. Ramirez 6, H. Walls 5, C. Ortiz 3, A. James 3, A. Earl 1. CRESCENT VALLEY — T. Hufanga 19, T. Harris 15, K. Killen 8, P. Heede 6, AJ Sandvig 5, C. Gray 2, Staff photo by E.J. Harris Pendleton’s Maureen Davies and South Albany’s Katie Mayhue go up for a re- bound in the Bucks’ 59-56 overtime loss to the Rebels on Tuesday in Pendleton. NBA STANFIELD 75, TOLEDO 67 — At Toledo, the Stanfi eld Tigers extended their win streak to seven games on Tuesday afternoon, as Dylan Grogan scored a season- See PREPS/2B Men’s College Basketball Cousins’ 55 sends Kings past Blazers Bell’s career-high 23 carries Oregon over Fresno State Portland led by 12 at the half, couldn’t hang on late Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. — DeMarcus Cousins returned from a brief ejection and fi nished with a season-high 55 points, capping a wild day for the hot-tempered big man and sending the Sacramento Kings past the Portland Trail Blazers 126-121 on Tuesday night. Hours after Portland he was fi ned by the Kings for his profanity-laced tirade against a newspaper columnist last Sacramento week, Cousins pulled down 13 rebounds and rallied Sacramento in the fourth quarter. He made two huge 3-pointers and scored 17 points in the fourth to avenge an earlier overtime loss this season at Portland. The win snapped Sacramento’s seven-game losing streak to the Blazers. It appeared Cousins’ night was over before the game even ended. In the fi nal minute, he put the By RON RICHMOND Associated Press 121 126 Ducks fl y to victory AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli Sacramento forward DeMarcus Cousins, left, goes to the basket against Portland’s Meyers Leonard during the fi rst half of Tuesday’s game in Sacramento, Calif. Kings back in front when he drove the lane for a layup and was fouled by Mason Plumlee. Cousins initially was given a second technical foul and thus ejected for spitting his mouth piece in the direction of Portland’s bench after making the shot. He ran into the tunnel toward the locker room, but the offi cials huddled and changed the call. In a most unusual scene, Cousins then returned to the court and made the free throw for a three-point play, giving the Kings a 122-119 lead with 35 seconds left. “It’s ridiculous. It’s obvious what’s being done out here. It’s on a nightly basis,” Cousins said. “I hope the See BLAZERS/2B EUGENE — Jordan Bell scored a career-high 23 points and No. 20 Oregon beat Fresno State 75-63 on Tuesday night for its ninth straight victory. Dylan Ennis added 13 points for the Ducks (11-2), who fi nished nonconference play on a 33-game home winning streak. Paul Watson scored 15 points and Karachi Edo had 12 for the Bulldogs (8-4), who pulled within 53-50 midway through the second half before fi ve straight points by Bell gave Oregon some cushion. The Ducks played their second game without scoring leader Chris Boucher, who sprained his left ankle in practice last Thursday but has since shed his walking boot. In Boucher’s absence, Bell shot 8 of 11 after going 7 of 8 and scoring 16 points against UNLV on Saturday. Fresno State Oregon 63 75 Bell also had eight rebounds as the teams battled to a 31-31 draw on the glass. The Ducks used a 9-0 run to take control at 31-17 late in the fi rst half. They made only 1 of 9 3-point attempts but were 16 of 21 from inside the arc to lead 39-25 at halftime. Fresno State opened the second half with a 15-6 run to get within fi ve points but fi nished 6 of 22 from 3-point. Fresno State’s Jahmel Taylor, second in the nation in 3-point shooting at 59.3 percent, went 0 for 7 from long range and fi nished with four points, nine below his average. UP NEXT Oregon plays its eighth of nine games without leaving the state this month when No. 2 UCLA comes to Eugene on Dec. 28. That would make the Bruins the highest-ranked team to play in Matthew Knight Arena since it opened six years ago. Sports shorts Oregon’s Horton named USA Baseball Coach of the Year EUGENE. — University of Oregon head coach George Horton was selected by USA Baseball as the Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year award, as announced on Tuesday. Horton, who has coached the Ducks since 2009, received the award after leading the College National Team on a tour of three countries over the summer that included Team USA’s fi rst-ever series win in Cuba. “His (Horton’s) ability to Horton handle the unique challenges of the summer tour was fi rst-class; and leading that group of young men to a series win in Cuba was remarkable,” said Eric Campbell, USA Baseball’s General Manager of National Teams. The team fi nished 11-7-1 on the summer tour, which also led to its selection as USA Baseball’s Team of the Year. “Gus was very cordial about it. Spoke with everybody. Came through the plane shaking hands. Gus has always been a great person in that aspect, but I don’t think we as players were in the mood or were ready to actually see that at that moment.” — Sen’Derrick Marks Jacksonville Jaguar said that play- ers were uncomfortable that coach Gus Bradley still fl ew back with the team after getting fi red following the loss to Houston Sunday. EOU’s McGriff named CCC Player of the Week for 2nd time LA GRANDE — For the second time this season, Eastern Oregon’s Bryan McGriff has been named the Red Lion Cascade Collegiate Conference Player of the Week. McGriff, a senior forward from Las Vegas, averaged 26.5 points and 14 rebounds to lead his No. 16 Mountaineers to a pair of wins over Corban and No. 7 Northwest Christian over the weekend. For the season, McGriff is averaging more than 21 points McGriff and nine rebounds per game — both team highs — and has recorded six double-doubles in 13 games so far. McGriff also took home Player of the Week honors on Dec. 5, after netting a double-double to lead EOU past No. 8 College of Idaho. The Mountaineers next hit the court on Dec. 30 on the road at Northwest. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1997 — Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions becomes the third player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season when he gains 184 in a 13-10 win over the New York Jets. Sanders fi nishes with 2,053 yards, second to Eric Dickerson’s 2,105 in 1984. 2010 — The No. 1-ranked Connecticut women’s basket- ball team tops the 88-game winning streak by John Wooden’s UCLA men’s team from 1971-74, beating No. 22 Florida State 93-62. The win gives the Huskies the record for the longest winning streak in all of college basketball history. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
