SPORTS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016
1B
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HERMISTON
Prep Roundup
Vikings grind past Rockets Rambo
Umatilla splits
afternoon in
Pilot Rock
Umatil-
la’s Jus-
tin Marret
shoots
the ball
over Pilot
Rock’s
Levi
Thieme
and
Bryson
Pierce
(30) in
a non-
league
game on
Wednes-
day in Pi-
lot Rock.
By MATT ENTRUP
East Oregonian
PILOT ROCK — The
Umatilla Vikings boys basket-
ball team has a special name
for the full-contact practices
coach Derrek
Lete has been Boys Hoops
putting them
through
this
season.
Umatilla
“We
call
it the meat
grinder,” said
Vikings junior
Seth Cranston.
“There’s
no
Pilot Rock
fouls, so we
have to go up
strong.”
O
n
Wednesday night the Vikings
put the Pilot Rock Rockets
through the meat grinder for a
62-30 win in non-conference
play.
Even without its two most
physical players Umatilla (5-2)
was able to take control of the
paint and force the Rockets’
shooters out to the perimeter,
then crashed the boards as a
unit to limit their looks. Pilot
Rock (6-2) got the majority of
its points on fast breaks or at the
free throw line, and coach Mike
Weinke said the loss felt like
a step in the wrong direction
despite playing up a classifi ca-
tion against the Vikings.
“We couldn’t get any
offensive fl ow at all, and a lot
of that had to do with the way
that (Umatilla) played,” he said.
“We didn’t match their intensity
See PREPS/2B
Hermiston handles
Ashland at tourney
East Oregonian
Staff photo by
E.J. Harris
62
30
CORVALLIS — Xavier Rambo
scored 30 points and four Bull-
dogs reached double digits as the
Hermiston boys basketball made a
serious run at 100 on Wednesday in
a non-league game
Boys Hoops against Ashland.
Hermiston was
in control the entire
way of its 92-66
Ashland
rout of the Rebels at
the Crescent Valley
Tournament, and
also got big games
from Chance Flores
(18 points), Hunter
Hermiston
Walls (13 points)
and Jordan Ramirez
(11 points).
Hermiston
(7-2) found its groove right away
and forced some early turnovers by
Ashland (3-4) to help build a 21-9
lead after one quarter.
“We got out and ran a little bit,”
said Hermiston coach Casey Arstein.
“The kids stepped up and did a better
job of taking care of the ball and
making better decisions on offense,
and attacking the rim.”
Arstein said guard Andrew James
(6 points) was a key creator on
offense for the Bulldogs, but with all
their scoring the team lost focus on
its defensive duties.
Arstein said Ashland’s 66 points
was far more than he found accept-
able, and was due to several defen-
sive lapses by the Bulldogs.
However, he was happy with the
team’s effort on the boards and said
the game marked another step in the
right direction for what he’s targeted
as a key area they need to improve in
before the start of league play.
Hermiston’s next game is Friday
at Kittitas (WA).
———
66
92
NBA
Barnes, Mavericks hold off Trail Blazers
Lillard’s last-second
shot no good
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
PORTLAND — Wesley
Matthews spent enough time
with Damian Lillard in Portland
to know exactly what he was
going to do in the waning seconds
Wednesday night.
“Dame to get the ball and
Dame to shoot it,” Matthews said.
The former Trail Blazers guard
pressured Lillard into missing a
potential game-winning 3-pointer
at the buzzer, and the Dallas
Mavericks held off a furious
Portland rally for a 96-95 victory.
“Obviously, I’ve been his team-
mate so I know the kind of clutch
gene he has,” said Matthews, who
played in Portland from 2010-15.
“We ended up getting the stop that
we needed.”
Harrison Barnes had 28 points
and Deron Williams added 23 for
the Mavericks, who led by 25 in
the third quarter.
Lillard fi nished with 29 points,
including 20 in the third. It was
Portland’s fourth straight loss.
paces
blowout
victory
AP Photo/Steve Dykes
Dallas Mavericks guard Wesley Matthews, left, celebrates after
Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard missed a last-sec-
ond shot at the end of an NBA basketball game in Portland,
Ore., Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016. Dallas won 96-95.
The Blazers were slow to
get going for the second of a
back-to-back, but Lillard paced
the comeback. His reverse layup
pulled Portland to 88-82 with 6:31
remaining.
Allen Crabbe pumped his fi st
after his 3 with 2:42 left trimmed
it to 90-88. After Williams’ jumper
for the Mavericks, Al-Farouq
Aminu made a 3 and the Blazers
were back within two.
The teams traded baskets but
Dallas turned over the ball on a
shot-clock violation leading 96-95
with 20.3 seconds to go. Lillard’s
turnover on the other end gave
it back to the Mavs, but Mason
Dallas
Portland
96
95
Plumlee grabbed Williams’ bad
pass and Portland called a timeout
with 9.8 seconds left.
Then came Lillard’s fi nal
attempt at the buzzer.
“There’s nobody like Wes
Matthews on defense at the end
of the game,” Mavericks coach
Rick Carlisle said. “The guy’s
unbelievable — one of the guys
that really willed us to win.”
Lillard said afterward that in
the time it took to try and shake
Matthews, the clock had run down
and he was forced to shoot.
But the star guard is confi dent
the Blazers will pull out of the
funk they’re in.
“Our team has faith,” he said.
“The best thing is we know we
haven’t shown our best.”
The Trail Blazers were coming
off an emotional game the night
before in Sacramento, where they
lost 126-121.
The Mavericks were again
without Dirk Nowitzki because of
See BLAZERS/2B
AHS
9 23 21 13 — 66
HHS
21 31 21 19 — 92
ASHLAND — P. Fuller 18, J. Hansen 14, M. Pippa 11,
A. Swanson 8, J. Atteberry 4, M. Ellis 4, C. Andrews 4,
A, Jones 3, J. Wallner-Sentle, C. Jones, L. MacMillen,
G. Ekwald.
HERMISTON — X. Rambo 30, C. Flores 18, H.
Walls 13, J. Ramirez 11, A. James 6, P. Wicks 5, T. Mc-
Cullough 4, A. Earl 2, K. Moss 2, J. Hinkle 1, C. Ortiz,
A. Mendez, C. Smith.
3-pointers — HHS 8; AHS 8. Free throws — HHS
14-17; AHS 8-13. Fouls — HHS 17; AHS 20.
College Football
Freeman to return
for senior season
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
Oregon running back Royce
Freeman says he’ll return to the
Ducks for his senior year.
Freeman, who was hampered
by injuries this season, announced
his decision through the school
Wednesday. Left tackle Tyrell
Crosby, sidelined for the season’s
last nine games with a foot injury,
went on social media to say he would
See FREEMAN/2B
Sports shorts
Duke guard caught tripping again
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Duke guard
Grayson Allen picked up a fi rst-half technical
foul after appearing to trip an Elon player
Wednesday night.
Allen got tangled with a driving
Steven Santa Ana on a foul and
Santa Ana hit the fl oor. Offi cials
reviewed replays that showed Allen
kicking his right leg up and catching
the back of Santa Ana’s left knee,
leading to the technical with 4:15
Allen
left.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski
pulled Allen and he sat the rest of the half at one
point standing with a towel around his neck and
shaking his head as a timeout began.
The Atlantic Coast Conference reprimanded
Allen last season for tripping Florida State’s
Xavier Rathan-Mayes in a game. That came
roughly two weeks after Allen received a fl agrant
foul for tripping Louisville’s Ray Spalding.
“Growing up in the inner
city, a lot of kids didn’t
think reading was cool. I’m
trying to show them that it
is cool and the importance
of growing and learning
outside of their everyday
lives, which is a lot of times
sports. Sports are a lot of
times our way out.”
— C.J. McCollum
Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard
speaking about his efforts to promote
education and literacy in Portland,
which has earned him the NBA Cares
Community Assist award for November.
Police: Floyd’s blood-alcohol
level nearly triple legal limit
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — A police
report released Wednesday says Patriots wide
receiver Michael Floyd had a blood-alcohol
level nearly three times the legal limit when
arrested on suspicion of driving
under the infl uence and other
charges earlier this month in
Scottsdale, Arizona.
Arizona’s legal limit for
alcohol is .08; Floyd’s blood-alcohol level was
measured at .217.
Floyd played for the Arizona Cardinals at
the time, but the team released him two days
after his arrest. New England then claimed him
off waivers.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Floyd was taken
into custody early the morning of Dec. 12 after
being found unconscious behind the wheel of
his running Cadillac Escalade at an intersection
in Scottsdale.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1894 — The United
States Golf Association
is founded, becoming the
governing body for the
game in the country.
1969 — Pete Maravich
sets an NCAA record by
hitting 30 of 31 foul shots,
and scores 46 points to lead
LSU to a 98-89 victory over
Georgia.
2003 — Brett Favre
passes for 399 yards and
four touchdowns a day after
his father dies, moving into
second place in NFL history
for career TD passes while
leading the Green Bay
Packers to a 41-7 victory
over the Oakland Raiders.
Contact us at 541-966-0838 or
sports@eastoregonian.com