Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Friday, January 6, 2017
MLB
GOLDEN EAGLES:
Nixy-
aawii’s
Mick
Schimmel
(2) and
Anthony
Matam-
oros (25)
attempt
to block
the shot
of Morgan
Marcum,
of Echo,
during
Thurs-
day’s
game in
Mission.
Continued from 1B
of the way his team fought back.
“It’s been the same since the opener,
we don’t quit,” Swanson said. “We
affirmed we don’t quit and we play hard
no matter where we’re at and that’s the
heart and soul of this team and they all
believe it. The issue is we need to come
out and find our spots in the first few
minutes of games and just go.”
In the boys game, Nixyaawii prevailed
43-27 over Echo as the Golden Eagles
controlled every aspect of the game
from the opening tip. Nixyaawii (5-4,
2-0) struggled from the 3-point arc on
Thursday, but shot nearly 50 percent
(15-32) inside the arc and made 5-9 free
throw attempts to keep the Cougars (2-9,
1-1) at bay.
“Anytime you get a league win early
on it’s good,” Nixyaawii coach Shane
Rivera said after the game. “We’re still
young, we make some young mistakes,
but overall the effort was there and
defensively especially we played a good
game.”
Nixyaawii’s defense held Echo to just
16 percent (10-60) shooting in the game,
and never allowed more than 11 points
in a quarter. Senior post Chandler Case
was a force inside with 11 rebounds and
five blocks for the Golden Eagles. Echo’s
leading scorer was Klay Jenson with
15 points, while Morgan Marcum and
Devan Craig each added five points.
On the offensive end for Nixyaawii,
Mick Schimmel had another standout
performance with 20 points, while Case
added nine points. Rivera said that he’s
still trying to figure out the team’s identity
on offense after having to replace all five
starters from one year ago, though the
identity is starting to show itself as league
play moves along.
“Schimmel is a big asset for us, but we
have other pieces like Case ... and Devan
(Barkley’s) a jack-of-all-trades and plays
harder than anyone I know,” Rivera said.
“It’s been a few years since we’ve been
in this position so it’s exciting to see the
Staff photo by
Kathy Aney
new kids step up and make a difference
already.
“Man-to-man if we continue to gel as a
team I think we can compete with the top
teams in the league and we’re headed to
Powder Valley tomorrow so that should
be a good test to see where we’re at.”
UP NEXT
Both Nixyaawii squads head to
Powder Valley today for a pair of
league games with the girls tipping
off at 6 p.m. and the boys at 7:30 p.m.
Echo will return home to host Joseph
with the girls game starting at 6 p.m.
and the boys immediately after.
————
Girls
EHS
4 2 11 14 — 31
NCS
12 13
8
3 — 36
ECHO — T. Swaggart 16, D. Tarvin 7, H. McCarty 4, M.
Huff 2, B. Milbrodt 2.
NIXYAAWII — M. Schimmel 17, K. Melton 14, T. Melton 3,
S. Fitzpatrick 2.
3-pointers — EHS 5, NCS 1. Free throws — EHS 6-10,
NCS 3-18. Fouls — EHS 11, NCS 14. Fouled out — S.
Fitzpatrick (NCS).
Boys
EHS
8 2
6 11 — 27
NCS
12 5 11 15 — 43
ECHO — K. Jensen 15, D. Craig 5, M. Marcum 5, Z.
Gehrke 2.
NIXYAAWII — M. Schimmel 20, C. Case 9, D. Barkley 4,
J. St. Pierre 4, A. Matamoros 4, N. Enright 3.
3-pointers — EHS 4, NCS 3. Free throws — EHS 3-4, NCS
5-9. Fouls — EHS 11, NCS 9.
Cleveland bags
coveted slugger
who will boost attendance
and maybe help them win the
World Series.
One of baseball’s most
CLEVELAND — With
his family watching proudly, productive hitters over the
Edwin Encarnacion stood past five years, Encarnacion
finalized a $60
in front of his
million, three-year
new locker inside
contract — the
Cleveland’s
richest in Cleve-
clubhouse, pulled
land history —
on a fitted cap and
with a team that
slowly buttoned
got to Game 7
the front of his
of the Series last
white No. 10
season.
jersey.
Encarnacion’s
Once finished,
deal would be
he pointed to the Encarnacion
worth $80 million
“Indians”
logo
over four years if
on his chest and
flashed a huge smile as Cleveland exercises a $25
million option for 2020 that
cameras clicked.
includes a $5 million buyout.
It felt seamless.
“He’s a perfect fit for our There are also attendance
team,” Indians president Chris bonuses built in as both
Cleveland and Encarnacion’s
Antonetti said Thursday.
agent, Paul Kinzer, recog-
In so many ways.
Cleveland, accustomed nized the three-time All-Star’s
to being outspent for high- ability to spin turnstiles.
Encarnacion averaged
priced free agents winter after
winter, introduced Encarna- 39 homers and 110 RBIs
cion, a premium player for over the past five seasons
the middle of their lineup with Toronto.
By TOM WITHERS
Associated Press
Athlete of the Week
Twenty questions
with Riverside’s
Alondra Caldera
East Oregonian
PIOS: Riverside girls balanced in rout
Continued from 1B
Madrigal who is day-to-day
with a leg injury. “We didn’t
want to carry anything
through, we wanted to shoot
all threes.
“Defensively we played
great. You hold a team to 34
points, you should win.”
Costello also gave lots
of credit to Mac-Hi’s own
defensive effort in what he
said was a loosely officiated
game that saw plenty of
contact in the posts and just
23 total fouls called.
The Pioneers’ Miguel
Garcia led all scorers with
nine points, and Luis Garcia
added eight.
Riverside, which lost its
third in a row, was paced
by Mason Hegar with eight
points and Eon Castillo
added seven points and six
rebounds.
Mac-Hi’s next game is
the start of Greater Oregon
League play on Saturday
when it hosts Ontario at 4:30
p.m.
Up next for Riverside is
a non-league home game
against Columbia (WA) on
Monday at 6:30 p.m.
———
M-H
13 10
5
6 — 34
RHS
0 5
6 13 — 24
MAC-HI — M. Garcia 9. L, Garcia 8, M.
Armenta 7, A. Martinez 5, A. Pio 3, A. Earls
2, A. Delgado.
RIVERSIDE — M. Hegar 8, E. Castillo 7, F.
Aparicio 5, D. Rodriguez 2, A. Martinez 2,
A. Hernandez, J. Garcia, J. Pena, J. Carmo-
na, D. Valenzuela.
3-pointers — M-H 2; RHS 2. Free throw
— M-H 4-9; RHS 0-3. Fouls — M-H 10;
RHS 13. Technical fouls — Coach Costello
(RHS).
GIRLS BASKETBALL
RIVERSIDE
57,
MAC-HI 20 — At
Boardman, the Pirates won
their fourth game in a row
Thursday in non-league play.
Riverside led 26-9 at halftime
and iced it early with an 18-6
run that spanned the third
quarter.
Lacey Mashos led the
charge with 14 points and
three players scored 10 for
Riverside (6-3). Brendy
Alvalos, Alondra Caldera
and Faith Rosen were the
other Pirates in double-digits,
and Rosen added seven
rebound and five steals. As
a team the Pirates sank nine
three-pointers.
Sydney Richwine scored
13 points to lead Mac-Hi
(1-9) and was the only
Pioneer with more than one
field goal.
Riverside coach Clair
Costello said strong passing
and defense were hallmarks
of the team’s latest win.
“We had 10 assists as a
team, so we were moving
the ball really well,” he said.
“And we had 19 steals, so it
was a good team win, lots of
girls stepping up coming in
to league play.”
Riverside’s next game
will wrap up non-league play
on Monday when it hosts
Columbia (WA) at 5 p.m.
Mac-Hi begins Greater
Oregon Leauge play on
Saturday by hosting Ontario
at 3 p.m.
———
M-H
4 5
6
5 — 20
RHS
18 8 18 13 — 57
MAC-HI — S. Richwine 13, M. Yensen 2,
K. Casillas 2, B. Hernandez 2, M. Martinez
1, B. Smiley, C. Flores, S. Earls, C. Holford.
RIVERSIDE — L. Mashos 14, Br. Alvalos
10, F. Rosen 10, A. Caldera 10, Bi. Alvalos
10, S. Wightman 3, M. Hegar 2, C. Garcia,
E. Daltosa, A. Hernandez.
3-pointers — M-H 1; RHS 9. Free throws
— M-H 3-13; RHS 6-10. Fouls — M-H 9;
RHS 10.
BLAZERS: Open second half on 13-2 run
Continued from 1B
Lakers, a franchise record.
D’Angelo Russell had 22
points, 10 in the final period,
and Jordan Clarkson added
21 off the bench for Los
Angeles, which led by 14 in
the first half.
Russell’s
turnaround
jumper put the Lakers up
101-99 midway through the
fourth. He added a pair of
free throws, but Lillard hit a
3-pointer that closed the gap
for Portland.
McCollum’s floater put
Portland in front before he hit
a 3 with 4:06 to go that pushed
the lead to 107-103. He added
another basket that extended
it, and the crowd chanted
“Beat L-A! Beat L-A!”
Turner padded the advan-
tage with a jumper with just
more than two minutes left, and
the Lakers couldn’t catch up.
Lillard missed five games
after spraining his left ankle
against San Antonio on Dec.
23. He is the team’s top scorer
with an average of 27 points
and 6.2 assists per game. The
Blazers went 2-3 without
him, including Wednesday
night’s 125-117 loss to the
Golden State Warriors.
“Obviously, he makes
them a lot more dangerous,”
Lakers coach Luke Walton
said before the game.
Luol Deng sat out because
of right biceps tendinitis.
Deng played more than 31
minutes Tuesday night in the
Lakers’ 116-102 victory at
home against Memphis.
Julius Randle had a
triple-double (19 points, 14
rebounds, 11 assists) against
the Grizzlies. He finished
with 17 points and nine
rebounds against the Blazers.
Lillard didn’t look rusty
from the layoff, hitting his
first four shots, including
a 3-pointer that gave the
Blazers an early 21-16 lead.
Clarkson, Lou Williams and
Brandon Ingram hit consecu-
tive 3s to cap a 13-0 run that
gave the Lakers a 37-29 lead
early in the second quarter. Los
Angeles pushed the advantage
to 54-43 after Russell’s short
jumper late in the half.
Portland climbed back
into it with a 13-2 run to open
the second half, capped by
Maurice Harkless’ 3-pointer
that tied the game at 66. The
Blazers took an 84-81 lead
on Turner’s fast-break layup
late in the third quarter.
TIP-INS
Lakers: Walton said he
can’t really compare his head
coaching experience from
last season, when he stepped
in for Steve Kerr with the
Warriors, to his first season
running the Lakers. “This
whole thing takes time, and
obviously we’re in the earlier
stages,” he said.
Trail Blazers: Allen
Crabbe has scored in double
figures in five straight games,
a season high.
UP NEXT
Lakers: Host the Miami
Heat on Friday night.
Trail Blazers: Host the
Detroit Pistons on Saturday
night, when an ice storm is
expected to hit Portland.
BOARDMAN
—
Alondra Caldera helped
Riverside to a pair of wins
last week, going for 12
points and 10 steals in a
52-33 win over Ione, and 16
points and six rebounds in a
50-32 win over Stevenson
(WA). She has been named
the
East
Oregonian’s
Athlete of the Week for the
week of Dec. 25-31.
EO: What’s your favorite
winter activity?
AC: I love playing
basketball. If I could
I would play all year
round.
What’s the best part of
being a Riverside Pirate?
I think it’s just everyone
gets along.
If you could change one
thing about your school
what would it be?
Have more extracurric-
ular activities.
Who’s your favorite
athlete?
I don’t really have one.
I just kind of watch
everyone.
What’s your favorite
team?
Miami Heat
Do you play any other
sports?
Soccer and track.
How old were you when
you started playing
basketball?
Third grade.
What’s your favorite
thing about basketball?
It’s hard to explain,
there’s so many things.
I guess the rush of
adrenaline you get when
you play.
If you could attend any
sporting event in the
world what would it be?
NBA Finals
Do you have any sports
superstitions?
Before they announce
my name, I pray before
every game.
Where’s your favorite
place in Oregon?
Portland
What’s your favorite
class?
PE
What’s the most
interesting thing you’ve
learned this year?
How to use a camera.
Who’s your favorite
musical artist?
The Weekend
What’s your favorite
holiday?
I would say Valentine’s
Day but that’s my
birthday, so Christmas.
Who is the person you
admire most?
My parents.
If you could choose any
super power what would
it be?
Probably to fly.
What’s your favorite
movie?
A Walk to Remember
(2002)
What’s your favorite
food?
I like pozole.
What’s your least favorite
food?
I hate green beans.
ATHLETE
OF THE WEEK
Alondra Caldera
Sophomore
Riverside Basketball
SEAHAWKS: Detroit averaging 37 pass attempts a game
Continued from 1B
they’ve got a great defense.”
Steven Terrell has been
the one asked to step in for
Thomas, even if there is no
way to properly replace one
of the best free safeties in
the NFL. It’s the most Terrell
has played in his brief NFL
career. Before this season,
Terrell had one career defen-
sive tackle in his two seasons
with the Seahawks.
“Just the experience,
learning through the good,
the bad, the indifferent,
whatever. It’s just getting
better and seeing where I’m
at,” Terrell said. “You kind
of see where you’re at in the
preseason but playing this
year in the regular season it’s
been a good opportunity.”
The experience Terrell is
getting appears to be coming
at a cost to Seattle’s defense.
In the first 11 games of
the season, the Seahawks
allowed 10 passing touch-
downs. In the final five
games, including the Caro-
lina game when Thomas
was injured early in the
second quarter, they allowed
six. Perhaps more telling
is the lack of interceptions.
Seattle’s last interception
came on the first play of
its 40-7 win over Carolina.
Since Thomas was hurt, the
Seahawks have zero picks.
The breakdowns have
been noticeable: Ted Ginn
Jr. getting deep for a 55-yard
touchdown in the minutes
after Thomas was injured;
Davante Adams getting open
for a 66-yard TD; J.J. Nelson
running free through Seat-
tle’s secondary, once for an
80-yard touchdown. They’re
the kinds of big plays the
Seahawks secondary simply
has not allowed in the past.
Not all those plays are on
Terrell. He’s made mistakes,
but at the same time quarter-
backs have appeared more
aggressive in challenging
Seattle’s secondary with
Thomas not there.
If anything, the past
month has highlighted how
much Thomas’ presence has
impacted Seattle’s defensive
success.
“The thing I’ve been
focused on is not trying to
be Earl because I can’t be
Earl. I can only be the best
version of me,” Terrell said.
“That part hasn’t been too
hard because I’ve been who
I am and my teammates have
been giving me good feed-
back. Just be you, be the best
you that you can be and that
helped out a lot. When you
replace an All-Pro player
it’s definitely something
you don’t do every day. It’s
a great opportunity though.”
The challenge for Seattle
may not be so much this
week, but what lies ahead
should it get past the Lions.
Detroit averages 37 pass
attempts per game but only
7.3 yards per attempt. But
a Seattle victory sets up a
matchup with Atlanta and
the third-best pass game in
the NFL.
That’s down the road.
The Seahawks have enough
to worry about with Detroit.
“Earl is Earl, and now it’s
Steve’s opportunity,” Seattle
cornerback DeShawn Shead
said. “And Steve is a great
player as well but you can’t
ask Steve to be Earl. Steve is
Steve and he does a great job.”
Caldera helped
Riverside to a pair
of wins last week,
going for 12
points and 10
steals in a 52-33
win over Ione, and
16 points and six
rebounds in a 50-
32 win over
Stevenson (WA).
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