Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Saturday, January 14, 2016
PENDLETON
Mathews, Harris lead Timberwolves over Yaks
BMCC men get
first league win
East Oregonian
YAKIMA, Wash. — Led
by double-doubles from
Jared Mathews and Isaiah
Harris, the Blue Mountain
men’s basketball team shot
55.2 percent from the field
in the second half to hold
off Yakima Valley 72-70 for
its first NWAC East win on
Thursday night.
Mathews finished with
game-highs of 28 points and
18 rebounds, and Harris added
18 points and 13 rebounds as
the Timberwolves (3-10, 1-2
East) enjoyed a 64-33 advan-
tage on the glass.
Mathews and Harris, both
sophomores, also led the
T-Wolves in shooting efficiency
going 13 for 23 (57 percent)
and 7 for 12 (58 percent) from
the field, respectively.
As a team BMCC shot
45.5 percent for the game and
freshman Darien Davis added
13 points on 5-of-11 (45 percent)
shooting and six boards. Soph-
omore La’Quan Hawkins led
SEAHAWKS:
Men’s Basketball
Blue Mountain Yakima Valley
72
70
the team with five assists and
chipped in seven points.
Looking to focus on
high-percentage shots, BMCC
attempted just 10 three-pointers
in the game and hit just one of
those. The T-Wolves led 35-31
at halftime.
Three Yaks reached
double digits in scoring
led by 13 points from Jalil
Walker. Yakima Valley (7-8,
1-2 East) shot 37.7 percent
from the field for the game
and neither team was great
at the free-throw line where
YVCC was 14 for 26 and
BMCC went 11 for 23.
Blue Mountain will try
for its first back-to-back wins
of the season when it hosts
Columbia Basin on Saturday
at 4 p.m.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
YAKIMA VALLEY 71,
BLUE MOUNTAIN 66 —
At Yakima, Wash., the Yaks
used a 45-28 advantage in
the second and third quarters
to hand the Timberwolves
their fifth-straight loss in an
NWAC East game played
Thursday night.
Blue Mountain (2-8,
0-3 East) kept itself in
the game by hitting seven
three-pointers, but Yakima
Valley (12-3, 3-0) got to the
line for 35 free throws and
hit 20 — five more than
BMCC in a game decided
by five points.
Several T-Wolves had
strong performances despite
the loss with Sydney
Wammock notching a
double-double with 18
points and 12 rebounds,
and Brook Haringa adding
18 points, six rebounds and
three assists. Akira McGee
chipped in 11 points, six
rebounds and four assists,
and Kimberly Munoz had
10 points.
Sammi Blodgett paced the
Yaks with 20 points and six
assists, and Sequoia Swan
added 16 points and six
rebounds.
The T-Wolves will host
Columbia Basin on Saturday
at 2 p.m.
TIGERS: Hart’s 19 leads the way for Stanfield girls
Continued from 1B
dominant pass rushers.
“Both teams now are a better
version of themselves than when
we played back then,” said Falcons
coach Dan Quinn, a former defen-
sive coordinator in Seattle.
The Atlanta offense has been
on point all season. Led by
quarterback Matt Ryan, one of
the leading contenders for MVP,
the Falcons (11-5) romped to
the NFC South title and a first-
round bye behind the league’s
highest-scoring offense, averaging
nearly 34 points a game.
Ryan has been especially accu-
rate on his deep throws, an area
of vulnerability for the Seahawks
without their star safety. In the first
meeting, Thomas had one of just
seven interceptions Ryan threw all
season.
“His accuracy is phenomenal,”
Seattle coach Pete Carroll said.
“He puts it in all of the right spots.”
Here are some things to watch
for Saturday:
POSTSEASON
BLUES:
While Ryan is coming off the best
season of his career, completing
69.9 percent for 4,944 yards and
38 touchdowns, his career mark in
the playoffs is just 1-4.
In an interesting twist, that
lone postseason win came against
Seattle during the divisional round
four years ago, when he guided
the Falcons to a last-second, 30-28
victory after the Falcons blew a
20-point lead. Ryan said the past
won’t be a factor in this game. “I
feel like I’m playing my best,” he
said, “better than I ever have.”
RUNNING WILD: Seattle’s
inconsistent run game got a
big — and surprising — boost
out of Thomas Rawls in last
week’s wild-card victory over
Detroit. Rawls rushed for 161
yards, a franchise playoff record
that caught everyone off guard
after the running backs produced
just two 100-yard games during
the entire regular season and the
Seahawks didn’t even rush for
100 yards as a team in the final
three games. That 100-yard mark
is a big number. Under Carroll, the
Seahawks have just one playoff
victory when failing to reach triple
figures on the ground.
SPREADING IT AROUND:
Julio Jones had seven catches for
139 yards against Seattle during
the regular season, and Atlanta
fans are still seething about an
apparent pass interference penalty
on Richard Sherman that wasn’t
called late in the game. While
the Jones-vs.-Sherman matchup
is sure to be a focal point, the
Falcons have shown they can win
even when opponents double up
on their All-Pro receiver. Ryan has
thrown TDs to an NFL-record 13
players, and the passing game is
at full strength with the return of
speedy receiver Taylor Gabriel
and tight end Austin Hooper from
injuries that kept them out late in
the season.
WHERE’S JIMMY? It would
be a good time to get tight end
Jimmy Graham reacquainted with
the Seattle offense. In Week 6, he
had six catches for 89 yards and
took advantage of openings in the
middle of Atlanta’s defense. But
over the past five games including
the playoffs, Graham has just 11
receptions and one touchdown.
He’s always played well against
the Falcons going back to his
days in New Orleans, totaling 55
receptions, eight touchdowns and
five games of at least 80 yards
receiving over 11 matchups.
KEEP AN EYE ON
HESTER: Devin Hester returns
to the Georgia Dome for the first
time since being released by
the Falcons. Signed before the
playoffs to jumpstart Seattle’s
return game, he had the last of
his NFL-record 20 touchdown
returns during a Pro Bowl season
with the Falcons in 2014. He was
released last summer after battling
injuries, but Atlanta is mindful
of his potential impact on special
teams. “He’s had terrific history of
making big plays, so we certainly
know what Devin is capable of,”
Quinn said.
Continued from 1B
and they did a great job of attacking
us, I think they were prepared. We
made a little bit of an adjustment in
the second half, we drew up what
they were doing and we knew what
we were trying to take away. It felt
like we did a lot better on that in
the second half. Our whole team
bought in and played hard.”
The second half began much
as the first, but Woods started the
Tigers’ run with a three-point play
at the 3:47 mark that made it 41-37
for the largest lead to that point.
Steagall scored on a layup when
Heppner beat the press on the next
possession but a putback by Noe
Sanchez answered that bucket,
and then Woods elicited the largest
crowd reaction of the night when
he darted in front of a Heppner
pass at mid-court and slammed it
two-handed for a 45-39 lead with
2:55 left in the quarter.
“The crowd hadn’t really been
into it at that point in the game, and
then he dunks that and everyone
gets crazy,” Bailey said. “I mean,
we love that. We love to see that. It
gets us all going.”
“We needed a momentum
swing,” said Woods. “In the first
half no one really did anything
spectacular to get into the game,
or get some intensity, so I think
it helped a lot. Plus we hit a few
threes right after that which helped
a lot.”
Stanfield followed Woods’
dunk with an 8-1 run, finished
the third up 55-44 and never let
the lead slip below double digits
again. The Tigers started the fourth
quarter shooting 9-of-12 including
6-of-6 from close range before
Sperr cleared the bench and the
Tigers’ back-ups started hoisting
three-pointers. Stanfield finished
25 for 64 (39 percent) from the
field including 5 for 29 (17 percent)
from distance, although the bench
did miss six threes in the final two
minutes.
Heppner shot 23 for 53 (43.4
percent) from the field and 2 for
9 from three-point range. The
Mustangs also turned the ball over
22 times and was out-rebounded
35-28.
“Last year we came up short
when we played them at home
here,” Woods said. “We were kind
of seeking redemption.”
In the girls game, Kendra Hart
and Natalia Esquivel made good
use of their looks from outside to
help Stanfield (3-9, 1-0) pull away
in the second half.
After Heppner (5-6, 0-1) pulled
within 30-26 in the third quarter,
Hart drained a trey in front of the
Stanfield bench and Esquivel hit
one from the opposite side a couple
minutes later to get the lead to
double digits for the first time at
36-26.
Heppner continued to struggle
on its end in the fourth quarter,
and Esquivel scored nine of her 13
points in the frame to seal the win.
Hart finished with a team-high
19 points of which she scored 11
after halftime.
The Mustangs were led by Jacee
Stan-
field’s
Kendra
Hart
drives
on Hep-
pner’s
Jacee
Currin
in the
Tigers’
54-45
win
against
the Mus-
tangs on
Friday in
Stan-
field.
Staff photo
by E.J. Harris
Currin with 20 points, but 11 of
those were in the first quarter and
she was limited to just one field
goal after halftime. Kacie Gray
added 11 points with nine of those
in the second half.
Stanfield will be back in action
today at Culver with the boys
tipping off at 2:30 p.m. and the girls
following at 4 p.m.
Heppner’s teams will play at
Weston-McEwen today at 4 and
5:30 p.m. with boys up first.
———
Boys
HHS
16 15 11 22 — 66
SHS
15 16 24 26 — 81
HEPPNER — K. Murray 14, W. Steagall 14, J. Lind-
say 12, N. Dias Martins 8, L. Grieb 8, C. Hedman 8,
C. Dougherty 2, H. Nichols, B. Wolters, K. Smith, G.
McCurry, A. Lindsay.
STANFIELD — D. Grogan 25, R. Bailey 12, B.
Woods 9, T. Monkus 8, T. FLores 7, N. Sanchez 5,
J. Garcia 5, E. Angel 5, J. Galarza 2, D. Allen 2, A.
Gomez 1.
3-pointers — HHS 2-9; SHS 5-29. Free throws —
HHS 18-29; SHS 17-24. Fouls — HHS 23; SHS 26.
Fouled out — Grogan (SHS).
Girls
HHS
11 9
9 16 — 45
SHS
15 13 11 15 — 54
HEPPNER — J. Currin 20, K. Gray 11, M. Silvia
4, J. Mahoney 4, R. Dompier 2, M. Correa 2, M.
Combe 2, N. Proheter, C. Grieb, T. McCurry.
STANFIELD — K. Hart 19, N. Esquivel 13, B.
Braithwaite 9, A. Lemmon 5, A. Griffin 5, S. Sharp 3,
A. Carrillo, S. Connell, J. Garcia, C. Neasham.
3-pointers — HHS 1; SHS 5. Free throws — HHS
16-25; SHS 11-35. Fouls — HHS 23; SHS 22. Fouled
out — J. Currin, K. Gray (HHS); K. Hart, A. Griffin
(SHS).
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Heppner’s Jake Lindsey drives on Stanfield’s Thyler Monkus in
the Tigers’ 81-66 win against the Mustangs on Friday in Stanfield.
PREPS: Pilot Rock boys overcome slow start in Culver
Continued from 1B
start in the Knights’ league home
opener.
————
IHS
10 9
9 11 3 — 42
RHS
13 8
2 16 6 — 45
IRRIGON — J. Burns 20, T. Davis 8, A. Munoz 4, A.
Zacarias 4, K. Gilman 3, K. Wyant 3.
RIVERSIDE — B. Avalos 14, L. Mashos 13, S.
Wightman 11, F. Rosen 4, A. Caldera 2, A. Hernan-
dez 1.
3-pointers — IHS 2, RHS 5. Free throws — IHS
13-26, RHS 8-15. Fouls — IHS 20, RHS 22. Fouled
out — S. Wightman, A. Caldera (RHS).
CULVER 35, PILOT ROCK
28 — At Culver, the Pilot Rock
Rockets dropped their Columbia
Basin Conference opener with a
35-28 road loss against Culver.
Pilot Rock (10-3, 0-1 CBC) next
hosts Weston-McEwen next Friday
afternoon.
————
PR
CHS
2 12
8 11
4
10
10 — 28
6 — 35
BOYS BASKETBALL
PILOT ROCK 62, CULVER
41 — At Culver, the Pilot Rock
Rockets overcame a slow start
to beat the Culver Bulldogs in
their Columbia Basin Conference
opener on Friday night.
“It was a long bus ride and we
just took a while to get going,”
Pilot Rock coach Mike Weinke
said. “The kids turned it on in the
second quarter and played good
defense, which carried us through
the rest of the way.”
Chris Weinke led the Rockets
(8-5, 1-0 CBC) with 19 points,
while Bryson Pierce added 14
points.
Pilot Rock has a week off
until its next game, when it hosts
Weston-McEwen next Friday at 3
p.m.
————
PR
12 15 18 17 — 62
CHS
16 3 11 11 — 41
PILOT ROCK — C. Weinke 19, B. Pierce 14, T.
Denny 8, R. Lankford 6, L. Thieme 6, D. Hasher 4, T.
Bates 3, J. Willingham 2.
CULVER — W. Basl 10, M. Davis 10, M. Krueger 6,
K. Lamb 5, D. Gutierrez 4, I. Stevens 3.
3-pointers — PR 1, CHS 2. Free throws — PR 9-15,
CHS 11-24. Fouls — PR 21, CHS 17. Fouled out — B.
Postma (PR), M. Davis (CHS).
IRRIGON 47, RIVERSIDE
35 — At Boardman, the Irrigon
Knights won their debut game
in the Eastern Oregon League,
beating the Riverside Pirates 47-35
on Friday night at Riverside High
School.
“We came out and played good,
gave them (Riverside) trouble with
our full court press and we just
wore them down,” Irrigon coach
Davy Salas said. “We like where
we’re at and hopefully we keep
playing well.”
Hayden White had a big game
for Irrigon (8-4, 1-0 EOL) with a
game-high 15 points and Austin
Rice added 10 for the Knights. For
Riverside (4-8, 0-1) Daniel Rodri-
guez led the way with a team-high
nine points.
“I think we did a good job
defensively in spots, but in the
third quarter we just kind of gave
up,” Riverside coach Clair Costello
said. “My bench played hard in the
fourth quarter, but we have some
things to work on.”
Both teams have quick turn-
arounds now as Irrigon will host
Umatilla today at 1 p.m. and River-
side will travel to Burns for a 3:30
p.m. start.
————
IHS
11 15
9 10 — 47
RHS
5 8
7 15 — 35
IRRIGON — H. White 15, A. Rice 10, J. Philips 8,
E. Carillo 5, K. Fleming 3, A. Roa 2, O. Vera 2, A.
Gomez 2.
RIVERSIDE — D. Rodriguez 9, A. Martinez 6, A.
Hernandez 5, D. Valenzuela 4, J. Garcia 4, M. Hegar
3, B. Altamirano 2, E. Castillo 1, F. Aparicio 1.
3-pointers — IHS 3, RHS 1. Free throws — IHS 4-7,
RHS 6-15. Fouls — IHS 12, RHS 10.