SPORTS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 2017
1B
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HERMISTON
Men’s College Basketball
Rambo’s Rise
Ducks dunk Bears
Hermiston senior showing off
big-time talent after transfer
from small-school Irrigon
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
A
s a wide-eyed, skinny sophomore, Xavier
Rambo did something that only a few dozen
high school athletes are able to do each year in
Oregon — win a basketball state championship.
Though Rambo wasn’t a major player for that
Irrigon Knights squad that went 27-1 and won its
second straight Class 2A championship, he was able to
gain valuable experience as well as the chance to learn
from all-state players such as Adrian Romero, Anthony
Landeros and Fredy Vera — all three of whom now
play basketball collegiately.
“I learned so much, they taught me so much of my
game,” Rambo said after practice Thursday. “Fredy
Vera, he’s my favorite player to ever play with, he’s
a great point guard and a great role model and still
my role model to this day. And guys like Adrian and
Anthony, they all taught me a lot as a young guard and
made me a better player.”
As a more-developed junior, Rambo took on a larger
role with Irrigon last season and helped his Knights
get back to the 2A playoffs, while also earning All-Co-
lumbia Basin Conference honorable mention honors
as well. But at the conclusion of that season, Rambo
decided he wanted a change. He decided to transfer to
AP Photo/Thomas Boyd
Oregon forward Chris Boucher (25), dunks on California in an
NCAA college basketball game Thursday in Eugene.
No. 11 Oregon loses Brooks
in win over California
the scoring slack by shooting 11
of 12 from the fi eld to go with six
rebounds and four blocked shots.
EUGENE — Losing its best He was 7 of 7 in the second half
player to injury left No. 11 Oregon and 4 of 5 at the free throw line for
more somber than celebratory after 18 points.
“That’s just a great line,” Altman
it rewrote some school history
said, looking at the stat sheet. “A
with its 15th consecutive victory.
“It takes a little wind out of few more rebounds and that would
your sails,” coach Dana Altman have been a spectacular line.”
Bell’s only miss was a desper-
said of the Ducks’ reaction when
ation 3-pointer early in
Dillon Brooks didn’t join
the game to avoid a shot-
them for the second half.
clock violation.
Jordan Bell scored a
“When we got it down
career-high 26 points,
California
low to him, he scored
Casey Benson had 15
every time,” Tyler Dorsey
on fi ve 3-pointers and
said. “He fi nishes and
Oregon rolled to an 86-63
he’s very athletic.”
victory over California on
Jabari Bird had 21
Thursday night.
points to lead the Golden
The Ducks (17-2, 6-0
#11 Oregon
Bears (13-6, 4-3), who
Pac-12) hadn’t won 15
had won three straight
straight games in 104
and eight of their last 10
years, but they lost their
meetings with the Ducks.
preseason All-America to
a lower leg injury late in the fi rst
After two quick fouls on starter
half.
Payton Pritchard, Benson came
Brooks, who had offseason off the bench to hit four straight
surgery on his left foot, limped off 3-pointers as Oregon connected
the court as Oregon was building on 9 of 15 beyond the arc in the
a 44-30 halftime lead. Oregon fi rst half.
offi cials tweeted that Brooks had
Dorsey, the Ducks’ best long-
injured his lower left leg after he range shooter, turned playmaker
did not appear with his teammates in the fi rst half with fi ve of his six
for the second half.
assists.
“He’ll be evaluated the next
“I was looking for him,”
couple of days and we’ll see where Dorsey said of Benson. “I knew
we’re at,” said Altman, who spoke he was going to make it and I was
with Brooks but wouldn’t confi rm going to get an assist.”
if he had re-injured his left foot.
Dorsey scored 13 points in the
In his absence, Bell took up second half to fi nish with 16.
By RON RICHMOND
Associated Press
See RAMBO/2B
MAIN:
Hermiston
senior Xavi-
er Rambo
shoots the
ball over
Dallas play-
ers during
a game this
season in
Hermiston.
63
86
INSET:
Rambo
shoots the
ball over
Kennedy’s
Bishop
Mitchell as
a junior at
2A Irrigon
during the
2015-16
season.
EO fi le photos/
E.J. Harris
Men’s College Basketball
Humphrey leads Stanford past Oregon State
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
CORVALLIS
—
Michael
Humphrey had 21 points and Marcus
Allen added a career-high 12 to lead
Stanford to a 62-46 victory Thursday
night over Oregon State, keeping the
Beavers winless in Pac-12 confer-
ence play.
It was the third straight win for
the Cardinal (11-8, 3-4 Pac-12),
coming off a pair of victories at
home last week against the league’s
Washington schools.
Stephen Thompson Jr. led the
Beavers (4-15, 0-6) with 15 points.
Oregon State, which trailed by as
many as 17 points late after jumping
out to an early nine-point lead, has
lost six straight games.
The Cardinal were without
Reid Travis, the team’s top scorer
and rebounder with averages of
16.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per
last 10 games.
game. Reid injured
At least at the
his right shoulder
in
Stanford’s
start, the Beavers had
Stanford Oregon State spark, going up 16-7
76-69 victory over
Washington
last
on three consecutive
Saturday. He had
3-pointers — two by
missed the previous
Thompson and a third
two games with a similar injury.
by JaQuori McLaughlin. Thompson
The Beavers have struggled hit another 3 to give Oregon State a
without top scorer Tres Tinkle, who 19-11 lead.
was averaging 20.2 points a game
But Stanford closed the gap,
before he broke his right wrist on pulling within 20-17 on Marcus
Nov. 25 against Fresno State. Tinkle Sheffi eld’s jumper with a little more
has missed 13 games.
than fi ve minutes left before the
But Oregon State did have break.
forward Drew Eubanks, who was
Humphrey’s dunk got Stanford
a game-time decision because of a within 25-23, and Allen’s layup tied
thigh injury. Eubanks was averaging it. Humphrey made two free throws
14.6 points going in. He fi nished to give the Cardinal a 27-25 halftime
with eight points against Stanford.
lead.
Beavers coach Wayne Tinkle
Sheffi eld’s 3-pointer made it
tweaked his starting lineup, giving 37-32 with 12:35 left as the Cardinal
sophomore Gligorije Ravocevic his began to pull away. Humphrey’s
fi rst career start. Ravocevic replaced layup stretched the lead to 45-36
Matt Dahlen, who had started the with 8:20 left.
62
46
AP Photo/Timothy J. Gonzalez
Oregon State’s Drew Eubanks (12) jumps past Stanford’s Grant
Verhoeven (30) during fi rst half of an NCAA college basketball
game Thursday in Corvallis.
Sports shorts
Reds trade Dan Straily to Miami
MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Marlins traded
two of their top pitching prospects Thursday to
acquire immediate rotation help.
Miami obtained 14-game winner Dan Straily
from the Cincinnati Reds for three minor
leaguers, including right-handers
Luis Castillo and Austin Brice,
both highly regarded prospects in
the Marlins’ thin system.
Straily, 28, has a career record
of 27-21 with a 4.24 ERA. The
right-hander tied for the most
homers allowed in the NL last year
Straily
with 31, but as a fl yball pitcher he’s
a good fi t for spacious Marlins Park.
Miami will be Straily’s fi fth team since he
broke into the majors in 2012. He has also
pitched for Oakland, the Cubs and Houston.
Straily went 14-8 for the last-place Reds with
a 3.76 ERA and 162 strikeouts in 34 games,
leading the staff in wins innings and strikeouts.
“It made me think a little
more differently (about
him). But LeGarrette’s
doing his thing.“
— Le’Veon Bell
Pittsburgh Steelers running back
on the time then-teammate
LaGarrette Blount left the fi eld be-
fore the end of a win over Tenne-
see on a Monday night in 2014.
Blount was cut on Wednesday,
signed by the New England
Patriots and won a Super Bowl at
the end of the season. The Steeler
play at the Patriots Sunday in the
AFC Championship.
Raiders prep for Vegas move,
fi le paperwork with county
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Oakland Raiders
have fi led paperwork to move to Las Vegas.
Clark County Commission Chairman Steve
Sisolak told The Associated Press
on Thursday that he spoke with
the Raiders. Sisolak is part of
an 11-member panel that was
appointed by Nevada Gov. Brian
Sandoval to study plans for a
proposal backed by billionaire
casino owner Sheldon Adelson’s company, Las
Vegas Sands Corp., to build a domed stadium
to lure the Raiders to town.
The proposed 65,000-seat domed stadium
is expected to cost $1.9 billion, including $750
million in hotel tax revenue, $650 million
from Adelson, and $500 million from the
Raiders and the NFL. Any relocation to Las
Vegas must be approved by three-fourths of
NFL team owners.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1891 — The International
YMCA in Springfi eld, Mass.
is the site of the fi rst offi cial
basketball game. Peach baskets
were used, but it wasn’t until
1905 that someone removed
the baskets’ bottoms.
1980 — President Carter
announces the U.S. Olympic
team will not participate in
the Summer Olympics in
Moscow to protest the Soviet
invasion of Afghanistan the
previous month.
2002 — Steve Yzerman
becomes the ninth player in
NHL history to notch 1,000
assists as his Detroit Red
Wings beat Ottawa 3-2 in
overtime.
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sports@eastoregonian.com