SPORTS
WEEKEND, JANUARY 21-22, 2017
1B
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PENDLETON
PENDLETON
Buckaroos return red hot
Pendleton
squeaks
out a win
Pend-
leton’s
Caden
Smith
(23)
pow-
ers up
above
Carson
Orr (32),
of Hood
River,
on Fri-
day at
Warberg
Court.
After long
break, Bucks
start league
play with rout
By MATT ENTRUP
East Oregonian
The Pendleton boys basketball
team had a long time to stew
in its three-game losing streak
when the fi nal four games of the
non-league slate were wiped out
by weather cancellations.
The Buckaroos were fi nally
able to release
that frustration Boys Hoops
on Friday night
when
they
hosted Hood
River
Valley Hood River
for each team’s
Columbia River
Conference
opener,
and
P e n d l e t o n ’s
Pendleton
fi rst game in 17
days.
The Bucks
took the lead
less than three minutes into the
game and never let it go, making
nearly half their shot attempts
and allowing their second-fewest
points this season for a 69-40
rout.
“I thought we did a really
good job of coming out and
really just harassing early,” said
Pendleton coach Kyle Tedder,
“and the game plan was take care
of yourself on the defensive end
and everything else will fall into
place.”
Hood River (5-8, 0-1 CRC)
turned the ball over 24 times (13
in the fi rst half) as it struggled to
deal with Pendleton’s frequent
scheme shifts, and was just
9-of-30 from the fi eld.
The Bucks (4-4, 1-0) were
prepared for the possibility of a
similar night from their offense,
but had no need to worry.
Pendleton senior Wyatt Morris
paced the team in the fi rst half
with all 15 of his points on 6-of-8
shooting including 2 for 2 from
three-point range as the Bucks
used runs of 11-2, 9-3 and 8-1 to
build a 21-point cushion at the
break.
He said the long layoff was
tough, but the team felt well
prepared coming into the game.
Staff photo
by Kathy
Aney
Greb leads Buckaroos
with 18 points
East Oregonian
HOOD RIVER — The Pendleton
Buckaroos girls basketball team
opened up league play in a big way as
they traveled to Hood River Valley and
squeaked out a 51-48 victory on Friday
night.
Pendleton (4-5,
1-0
CRC) had to
Girls Hoops
overcome a fi ve
point defi cit with just
two minutes left in
the game, deploying
Pendleton
a
high-pressure
defense that led to a
few steals and some
timely baskets to be
able to pull out the
Hood River
win.
“It was a great
come-from-behind
win and this team
never quits no
matter how the chips fall,” Pendleton
coach Kevin Porter said following
the game. “In the end we were able
to handle the last few minutes a little
better than they did and that’s a great
quality to have in a team.”
Haley Greb had a big game for
Pendleton with 18 points, which Porter
51
40
48
69
See PENDLETON/2B
Prep Wrestling
“We hadn’t had a game in three
weeks, and it’s kind of hard on the
players,” he said. “There’s always
(jitters) every game, but I mean
just practice, preparation, Tedder
works us hard in practice.”
Shaw Jerome also helped
them get off to a fast start with
fi ve points in the fi rst quarter,
and seven players would get into
the scorebook by the end of the
frame.
Caden Smith fi nished with
a team-high 16 points and six
rebounds, and Jerome and Kyle
Curtis each fi nished with seven
points.
Pendleton shot 46.5 percent
(27 for 58) from the fi eld in the
game and 52.5 percent (21 for 40)
from inside the arc.
“It was big time,” Smith
said. “Everyone stepped up in
every place. A lot of guys off the
bench came in and gave some
good minutes, so it was a good
all-around win for us.”
“It was a great effort one
through 11, so I’m pretty happy
with it,” Tedder said.
Dakota Kurahara scored a
game-high 20 points for Hood
River. He went 13 for 14 at the
free throw line and added six
rebounds.
Pendleton
out-rebounded
Hood River by a slim margin
26-23.
Despite the lack of preseason
games the Bucks said they feel
like the team is progressing at the
right pace.
“We’re just trying to come
together through this tough time,”
See BUCKAROOS/2B
NBA
Sixers sink Blazers with last-second 3-pointer
Portland led by 13 at the
break, falter in second half
By DAVE ZEITLIN
Associated Press
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid, from left, Robert Cov-
ington, and T.J. McConnell celebrate after Covington
scored the go-ahead 3-pointer during the fi nal seconds
of Friday’s game against Portland in Philadelphia.
PHILADELPHIA — Robert
Covington scored 22 points and made
two 3-pointers in the fi nal 40 seconds
to lead the streaking Philadelphia
76ers to a come-from-behind 93-92
win over the Portland Trail Blazers on
Friday night.
Ersan Ilyasova scored 24 points
and Joel Embiid added 18 points,
10 rebounds and fi ve assists before
leaving the game with an injury for
the Sixers, who have won four straight
Portland
Philadelphia
92
93
and eight of their last 10.
Embiid, who sparked the recent
surge, suffered a bruised left knee in
the second half and didn’t play the
fi nal 8:50 of the game.
But the Sixers rallied for the
victory without their prized center as
Covington drilled the winner with 4.5
seconds left before Mason Plumlee
missed a shot at the buzzer on the
other end.
See BLAZERS/3B
Five Dawgs
reach semis
at Reser’s
Hermiston tied for
fi fth at Tournament of
Champions
East Oregonian
HILLSBORO — Five Bulldogs
remain in the title hunt after the fi rst day
of wrestling at the Reser’s Tournament
of Champions on Friday at Liberty
High School.
After receiving byes in the fi rst
round, Hermiston’s C.J. Hendon, Valen
Wyse, Julio Leiva, John-Henry Line
and Beau Blake all won their next two
matches to reach today’s semifi nals.
As a team the Bulldogs scored 83
points and are tied with Crook County
for fi fth. Roseburg holds a healthy lead
in fi rst with 144.5, followed by Dallas
with 99, Crater with 86.5 and Newberg
with 86.
Wrestling at 138 pounds, Hendon
was the fi rst Bulldog to win in the
quarterfi nals when he pinned Sandy’s
Brody Diaz de Leon in 5 minutes, 58
seconds. He also scored a third-round
pin in his other win in 5:02 over Centu-
ry’s Terrell Jackson.
Wyse also won both of his bouts at
160 by pinfall, though neither made it
out of the fi rst round. He beat Sandy’s
Abe Mitchell in 1:46 and then pinned
Dallas’ Cody Janssen in 1:03 in the
quarterfi nals.
See DAWGS/3B
Sports shorts
Southern Oregon football coach
passes away at age 64
ASHLAND — Southern Oregon University
football coach Craig Howard passed away
unexpectedly at his home on Thursday night.
He was 64.
Howard was hired as the SOU Raiders head
coach on Feb. 9, 2011 and led the
team to a school-record 13 wins
and a NAIA national champion-
ship in 2014 — the fi rst in school
history. He compiled a 50-23
record in his six seasons, giving
him the best winning percentage
Howard
(.685) in school history.
Born and raised in Grants Pass,
Howard, got his head coaching career started at
Oregon Tech in 1991 before moving to Florida
to coach high school football at Nease High
from 2003 to 2010. There, he coached future
Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow before
moving back to Oregon to take the SOU job.
“It is what it is. That’s the
nature of the business,
the game. I just play.
I don’t play for All-
Star bids, I play to win
championships and
every night I compete
at a high level, and it’ll
work out.“
— Russell Westbrook
The Oklahoma City Thunder point
guard speaking Friday on his
omission from the Western Confer-
ence starting lineup for the NBA
All-Star Game. Westbrook leads
the NBA in scoring and is averag-
ing 30.6 points, 10.4 assists, and
10.6 rebounds per game
Trier passes NCAA test, can
play against UCLA
TUCSON, Ariz. — The Arizona Athletic
Department says it has received word that
Allonzo Trier tested negative
for a performance-enhancing
drug in his latest test and will be
eligible to play when the No. 14
Wildcats face No. 4 UCLA in
Los Angeles on Saturday.
The NCAA’s blessing has
long been awaited as Trier sat out the entire
season, able to practice and travel with the team
but unable to play in games.
The school refused to say why Trier wasn’t
playing until the player released a statement
this week saying he had inadvertently taken a
substance with a trace amount of PED in it. He
said the NCAA would not allow him to play
until his system was completely cleared of the
drug.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1990 — John McEnroe
becomes the fi rst player
thrown out of the Australian
Open. McEnroe’s tantrum
comes while leading Mike
Pernfors 6-1, 4-6, 7-5, 2-4.
2007 — Lovie Smith
becomes the fi rst black head
coach to make it to the Super
Bowl when his Chicago
Bears win the NFC cham-
pionship. Tony Dungy joins
him when his Indianapolis
Colts take the AFC title.
2010 — Los Angeles
guard Kobe Bryant becomes
the 15th player in NBA
history to reach 25,000 career
points and the youngest to hit
the milestone.
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sports@eastoregonian.com