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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 2017)
SPORTS FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS HERMISTON HERMISTON Dawgs Bulldogs oulast Eagles win big Clutch shooting, solid bench play helps Hermiston win Juul, Romero pace HHS for league win By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian The fi rst 16 minutes of Thursday’s contest between Hermiston and Hood River Valley looked Boys Hoops more like a track meet than a basketball game. Both teams’ offenses were effi cient in the Hood River half, as the Bulldogs (14-25 FG, 56 percent) and Eagles (12-26, 46 percent) spent most of the game action simply running up and down the Hermiston court as the teams traded baskets left and right. In total, there were 14 lead changes and three ties just in that fi rst half alone. But the Bulldogs were able to tighten up some weak spots on defense at the halftime break, which helped boost them to a 69-61 victory over the Eagles to remain unbeaten in Columbia River Conference play. East Oregonian HOOD RIVER — The Hermiston girls basketball team earned another lopsided league win on Thursday and beat Hood River Valley 55-25 on its Girls Hoops own court. Junior post Maddy Juul had a double- Hermiston double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, and freshman guard Jazlyn Romero added 11 more points to lead the Bulldogs (8-8, 2-0 CRC). Senior forward Hood River Kynzee Padilla added 10 rebounds to go with six points, and Hermiston coach Juan Rodriguez said his team’s ability to control the boards was a big factor in the outcome. “They (the posts) are coming out of their shell and they’re dominating like they’re supposed to,” he said. Rodriguez said the game also seems to be slowing down for Romero as the season progresses. “She’s reading the game and she’s 61 55 69 25 See BULLDOGS/2B See DAWGS/2B ATHENA Hillmick signs with Willamette for softball Weston-McEwen senior plans to pursue degree in excercise science By MATT ENTRUP East Oregonian Throughout a life spent largely on playing fi elds and softball diamonds, Weston-McEwen High School senior Bailey Hillmick has also expe- rienced her fair share of injuries. Because of that she’s also spent a large chunk of her formative years in the company of athletic trainers and physical ther- Hillmick apists, so much that when asked to estimate the total amount of time a coy laugh and the words, “A lot,” are the only reasonable answers possible. Those trainers and therapists have never failed in getting her back to doing the things she loves, and Hillmick said that’s inspired her to pursue a degree in Exercise Science after graduating from Weston-McEwen. “I’ve been around the physical therapy area and I felt like that’s some- thing that really interested me,” she See HILLMICK/2B Staff photos E.J. Harris ABOVE: Hermiston’s Kody Moss puts up a shot guarded by Hood River’s Erick Siekkinen and Carson Orr (32) in the Bulldogs’ 69-61 win on Thursday in Hermiston. RIGHT: Hermiston’s Andrew Earl drives past Hood River’s Zack Moore on Thursday. Men’s College Basketball Brooks returns from injury to lead Oregon over Utah By MATTHEW COLES Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY — Dillon Brooks returned from missing a game with a foot injury to score 17 points and lead No. 10 Oregon over Utah, 73-67 on Thursday night. The Ducks (19-2, 8-0 Pac-12) led by as many as 13 points in the second half, but Devon Daniel’s #10 Oregon dunk off Lorenzo Bonam’s steal sliced the defi cit to fi ve and then Kyle Kuzma’s 3-pointer made it Utah 70-66 with 1:40 to play. But the Utes (14-6, 5-3) were denied multiple chances at the rim, including Chris Boucher’s block of Kuzma’s shot with 31 seconds left. Brooks and Payton Pritchard made free throws to clinch the game in the waning seconds. Jordan Bell had 15 points and 73 67 AP Photo/Rick Bowmer Oregon forward Dillon Brooks (24) goes to the basket as Utah’s Jayce Johnson (34) and Kyle Kuzma (35) defend during the fi rst half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017, in Salt Lake City. Dylan Ennis added 13 for the Ducks, who extended the longest winning streak in Oregon history to 17 games. Kuzma scored 18 points and Daniels had 11 for Utah, which is still searching for a signature win after a soft nonconference schedule. David Collette had 10 in limited minutes. After trailing by two early in the second half, Oregon went on a 13-2 run, capped by Jordan Bell’s dunk, to take a 52-43 lead with 11:38 to play. The Ducks made their big move while Collette was on the bench with foul trouble. Utah led for much of the fi rst half until Brooks lobbed an alley-oop pass for Boucher for a dunk and then hit a 3-pointer to give the Ducks a 33-31 halftime lead. Oregon hasn’t had a close game since nipping UCLA 89-87 in the conference opener and struggled by going the fi nal 3:26 without a fi eld goal but the defense carried the day again. Oregon has won eight straight games against Utah. BIG PICTURE Oregon: Brooks, who was a game-time decision, proved to be the difference in an uneven offen- sive performance. The Ducks, who lead the nation is blocks, had six rejections and forced 15 turnovers and showed again they stay in any game with their consistent pressure on the defensive end. Sports shorts Woods struggles in return SAN DIEGO (AP) — Tiger Woods had a rough return to the PGA Tour on Thursday at the Farmers Insurance Open. A slow one, too. Woods, playing in a PGA Tour event for the fi rst time in 17 months, fell apart on the back nine of the South course at Torrey Pines. He dropped six shots in a six-hole stretch and fi nished with a birdie for a 4-over 76. Woods That put him 11 shots behind Justin Rose, who had a 65 on the shorter North Course. Woods made his fi rst birdie on the 10th hole. He followed with another one on the par-3 11th to get under par. And it was all downhill from there. The big blow was on the 15th, when he snap-hooked his drive over the gallery and into a ravine. “You see owners putting their money where their mouth is. That’s what makes this so intriguing. You have people taking a shot and that’s what horse racing is all about.“ — Eddie Olczyk ESPN racing analyst on Saturday’s inaugural Pegasus World Cup, which is offering the largest purse in thoroughbred racing of $12 million. Twelve owners paid $1 million each to get their horses to the starting gate, and the winner will take more than $7 million in purse money and a share of wagering on the race. Clemson football hands out $2.8 million in bonuses to staff CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Winning a national title pays well at Clemson. Head coach Dabo Swinney and the football staff earned more than $2.8 million in bonuses with the team’s run to a national championship and Atlantic Coast Conference crown. The school gave a list of bonuses to The AP on Thursday. Swinney led the way, getting $1.45 million in bonus pay for Clemson’s fi rst national championship since 1981, 35-31 over Alabama. Each of Clemson’s nine on-fi eld assistant coaches received $95,000 in extra pay for the team’s 14-1 season. Strength coach Joey Batson and associate athletic director for football administration Woody McCorvey also received and extra $95,000. In all, 16 football staffers received at least $70,000 in bonuses. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1991 — The New York Giants survive the closest Super Bowl ever when Scott Norwood’s 47-yard fi eld goal attempt with 8 seconds left in the game goes wide. The Giants win their second title in fi ve years, 20-19 over the Buffalo. 2010 — Washington Wizards players Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton are suspended without pay for the remainder of the season by the NBA. Both players admit to bringing a gun or guns into the Wizards’ locker room a violation of the collective bargaining agreement after a dispute stemming from a card game on a team fl ight. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
