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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 31, 2017)
SPORTS TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017 STANFIELD Tigers exact revenge Stanfi eld repays Sherman for earlier road losses East Oregonian Brody Woods scored with less than 30 seconds left and Sherman’s attempt to win with a three-pointer clanged off the rim just before the buzzer as Stanfi eld avenged its only loss of the season 82-80 on Monday night. The non-league game pitted Class 2A’s No. 1-ranked Boys Hoops Stanfield Tigers against Class 1A Sherman defending state champion and No. 2-ranked Sherman Huskies. When they Stanfi eld met on Dec. 3 in the second game of the season it was the Huskies celebrating an 85-67 win on their home court. “We really wanted the oppor- tunity to see how much we had progressed,” said Stanfi eld coach Jason Sperr. “We were kind of using this as a measuring stick.” The Tigers (15-1) came away feeling even better about the win considering the last time they had played Sherman (14-5) it was without Huskies starting point guard Jacob Justesen, who was back in the lineup on Monday and contributed 10 points for his team. Stanfi eld’s Dylan Grogan led all scorers with 33 points, and Thyler Monkus fi nished with 12 as the only Tigers to reach double digits. Max Martin paced Sherman with 21, and Isaiah Coles added another 17 and the Huskies got just two points from their bench as all fi ve starters scored in See TIGERS/4B 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS MISSION Golden Eagles stay unbeaten Nixyaawii girls improve to 16-0 with big win over Powder Valley Nixyaawii’s Milan Schimmel dribbles the ball up the court during Nixyaawii’s 61-43 win against Powder Val- ley in girls basketball on Saturday in Mission. By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian The Nixyaawii Community School gymnasium was packed with spectators on Saturday night, as the Golden Eagles hosted Powder Valley for an Old Oregon League contest. There was a lot riding on this Girls Hoops game and both teams entered the day deadlocked at the top of the league standings with identical Powder Valley 7-0 records. Both teams knew what was at stake, but as the game was played it was obvious that one wanted the win to stay unbeaten more. That team was Nixyaawii, as Nixyaawii the Golden Eagles trampled the Badgers 61-43 to take over sole possession of fi rst place in the OOL and remain a perfect 16-0 on the season. “Our game plan coming was to attack the rim and I think we did a really good job of that,” Nixyaawii coach Jeremy Maddern said. “I think when we got going offensively, then our defense picked it up too and I think we just played a pretty complete game from start to fi nish.” Nixyaawii’s athleticism on defense frustrated Powder Valley early in the game, affecting seem- ingly every shot attempt the Badgers put up and leading to an 0-for-11 start shooting. As Maddern mentioned, that success on defense fed Nixy- aawii’s offense, leading to easy shots in transition as well as nicely-run offensive sets that set up easy shots in the paint. Staff photo by Eric Singer 43 61 80 82 See GOLDEN EAGLES/3B Nixyaawii boys survive Schimmel scores 31 to help beat Powder Valley By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian A feeling of uneasiness fi lled the Nixyaawii gymnasium on Saturday evening, as the Godlen Eagles boys basketball team sputtered out of the gates against the Powder Valley Badgers. On paper, the game was set up to Boys Hoops Powder Valley Nixyaawii 51 55 be one of the best and toughest of the year for both sides as the Badgers and Golden Eagles sat atop the Old Oregon League with identical 7-0 records. But Powder Valley started the game playing with a different gear than Nixyaawii and led 13-6 after one quarter of play. See NIXYAAWII/2B Staff photo by Eric Singer Nixyaawii players and coaches celebrate after the Golden Eagles defeated Powder Valley 55-51 in boys basketball on Saturday in Mission. Men’s College Basketball Gonzaga takes top spot in poll for second time in school history Gonzaga coach Mark Few yells at an offi cial during the second half of the team’s NCAA college basket- ball game against Pepperdine, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017, in Malibu, Calif.. Gon- zaga won 96-49. AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu Villanova drops to No. 4 after loss By JIM O’CONNELL Associated Press Being the top-ranked team in the country was new to Gonzaga in 2013. The Zags were considered one of the best teams in the West and had a long string of NCAA Tournament appearances, but going to No. 1 carried with it a new level of expectations. They know what’s coming this time. The lone remaining unbeaten team in Division I, Gonzaga moved to No. 1 in The Associated Press college basketball poll for the second time in school history. “It defi nitely grows when you have that No. 1 by your name,” Gonzaga point guard Nigel Williams-Goss said of being a target for opposing teams. “You see that throughout the country where other teams have been No. 1 and people really try to come out and give them a run for their money. We just have to stay focused and if we come to play like we have been, I feel like we’ll be all right.” The Zags (22-0) jumped up from third when Villanova and Kansas both were beaten in a week when seven of the top 10 lost. Gonzaga won both of its games last week, blowing out Portland and Pepperdine. Gonzaga received 46 fi rst-place votes from the 65-member national media panel Monday. The Zags were No. 1 for the last three weeks of the 2012-13 season. Gonzaga is the fi fth team to reach No. 1 this season, joining Duke, Kentucky, Villanova and Baylor. “It’s great for the program, it’s great for the school, even the community,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “I told the guys today, hey, we live in a big country. If you’re No. 1 at anything it’s pretty cool. But they understand. These polls are tracking who’s winning and who’s losing, and the only one that matters is the one at the end of the year. But we’re playing games and they’re keeping score, so if they want to rank us No. 1, fi ne by us.” Baylor (20-1), one of the three top 10 teams to not lose, jumped from fi fth to second. The Bears had six fi rst-place votes and were one point ahead of Kansas (19-2), which dropped one place after losing at West Virginia before winning at Kentucky. The Jayhawks had nine fi rst-place votes. Villanova, which had been No. 1 for the last two weeks and six overall, See GONZAGA/4B Sports shorts Beard wins weekly CCC award KLAMATH FALLS — Oregon Tech senior forward Bryan Beard has been named the Cascade Collegiate Conference Red Lion Men’s Basketball Player of the Week the conference announced on Monday. Beard, a 2012 graduate of Pendleton High and the school’s all-time blocks record holder, averaged a double-double of 22.5 points and 10.5 rebunds in two wins for the Hustlin’ Owls. Beard recorded back-to-back Beard career highs in points as he shot .815 percent from the fi eld going 10-12 for 21 points against Multnomah and 12-15 shooting for 24 points against Warner Pacifi c as Oregon Tech secured its spot in the CCC tournament. Beard also was named to the Academic All Conference list last week for maintaining at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA. “I just gotta be real, you know, it’s been a couple games where I smoked before games and had great games.“ — Stephen Jackson Former NBA player saying he occassionally smoked marijuana before playing games during his career on the “I Am Rapaport: Stereo Podcast” hosted by actor Michael Rapaport. Jackson last played during the 2013-14 season and averaged 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists over his 14-year career. Gutierrez makes select roster HERMISTON — Hermiston safety Joey Gutierrez has will get a jump start on his senior football season playing on one of the nation’s most selective 7-on-7 squads. After a recent tryout, Gutierrez was chosen for the Ford Sports Performance (FSP) 7on7 squad, which is the offi cial Adidas National Travel team out of the northwest and fi nished ranked No. 10 in the nation in 2016. FSP fi elds two varsity level teams, and regularly Gutierrez features the top high school players in the region. Fifty-fi ve former participants have gone on to play Division I football in college, and 14 four- star recruits have come through the program. Gutierrez is coming off a junior season in which he led Hermiston defensive backs with fi ve interceptions and four pass defenses. He also had 60 tackles from his strong safety position. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1950 — High school pitcher Paul Pettit signs with the Pirates for a record $100,000. To do so, Pittsburgh has to purchase his contract from a fi lm producer who had signed Pettit to an exclusive contract as an athlete/actor. 1991 — Michael Adams of the Denver Nuggets scores a career-high 45 points, hands out 12 assists and grabs 11 rebounds in a 123-119 win over New Jersey. The 5-foot-11 guard becomes the shortest player in the NBA to get a triple-double. 2006 — Carolina ties an NHL record for wins in a month, going 13-1 in January after an 8-2 win over Montreal. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com