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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2017)
SPORTS WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 1, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS PENDLETON Buckaroos rally, stop rivalry skid LEFT: Pendleton’s Lauren Richards, Elli Nirschl and Haley Greb cele- brate after the Bucks’ 53-48 comeback win against Hermiston on Tuesday in Pendle- ton. Pendleton girls beat Hermiston for fi rst time since 2006 By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian For the past 11 years, the Hermiston girls basketball team has reigned supreme over the Pendleton Bucka- roos, winning each and every one of the Girls Hoops previous 28 meetings. But the Buckaroos wiped away that Hermiston decade of misery on Tuesday night, as Pendleton outscored Hermiston 30-11 in the fourth quarter to stun the Bulldogs Pendleton with a 53-48 victory at Warberg Court — the fi rst win for Pend- leton since Feb. 17, 2006. Haley Greb hit a 3-pointer with 44.2 seconds left to give Pendleton a 49-48 lead and its fi rst since 2-0, and the Buckaroos (7-6, 3-0 CRC) were able to hang on the rest of the way. “The excitement is just crazy,” Greb said after the game with a wide smile on her face. “My teammates found me the ball, it went in and every single play contributed to this win and I couldn’t be more proud of my teammates tonight.” “You like to tell kids that Hermiston is just another ball game, but it isn’t for those kids,” Pendleton coach Kevin Porter added. “Hermiston is the gold standard around here and we’re trying to get there. I’m so proud of my team, I’m just speechless.” A comeback victory didn’t seem feasible for Pendleton throughout the early part of the second half, as the Bucks scored just fi ve points in the BELOW: Hermiston’s Hannah Thompson and Pendle- ton’s Hallie Porter dive for a loose ball on Tuesday in Pendleton. 48 53 Staff photos by E.J. Harris third quarter on 2-15 shooting and Hermiston held a commanding 37-23 lead after three quarters. Hermiston (8-9, 2-1) was able to boost that lead to as much as 16 early in the fourth quarter, but the Buckaroos soon began to chip away. “Our motto is we’re never giving up, no matter how much we’re down we’re going to give as much effort as we can every single play,” said Greb, who fi nished with a game-high 20 points and added fi ve boards, “and we kept chipping away, chipping away there in the fourth. We didn’t look at the scoreboard and we just kept going PENDLETON and it turned out in our favor.” Pendleton also turned to some crafty rotations in the fourth quarter, rotating in Tatum Fell, Jaden Lemberger and Ellie Nirschl for defensive purposes and then Lauren Richards, Hallie Porter, and Katie Bradt for offensive purposes. Coach Porter said he had to get creative because Hermiston was content just holding on to the ball. “We subbed the girls in for defense because they’re all quick, athletic, and have ability to tip some passes and that was the strategy because we had to do something,” he said. “You could see See GIRLS HOOPS/2B Jerome guides Pendleton to victory Boys Hoops Junior’s career night pushes Bucks past Hermiston By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian Photo courtesy of Oregon Tech Athletics OIT’s Beard named NAIA Player of Week Oregon Tech senior forward Bryan Beard (43), seen here going for a rebound against College of Idaho in a game this season in Klamath Falls, has been named the NAIA National Player of the Week for Division II men’s basketball. Beard, a 2012 Pendleton High graduate, averaged 22.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in a pair of wins for the Hustlin’ Owls. It is the fi rst time Beard has earned the distinction. Beard fi nished with eight points, six rebounds, two steals and block in Or- egon Tech’s 99-85 win over Southern Oregon on Tuesday night. Pendleton junior Shaw Jerome was all smiles following Tuesday night’s game against the Hermiston Bulldogs, and he had a good reason to be. Pendleton’s starting point guard scored a career-high 16 points on 5-8 shooting and dished out fi ve assists as his Buckaroos knocked off their rival Bulldogs 64-43 to claim sole possession of fi rst place in the Columbia River Conference. “Yeah something must’ve gotten into me before the game,” Jerome said with a big grin, “but it feels great to get the dub. We had a couple tough days of preparation and we brought it tonight.” The Buckaroos (8-4, 3-0 CRC) put together a very balanced and effi cient scoring effort in the game as star senior Caden Smith was held to single digits (eight points) for the fi rst time all season. Wyatt Morris followed Jerome with 14 points and Tyler Newsom Staff photo by E.J. Harris Pendleton’s Shaw Jerome cuts through the lane in the Bucks’ 64-43 win against Hermiston on Tuesday in Pendleton. added nine points for the Buckaroos, who shot 48 percent as a team. “It’s great to have more people on our team than just one guy,” Jerome said. “We can all shoot it and can all handle the ball, and it’s nice to play like this.” “We had contributions all over the place,” Pendleton coach Kyle Tedder added. “It takes guys stepping up in big games like this and I’m real proud of this group. They’re kind of fi guring it out now Hermiston Pendleton 43 64 and the commitment’s there and it was a good win for us.” After a fast-paced fi rst quarter that saw the Buck- aroos holding an 18-12 advantage, the game swung mightily into Pendleton’s in the second quarter. The Bucks outscored Hermiston 15-1 in the second to sprint to a 33-13 halftime lead, as the Bulldogs went an ice cold 0-10 from the fl oor. Their lone point came on a made free throw by Thomas McCullough. “Scoring one point in a quarter isn’t going to win you many games,” Hermiston coach Casey Arstein said. “I thought we were impatient there, jacking up shots early when we could’ve gotten to the rim or a ball reversal ... but scoring one point we were going to have to play extremely well in the second half and we played average at best so we’ll have to make some adjustments.” Tedder added that while he was ecstatic with his See BOYS HOOPS/2B Sports shorts No. 22 Creighton back on track INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Creighton spent the last two weeks looking for ways replace their star point guard. Coach Doug McDermott found the perfect solution Tuesday night. Justin Patton, Marcus Foster and Khyri Thomas all scored 15 points Tuesday night and No. 22 Creighton regained its 3-point shooting touch as it ran away from No. 16 Butler, 76-67. Initially, the Bluejays (20-3, 7-3 Big East) struggled without Maurice Watson Jr ., who tore the ACL in his left knee Jan. 16. But after losing three of their previous four and sliding from the top 10 almost out of the Top 25, Creighton has reverted to its early season form. It has won two straight and moved into second place in the conference standings after going 13 of 21 from 3-point range, a season- high 61.9 percent. MLS considers spurned cities “I’m not the one who threw somebody through a window. I never spit on a kid. I never had unpaid debt in Las Vegas.“ — LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers forward respond- ing to criticism from TNT analyst Charles Barkley that the NBA superstar was being “whiny” by airing his frus- trations with the team’s roster. Barkley laughed off James’ comments during a radio appearance Tuesday saying, “Some of the stuff he said about me is correct — doesn’t make the message I said about him incorrect.” NEW YORK (AP) — Dropped by the NFL, St. Louis and San Diego are among bidders from 12 areas applying for four Major League Soccer expansion teams. Two of the teams, which have $150 million expansion fees, will start play in 2020. MLS Commis- sioner Don Garber said Tuesday that having stadium fi nancing in place is a condition for selection. “In the past, we weren’t in a position to demand that every new market came in with all their I’s dotted and T’s crossed,” Garber said. “Now we’re at a point where there are so many cities looking for so few market opportunities that we can do the right thing by everyone and ensure that every aspect of their expansion plan is fully in place.” The expansion committee, led by New England’s Jonathan Kraft, will start to review applications in February. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1913 — Jim Thorpe, star of the 1912 Olympics, signs to play baseball with the New York Giants. 1995 — Utah guard John Stockton becomes the NBA’s career assist leader, setting up Karl Malone with 6:30 left in the fi rst half of the Jazz’s 129-88 victory over Denver. Stockton’s 9,922nd assist moves him ahead of Magic Johnson. 2010 — UConn is No. 1 in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll for a record 37th straight week, surpassing Louisiana Tech (1980-82) for the longest run atop the Top 25. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
