SPORTS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2017
1B
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Prep Basketball
Tigers fend off TigerScots
Stanfi eld’s
Dylan
Grogan
shoots the
ball over
Weston-
McEwen’s
Shaw
Broncheau
in the
Tigers’
88-68 win
against the
TigerScots
on Sat-
urday in
Pendleton.
Grogan powers
Stanfi eld with game-
high 31 points
Rockets
cruise to
district title
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The Weston-McEwen
TigerScots gave the Stanfi eld Tigers every-
thing they had on Saturday afternoon, even
posing as a threat to snap the No. 1 ranked
team in the state’s long win-streak to an end.
However, the TigerScots’ best shot was
still no match for the depth
and skill of Stanfi eld. After
CBC Title
Weston-McEwen cut the
lead to just six points with
4:32 left to play, Stanfi eld
fi nished the game on a
W-McEwen
20-5 run to capture the
Columbia Basin Confer-
ence district championship
with a 88-68 victory over
the TigerScots at the Pend-
leton Convention Center.
Stanfi eld
With the regular season
league
championship
already in the Tigers’
(19-1) back pocket, the
district title is the second of the three major
goals the team had set for itself.
“The second game of the year, coach asked
what we wanted out of our season,” Stanfi eld
senior Enoel Angel said following Saturday’s
game. “The fi rst was league champs, next
was districts and then third was the ultimate
Staff photo by
E.J. Harris
68
88
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Pilot Rock’s Kayla Deist shoots the ball
over Weston-McEwen’s Sara Von Borstel
in the Rocket’s 65-39 win against the Ti-
gerScots on Saturday in Pendleton.
Pilot Rock clinches
home playoff game
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
See TIGERS/2B
Prep Swimming
Jennings fi nishes with two silver medals
Pendleton senior caps
off stellar career at
state swim meet
By MIKE WEBER
For the East Oregonian
GRESHAM — A large,
13-member group of Pendleton
swimmers competed in Friday’s
preliminaries of the OSAA
Swimming State Champion-
ships at Mt. Hood Community
College.
On Day 2 of the state meet
though, only one Buckaroo
swimmer advanced to compete
in Saturday’s fi nals and that was
standout senior Jon Jennings.
Jennings, who qualifi ed for
state all four years of his high
school career, competed for the
fi nal time in the state meet and he
couldn not have asked for better
way to conclude his Pendleton
career as he was runner-up twice
to earn a pair of silver medals
Saturday.
“You always hope to do
better, but you just have to take
whatever you can get and I’m
happy with the time’s I had in
both events,” said Jennings, who
has been swimming competi-
tively since age fi ve. “I was a
little disappointed second place
though. However, I can’t really
feel too bad racing against a guy
(Casey McEuen) who breaks the
state record twice and is just a
See JENNINGS/3B
PENDLETON — The Pilot Rock and
Weston-McEwen girls basketball teams met
for the fourth time this season on Saturday
afternoon, though this time there was more
on the line.
It was for a district championship and
a guaranteed fi rst round
CBC Title
playoff game at home.
In each of those
previous three meetings,
the most recent one a
46-40 win on Tuesday, W.-McEwen
the margin of victory
was an average of just
fi ve points. This time,
however, the Rockets
played one of their most
Pilot Rock
complete games of the
season and sprinted away
from the TigerScots for a
65-39 victory to capture
the district championship at the Pendleton
Convention Center.
“We executed through all four quarters
and the girls followed the game plan to near
perfection,” Pilot Rock coach Butch Wilson
said after the game. “But if we played them
See ROCKETS/2B
39
65
East Oregonian photo by Mike Weber
Pendleton’s John Jennings, second from right, stands on the
podium after accepting his silver medal in the 50 yard free-
style swim at the OSAA state swimming championships on
Saturday at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham. Jen-
nings also took second in the 100 yard freestyle.
MLB
Mariners adopt ‘Whatever It Takes’ mantra for upcoming season
Seattle Mari-
ners players
stretch before
a spring train-
ing baseball
practice on
Wednesday,
Feb. 15, 2017,
in Peoria, Ariz.
Raised expectations
after narrowly missing
playoffs in 2016
By JOSE M. ROMERO
Associated Press
PEORIA, Ariz. — The words
are displayed prominently inside
the Seattle Mariners’ spring training
clubhouse. In two languages.
Whatever It Takes. Lo Que Sea
Necesario.
It’s a sign of raised expectations
for the Mariners after coming close
to a wild-card spot and fi nishing
86-76 last season.
(AP Photo/Charlie
Riedel)
“We’ve got to stay on the
process. It’s controlling the zone.
It’s how we play. If you stay with
that, the results kind of take care of
themselves,” manager Scott Servais
said before meeting with the team
Sunday, when the fi rst full-squad
workout of spring training was
held. “Chasing the numbers of
wins, chasing your ERA, chasing
how many homers, that stuff, it
takes care of itself.
“Pressure’s a privilege,” Servais
added. “Expectations are great.
They should be. That’s what we’re
shooting for. That’s what (GM)
Jerry (Dipoto) spent all offseason
working on, was to get our team a
little bit better. It’s a good thing.”
Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz
are two of the team’s leaders, and
both fi gure to miss considerable
bonding time with their many new
teammates at camp while playing in
the World Baseball Classic.
They’ll join the Dominican
Republic team the fi rst week of
March and could be gone a couple
of weeks if the team makes another
deep run in the WBC.
“For all the guys that go there
and represent their countries, we
take a lot of pride in that,” Cruz
said. “The whole country is excited.
Wherever you go, kids to adults,
everybody’s looking forward to the
moment.”
Another main presence in club-
house, ace Felix Hernandez, will
head off to join Venezuela’s team.
“It’s not great, but important for
them, they’re not going to be on
those teams sitting on the bench,”
Servais said of the three. “They’re
going to be playing and getting their
at-bats. They’ll be in very competi-
tive situations. It should help them
See MARINERS/4B
Sports shorts
Kings trade Cousins to Pelicans
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — DeMarcus
Cousins is on his way out of Sacramento — and
right into an All-Star frontcourt pairing with
Anthony Davis.
The New Orleans Pelicans acquired Cousins
in a fi ve-player, two-draft pick deal
with the Kings late Sunday night,
the same night the center was
playing in the All-Star Game in
their arena.
The Kings dealt one of the most
talented but temperamental big
men in the game along with Omri
Cousins
Casspi to New Orleans for Tyreke
Evans, 2016 fi rst-round draft pick Buddy Hield,
Langston Galloway and fi rst- and second-round
draft picks this summer.
Cousins is averaging 27.8 points and 10.6
rebounds this season. But he is to become a free
agent in 2018 unless the Pelicans can sign him
to an All-Star caliber extension.
“For the record. I know
this is going to sound
absolutely crazy, but
athletes are humans,
and not properties of the
team they work for.“
— Dexter Fowler
St. Louis Cardinals outfi elder
tweeted the above statement on
Sunday in response to harsh
criticism he received on Twitter
after stating that President Don-
ald Trump’s travel ban executive
order was “unfortunate.” Fowler’s
wife, Darya, was born in Iran
and his wife still has family in the
country, which was one of seven
singled out by Trump’s order.
Miami upsets No. 18 Virginia
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Bruce
Brown made a 3-pointer with 23.8 seconds left
in overtime and Miami beat No. 18 Virginia
54-48 on Monday night for the Cavaliers fourth
straight loss.
Brown scored 14 points to
lead the Hurricanes (19-8, 9-6
Atlantic Coast Conference) to
their third consecutive victory.
Kamari Murphy and Dejan
Vasiljevic added 10 points each.
Devon Hall scored 15 points to lead Virginia
(18-9, 8-7), which last lost four straight
in 2009-10, Tony Bennett’s fi rst season as
coach. Isaiah Wilkins added 10 points and 10
rebounds, including two free throws with four
seconds left in regulation to tie it.
A putback by Marial Shayok with 39
seconds left gave the Cavaliers a 48-47 lead,
but Brown made his only 3-pointer of the game
on the Hurricanes’ ensuing possession, and
Miami sealed it at the free-throw line.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1931 — The Chicago
White Sox meet the New
York Giants in the fi rst
major league night game.
The 10-inning exhibition is
played in Houston.
1992 — Kristi Yamaguchi
wins America’s fi rst Olympic
gold medal in women’s fi gure
skating since 1976. Midori
Ito of Japan takes the silver
and Nancy Kerrigan of the
United States wins bronze.
2003
—
Michael
Jordan becomes the fi rst
40-year-old in NBA history
to score 40 or more points,
getting 43 in the Wash-
ington Wizards’ 89-86 win
over the New Jersey Nets.
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