SPORTS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS Men’s College Basketball HERMISTON Corban corrals CCC title Bulldogs come up short KLAMATH FALLS — Chris Martin scored 30 of his game- high 34 points in the second half going 10-of-12 from long range to lead the eight-seeded Corban Warriors over fourth-seeded Oregon Tech 109-95 for the Cascade Collegiate Conference men’s basketball championship on Tuesday. Pendleton product Bryan Beard scored 16 points and had fi ve rebounds for Oregon Tech (24-9), but couldn’t bring the Hustlin’ Owls back after they went into the break trailing Corban 54-38. Corban (18-15) became the only No. 8 seed to win the CCC Tour- nament title, Oregon Tech and earned an automatic berth to the NAIA National Tournament. It was Oregon Tech’s fi rst loss at Danny Miles Court this season. The Warriors went on a 16-2 run led by center Joel Johnston to take a 22-7 lead in the fi rst half. They stretched the lead to it’s largest margin of the fi rst half at 19 points after four three-pointers by Jake Love. The Owls cut the lead to eight three times in teh second half, but each time Martin answered with a string of three-pointers and hit three in a row to close the game after OIT had pulled within 100-92. The Warriors shot 54 percent from the fl oor and 60 percent from three-point range. Joel Yellow Owl put up 25 points to lead Oregon Tech on the night, followed by Mitchell Fink with 19 points and 8 assists. Hermiston’s Chance Flores and Parkrose’s Wilfred Likayi go up for a rebound in the Bull- dogs’ 65-50 loss to the Broncos on Tuesday in Hermiston. Hermiston’s season ends in play-in round loss to Parkrose By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian It is no secret that Hermiston’s boys basketball team was an undersized group this season. With the tallest players measuring in at 6-1, the Bulldogs often times found themselves in distinct height disadvantages against teams, however the Bulldogs had Boys Hoops powered through it and fi nished the regular season nine games above Parkrose the .500 mark. However, in Tuesday’s Class 5A postseason play-in game the height disadvan- Hermiston tage caught up to them as the Parkrose Broncos used their height and length to pull away with a 65-50 victory to end the Bulldogs’ season. All fi ve starters for the Broncos (11-12) registered at 6-2 or taller and the team is anchored inside by 6-8 senior Wilfred Likayi and 6-3 point guard Isaac Bonton — a Divison I signee with Montana State. They played a spaced-out 2-3 zone defense that limited Hermiston’s (16-8) clean looks for jump shots and the length played into many tipped passes and altered shots near the basket. “I thought the kids played hard but their length defi nitely bothered Staff photo by E.J. Harris 109 65 95 50 See BULLDOGS/3B NBA Women’s College Basketball Morris, Pistons outlast Trail Blazers in overtime Eastern Oregon women garner All-CCC honors one assist after the start of the fourth, however, and the Trail Blazers were eventually done in by turnovers. “We’ve always been a team By NOAH TRISTER that takes care of the ball, but Associated Press that’s not happening right now,” Lillard said. “We can’t give the AUBURN HILLS, Mich. ball away all the time and expect — The Detroit Pistons rallied to win games, especially on the for another win after trailing by road.” Smith was scoreless heading double digits. “That’s not a good formula,” into the fourth quarter but gave coach Stan Van Gundy said. “I Detroit a huge lift down the stretch. The Pistons came applaud our resilience. back from an 18-point ... To be good, I’d like to defi cit to beat Charlotte play a more solid game Portland on Thursday, and they from beginning to end.” rallied from 16 down to Marcus Morris scored win at Toronto on Feb. a career-high 37 points, 12. including Detroit’s fi rst “We’re playing with seven in overtime, and a lot of fi ght,” Detroit’s the Pistons rallied from Detroit Andre Drummond said. a 13-point, third-quarter “We’re not out of the defi cit to beat the Portland game, ever. When things Trail Blazers 120-113 on get tough, we really come Tuesday night. Ish Smith had 12 points, seven together.” C.J. McCollum scored 25 assists and seven steals for the Pistons, who pulled within one points for Portland. The Pistons trailed 75-62 in the game of seventh place in the third before closing that quarter Eastern Conference. Damian Lillard had 34 points on a 13-4 run. It was Portland that and 11 rebounds for Portland had to rally late in the fourth, and while falling an assist shy of his Lillard’s driving layup with 2.8 fi rst triple-double. He had only See BLAZERS/3B Portland can’t hold on to 13-point lead Cascade Collegiate Conference names Weissenfl uh top coach, Webber top defender East Oregonian 113 120 AP Photo/Carlos Osorio Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson, left, makes a layup defended by Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (27) during the fi rst half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, in Auburn Hills, Mich. The week continues to get better for the Eastern Oregon women’s basketball program. One day after the Mountaineers defeated Southern Oregon 74-69 to capture the fourth conference tourna- ment championship in school history, EOU saw head coach Anji Weissenfl uh and four Mountaineer players earn all-con- ference accolades that were handed out by the Cascade Collegiate Conference on Tuesday. Weissenfl uh led EOU’s haul with the CCC Coach of the Year award, after guiding her team to a 28-4 overall record and a share of the conference’s regular See EOU/2B Sports shorts Vikings make Peterson free agent MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Adrian Peterson, Minnesota’s all-time leading rusher and a fi rst- team All-Pro pick in four of his 10 seasons with the Vikings, will be an unrestricted free agent for the fi rst time in his career when the market opens next week. The Vikings as expected said Tuesday they will not exercise their option for 2017, which called for him to make $18 million. That would have been an unwieldly hit to their salary cap and by far the highest fi gure in the NFL. Peterson Pittsburgh’s decision to place the franchise tag on Le’Veon Bell will likely mean a $12 million-plus salary, but nobody else at the position in the league is close. Peterson, who turns 32 in three weeks, is coming off a meniscus tear in his right knee that limited him to 72 yards on 37 carries over parts of three games in 2016. “In offi ciating, better is in the eye of the beholder. But what we should always try to achieve is consistency, predictability. You want coaches, fans, players, to have a clear expectation of how a call is going to be made and why.“ — Rich McKay Atlanta Falcons president and chairman of the NFL’s competition committee. It was announced Tuesday the league is considering hiring up to 17 full-time referees. OSAA expands live streaming of basketball championships Oregon high school basketball fans can enjoy expanded live video streaming of the state cham- pionships this March as Table Rock Sports, Plays Action Sports Media and The Oregon Pulse Network team up with the NFHS Network and OSAA to produce live game action available online and on your favorite mobile devices. The $9.95 subscription fee allows fans one month to view games beginning with the 3A boys and girls tournaments from Marshfi eld and North Bend high schools March 2-4. All 6A boys and girls championship round games, March 8-11, will stream from the Chiles Center in Portland. Coverage also includes the semifi nals and fi nals of the 5A boys and girls tournaments at Oregon State. Register for a subscription and fi nd the scheduled broadcast events at http://www. nfhsnetwork.com/associations/osaa. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1955 — Allen Field- house, home of the Kansas Jayhawks, hosts its fi rst basketball game 1988 — Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers becomes the NHL’s all-time assist leader, breaking the longtime mark of Gordie Howe. In his ninth season, Gretzky picked up assist No. 1,050, taking just 681 games to surpass the record that took Howe 1,767 games to set. 1994 — NBA referee Steve Javie ejects Portland radio analyst Mike Rice in the third quarter of the Pacers’ 106-94 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com