Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 2017)
SPORTS THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS 5A Boys Basketball Tournament Morris’s big day lifts Buckaroos Pendleton guaranteed a state trophy after beating Crescent Valley Consolation Semifi nals #7 Pendleton 61 East Oregonian CORVALLIS — In No. 7 Pendleton’s gritty loss to Churchill in the 5A quarterfi nals on Tuesday night, the Buckaroos had a different game plan and played a different style to try and take down the No. 2 Lancers. The different style resulted in a lot of touches and shot attempts for senior Caden Smith (20 shots, 25 points), but fewer looks for other Wyatt Morris 19 points 5-for-8 3pt FG 5 rebounds #6 Crescent V. 56 key guys such as Wyatt Morris (4 shots, 6 points), Shaw Jerome (5 shots, 4 points) and Tyler Newsom (6 shots, 4 points). But as Pendleton began preparing for Wednesday morning’s consolation game against No. 7 Crescent Valley, Buckaroo coach Kyle Tedder knew that playing typical Buckaroo basketball was crucial, and that guys such as Morris would be needed. “Before the game I got in (Wyatt’s) ear a little and told him to be aggressive today,” Tedder said in an interview. “Last night the ball didn’t seem to be in his hands enough, and we told him it would be more our style, and he seemed ready for it.” Just as Tedder instructed, Morris was aggressive on offense from start to fi nish and played himself into the Buckaroos biggest weapon on Wednesday. The senior guard fi nished with a game-high 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting to lead the Buckaroos to a 61-56 victory over the Crescent Valley Raiders to stave off elimination in the Class 5A consolation round at Oregon State University’s Gill Coliseum. “It was impressive, and I’m real happy for him,” Tedder said of Morris’ showing. “He’s been doing this for the last two months now for us and I knew it was coming.” Morris’ biggest contribution came from behind the 3-point line, where he sank 5-of-8 attempts in the game, including the shot that put Pendleton up for good at 55-52 with 2:19 left in the fourth quarter. Cres- cent Valley had just tied the game at 52-52 a mere 15 seconds sooner on a 3-pointer by Tariq Smith when Morris took the pass from Tyler Newsom and sank the shot. The win also marks the fi rst victory at the state tournament fi nal site for Pendleton since 1992. “This is a big, big day to be a Buckaroo,” Tedder said. “Again you come back from a tough loss last night, we battled and to do what we just did and not only for our team and our program, but for our school is pretty special so I’m humbled to be a part of it.” Both teams had multiple scoring See BUCKS/3B Women’s College Basketball Men’s College Basketball EOU pushes past Dickinson St. Beavers bounced from tournament California’s Kameron Rooks, right, blocks a shot by Oregon State’s Kendal Manuel (24) during the fi rst half of an NCAA college basketball game in the fi rst round of the Pac- 12 men’s tournament Wednes- day, March 8, 2017, in Las Vegas. California’s Jabari Bird is on the left. Eastern Oregon reaches second round at NAIA DII Tournament By NIKKI SHERRILL NAIA Media Coordinator SIOUX CITY, Iowa — The night-cap for the fi rst day of competition in the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship proved to be a hard- fought, gritty contest with the chance to advance to the second round on the line. The No. 3 Eastern Oregon Mountaineers faced-off against No. 6 Dickinson State (N.D.) in a late-night game but the players did not play as if it were after 10 p.m. at tip-off. In NAIA DII the end, Eastern First Round Oregon extended its lead enough in the closing EOU moments to earn the 80-71 victory. Eastern Oregon, the Cascade Colle- giate Conference r e g u l a r- s e a s o n c h a m p i o n , Dickinson St. improved to 29-4 on the year. With the win, the Moun- taineers will advance to play No. 2 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) (27-6), who picked up a 66-54 win over Milligan (Tenn.) in the game prior. The contest will tip at 11:45 a.m. today. The entirety of the game saw both teams trying to gain the advantage over each other, with the largest lead only sitting at 13 points in favor of Eastern Oregon at the 8:43 mark in the fourth quarter. However, in the fourth quarter, the Mountaineers fought-off a stifl ing Bluehawk squad in the late minutes to get ahead and earn the win. With Dickinson State closing in and cutting the lead to three points at, Eastern Oregon relied on perfect timing with important shots to get ahead and start to pull away. In the end, the Mountaineers were fouled and headed to the line multiple times in the closing minutes to extend their lead and seal the deal. Eastern Oregon was led by Stormee Van Belle who connected on 14 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. Common leader Maya Ah You also netted 14 points while earning fi ve rebounds, respectively. From beyond the arc, Eastern Oregon was good for .325 on 13 3-pointers made. AP Photo/John Locher 80 71 Oregon State’s disappointing season comes to an end against Cal By JOHN MARSHALL Associated Press LAS VEGAS — California had a hard time shaking an Oregon State team that had won fi ve games all season. The Bears ended the regular season with fi ve losses in six games, so there was no way they could afford to lose this. Cal found a way to close out a harder-than-expected game and now gets a shot to move on to the quarterfi nals of the Pac-12 Tourna- ment. Jabari Bird scored 20 points and converted a key 3-point play with 54 seconds left, helping Cali- fornia grind out a 67-62 victory over Oregon State Wednesday in the fi rst round of the Pac-12 Tournament. “We knew it would be tough just fi nding a way to win, get the rust off us,” Cal coach Cuonzo Martin. “Felt like we were playing with a 15-pound-weight vest on our backs. We found a way to get the win, and now we can move forward.” Cal (20-11) labored for most Oregon State’s Ste- phen Thompson Jr., left, shoots around California’s Kamer- on Rooks, center, and California’s Ivan Rabb, right, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the fi rst round of the Pac-12 men’s tour- nament, Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in Las Vegas. California won 67-62. Pac-12 Oregon State California 62 67 of the game offensively and had a hard time containing Oregon State’s Stephen Thompson Jr. The fi fth-seeded Bears pulled it out behind Bird and a strong second half by Ivan Rabb. The 6-foot-11 forward had 12 points and 13 rebounds after scoring two on 1-of-7 shooting in the fi rst half, helping the Bears earn a rematch against Utah in Thursday’s quarterfi nals. The Utes beat Cal by 30 on March 2, putting a dent in their NCAA Tournament hopes. “It’s not added motivation, it’s a game in March that we need to win, so that’s enough motivation right there,” Bird said. “But, I mean, Utah’s a great team, and like I said before, we’re looking forward to the challenge.” Thompson had 25 points and AP Photo/John Locher hit 5 of 6 from 3-point range to keep Oregon State (5-27) in the game until late. The Beavers pulled within 59-57, but Bird was fouled on a layup and hit the free throw to put Cal up fi ve. The Beavers couldn’t come up with the key stops when they needed it and hurt themselves from the free-throw line, hitting 14 of 24. “We missed some free throws when we were struggling to score in the end of the second half, and See BEAVERS/2B Sports shorts Cowboys to release Tony Romo DALLAS (AP) — Tony Romo’s star-crossed career as the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys will soon be over. A person with knowledge of the decision tells The Associated Press that the Cowboys will release Romo when the NFL year opens on Thursday. Romo will leave the Cowboys as the franchise leader in yards passing and touchdowns after losing the starting job to rookie Dak Prescott. Dallas’ 10-year starter broke a bone in his back in Romo a preseason game last year. Romo, who turns 37 next month, threw for 34,183 yards and 248 touchdowns and went 78-49 as a starter. The four-time Pro Bowler went 2-4 in the playoffs, never winning on the road or reaching the NFC championship game. A release will free about $5 million in cap space for the Cowboys. “I don’t think I felt fear until on the fi eld and all I thought about was my family and the people around me ... but people were helping each other and nobody blinked. The emergency doors were taken off and we all got out.“ — Tom Wywrot University of Michigan men’s bas- ketball spokesman after the plane carrying Michigan to the Big Ten Tournament in Washington D.C. slid off the runway after aborting a takeoff due to high winds. There were no injuries in the incident OIT bumped from NAIA bracket POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. — Bryan Beard had 14 points and eight rebounds in what would be his fi nal collegiate basketball game as the Oregon Tech men’s basketball team came up short 100-92 against Saint Francis at the NAIA National Championships. The Pendleton High product was 5-of-5 from the fi eld and 4-of-5 at the free throw line and also had a block in the game, and Beard’s jumper early in the second half gave OIT its fi nal lead. Beard Saint Francis used a 12-4 run late in the second half to pull away and hold off the Hustlin’ Owls down the stretch. All-American Bryce Lienhoop led USF with 24 points and 14 rebounds, his 21st career double-double. Oregon Tech was led by senior Joel Yellow Owl with 32 points. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 2011 — Kevin Love records his 52nd consecutive double-double to surpass Moses Malone for the longest such streak since the ABA and NBA merged in 1976 in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 101-75 over the Indiana Pacers. 2013 — Bernard Hopkins becomes the oldest boxer to win a major title, scoring a 12-round unanimous decision over Tavoris Cloud to claim the IBF light heavy- weight championship. The 48-year-old Hopkins breaks the record he set by beating Jean Pascal for the WBC light heavyweight title on May 21, 2011. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
