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SPORTS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS NBA Prep Roundup Bucks fend off Trail Blazers Knights topple Rockets Portland falls one game back of fi nal playoff spot in West Rice’s big day leads Irrigon past Pilot Rock By ANNE M. PETERSON Associated Press PORTLAND — Khris Middleton scored 26 points, and the Milwaukee Bucks held off the Portland Trail Blazers for a 93-90 victory on Tuesday night. Giannis Antetokounmpo added 22 points for the Bucks (35-35), who have won nine of 11 as they jostle for Milwaukee playoff positon in the Eastern Confer- ence. They are a half-game ahead of Miami for the seventh spot. Portland Portland (32-38) had won three in a row and eight of 10. It dropped to a full game back of idle Denver for the fi nal postseason berth in the West. Damian Lillard led Portland with 31 points, and CJ McCollum added 21. Jusuf Nurkic had 11 points and 14 rebounds. Portland trailed by as many as 15 points in the third quarter, but closed to 70-68 early in the fourth on a pair of free throws from Allen Crabbe. McCollum’s consecutive layups gave the Blazers an 88-85 lead with 3:46 left. The Bucks retook the lead on Middleton’s hook shot, and John Henson’s putback made it 93-90 with 1:39 to go. As the clock wound down, Lillard missed a 3-pointer and McCollum missed a layup. Middleton also missed on the other end. Portland got the ball with 6.4 seconds left, but Lillard’s 3-pointer at the buzzer bounced off the back- board. Portland was coming off a 115-104 victory at Miami on Sunday. Lillard had a season-best 49 points with nine 3-pointers, which matched a franchise high. The win capped a 4-1 road trip. Milwaukee was coming off a 117-92 loss at Golden State on Saturday. See BLAZERS/2B East Oregonian 93 90 IRRIGON — For the second time this season, the Irrigon Knights and Pilot Rock Rockets met on the baseball fi eld on Tuesday, for the Baseball and second time the Knights came away victorious. Pilot Rock Irrigon got the bats going late and kept Pilot Rock’s quiet as the Knights Irrigon defended their home fi eld with an 8-3 victory. Austin Rice had a solid day for the Knights (2-0) as he started the game on the mound and allowed just one unearned run and one hit with seven strikeouts over 3 innings, and then added a 1-for-3 day at the plate with one run and two RBI. Pilot Rock (1-2) scored the fi rst run of the game in the second inning, as Braydon Postma fi rst reached base on an error and then scored from third on an error by the Irrigon catcher to put the Rockets up 1-0. Then Rice tied the game for Irrigon in the bottom of the third with a two-out RBI single into left to bring home Lino Covarrubia (2-for-3, run, 2 RBI) to knot it at 1-1. Pilot Rock then again took a lead at 2-1 in the fourth as a balk by pitcher Johnny Philips brought in Logan Weinke. In the bottom of the fourth Irrigon took the lead for good as it struck for three runs in the See PREPS/2B 3 8 AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer Portland Trail Blazers forward Noah Vonleh, right, shoots over Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Portland on Tuesday. Women’s College Basketball Warriors come up short in fi rst-ever national title game NAIA DI Hermiston’s Edmiston caps freshman season Okla. City LCSC Athletics BILLINGS, Mont. — Okla- homa City Stars did something no team has done all season against the Lewis-Clark State women’s basket- ball team — shoot over 50 percent from the fi eld. The Stars defeated the Warriors 73-66 in the NAIA National Cham- pionship game shooting 52 percent from the fl oor. The previous high this season the Warriors allowed was when Montana Western shot 48 percent back in early January. Caelyn Orlandi ended the season with a career-high 13 assists to go along with 15 points. Lauren Johnson scored 13 points for the 73 Edmiston 6 points, 6 reb., 11 minutes Lewis-Clark 66 only two Warriors in double fi gures. All eight players who entered the game scored at least two points. Jansen Edmiston, a freshman from Hermiston, played 11 minutes and scored six points on 2-of-2 shooting from three-point range. She also had six rebounds (four on offense) and one steal. LCSC ended the season with a school-record 35 wins and just two losses. The Stars win their ninth title and improved to 34-2. Johnson started the scoring of the night with three of her 13 points 20 seconds into the contest. The Stars would take the lead shortly after and extend it to 14-7. Orlandi made a jumper to kick-start an 8-0 run as the Warriors reclaimed the lead. Oklahoma City would answer in the next possession to retake the lead for good the rest of the way. The Stars ended the fi rst quarter up 20-15 over the Warriors. The Stars opened the second with a bang, a triple by Daniela Galindo for an 8-point Oklahoma City lead. Consecutive treys from Johnson and Orlandi brought the defi cit back down to two points. But again after the Warriors closed in, the Stars would fi nd separation heading to the locker room with a 38-29 halftime lead. After Oklahoma City would increase their lead to double-digits, Lewis-Clark State’s Lau- ren Johnson (21) looks to pass against an Oklahoma City University defender in the NAIA Division I Women’s Bas- ketball National Championship on Wednesday in Billings, Mont. Photo courtesy of Lew- is-Clark State Athletics the Warriors would respond right after. Trailing by 10 with 4:28 left in the third, LCSC went on a 9-3 run to close the score within four. Risinger scored fi ve of the nine points. She ended with those fi ve points on the night with six rebounds. Trailing 59-53, Hailey Turner scored the fi rst points of the fourth for the Warriors to trim the defi cit to four. The Stars again grew their lead by as much as eight points. With their backs to the wall, the Warriors made one last effort to overtake the Stars, but it wasn’t enough. Orlandi was named to the All-Championship First-Team with her performance throughout the tournament. The Warriors graduate four seniors, including Orlandi, Risinger, Litalien and Natahnee Spencer. Sports shorts Former Bulls GM Krause dies CHICAGO (AP) — Respected and reviled in his hometown, this much can’t be argued when it comes to Jerry Krause: He helped take the Chicago Bulls to heights few teams have reached. Krause, the general manager of the Bulls during a 1990s dynasty that included six NBA championships with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen leading the way, has died. He was 77. The Bulls confi rmed his death on Tuesday. A Chicago native, Krause spent 18 seasons leading the Bulls’ front offi ce and was a two-time NBA Krause executive of the year. He helped put together a run that ranks among the most successful in NBA history and made the franchise a worldwide brand. “Jerry was one of the hardest working guys I have ever been around, and he was one of the best talent evaluators ever,” chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said. “He truly was the architect of all our great teams in the ‘90s.” “I wouldn’t be opposed to it, even at the expense to my own salary, but it’s something that everyone would have to agree to.“ — Steve Kerr Golden State Warriors head coach on shortening the NBA season. The league is looking for ways to avoid situations like last week’s Warriors-Spurs game where Kerr sat his stars to give them some rest during a grueling portion of the schedule. Brazil club signs goalkeeper convicted in girlfriend’s death RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Brazilian soccer club on Tuesday presented its newest member, a goalie convicted in the killing of an ex-girlfriend, prompting outrage from many nationwide and promises by sponsors to drop out. Boa Esporte’s contract for Bruno Fernandes de Souza ignored mounting criticism in recent days after the team expressed plans to sign the former star player. Souza was recently released from prison while he appeals a 22-year sentence in the 2010 killing of a former girlfriend, Eliza Samudio. A Supreme Court justice ordered his release on the grounds that his appeal to a higher court was languishing. At least fi ve sponsors have said they’ll drop the team in protest. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1932 — The blue lines are eliminated with the center red line used to determine offsides in an experiment by the NHL. With both teams out of playoff contention, the league tries it in the New York Americans’ 8-6 victory over Boston. 1969 — West Chester State beats Western Caro- lina 65-39 to win the fi rst- ever women’s collegiate national championship. The game is played using the six player format. 1994 — The NFL announces the addition of the 2-point conversion, the league’s fi rst scoring change in 75 seasons. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
