SPORTS
THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017
1B
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Men’s College Basketball
Prep Roundup
Remembering the Tall Firs
Solomon’s
slam ends
road trip on
high note
In this March
27, 1939 photo,
provided by the
University of
Oregon Archives,
Oregon’s Bobby
Anet, right is
presented the
trophy by Big Ten
Commissioner
John Griffi th,
left, after Oregon
defeated Ohio
State 46-33 in
the National Col-
legiate basket-
ball tournament
at Northwestern
University in
Evanston, Ill. A
collision broke
off the little man
on top the tro-
phy. Ohio State
All American
Jimmy Hull, cen-
ter, looks on.
Pendleton softball run-
rules Milwaukie
East Oregonian
University of Oregon
Archives via AP
MILWAUKIE — In the fi nal game of
spring break for the Pendleton softball
team, the offense let loose while the
pitching stayed stingy.
The Bucks (9-2) beat the Milwaukie
Mustangs 17-0 in fi ve
Softball
innings on Wednesday
during a stopover on the
way back from the Happy
Valley tournament earlier
Pendleton
in the week.
Lauren
Richards
threw fi ve innings of
two-hit ball for the
Bucks, striking out 11
and walking one. Her
Milwaukie
catcher, Kila Solomon,
drove in six runs,
including a grand slam in
the fourth inning.
“That broke the whole game open,”
coach Tim Cary said.
Kalan McGlothan also hit a home run
in the game, and Rylee Gentner added two
doubles.
Cary said he was particularly impressed
by the performance because the team has
not yet been able to practice on its soggy
Pendleton fi eld.
UP NEXT
Cary said the girls will get a break the
next few days then hopefully get onto the
fi eld for some live practice before next
Thursday’s doubleheader at La Grande,
which starts at 3 p.m.
———
17
0
78 years ago, Oregon won the 1st NCAA Tournament
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
The historical signifi cance
of Oregon’s return to the Final
Four was not lost on coach Dana
Altman.
The Ducks face North Caro-
lina in the national semifi nals in
Glendale, Arizona, on Saturday.
Oregon hasn’t been this close
to the title game since the team
won the inaugural NCAA Tour-
nament in 1939.
Altman called it “a long
drought.” Perhaps one that could
end this season after 78 years?
The Oregon Webfoots won
the NCAA title with a 46-33
victory over Ohio State at North-
western University. The team
would become known by the
nickname the Tall Firs — a nod
to both the Oregon landscape
and the fact that the players
loomed taller than most of their
opponents.
The Webfoots’ front line
included 6-foot-4 John Dick,
6-foot-4 leading scorer Laddie
Gale and 6-foot-8 Urgel (Slim)
Wintermute. Guards Bobby
Anet, a 5-foot-8 playmaker,
and 5-foot-10 Wally Johansen
University of Oregon Archives via AP
Tthis undated photo, provided by the University of Oregon
Archives, shows an autographed photo of Oregon’s 19-38-39
men’s college basketball team.
rounded out the starting fi ve.
Anet and Johansen grew up
on the same street in Astoria,
Oregon, and had played together
since junior high.
Coach Howard Hobson told
The Associated Press in 1988
that Anet, who passed away in
1981, was the heart of the Tall
Firs.
“He was the greatest fl oor
general I ever had,” said Hobson,
who also coached at Yale and was
enshrined in the Basketball Hall
of Fame in 1965. “He sparked
the team. He was its leader.”
Dick went on to serve 32
years in the U.S. Navy, enlisting
the day after the attack on Pearl
Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and
rising to the rank of rear admiral.
He was at the fi nal game played
at Oregon’s famed McArthur
Court in 2011, and pumped his
fi st for the crowd when he was
announced at halftime. He died
later that year.
Reserve guard Ford “Moon”
Mullen went on to play baseball
in the majors for the Philadelphia
Blue Jays (Phillies) in 1944.
Wintermute worked at Boeing.
On the way to the fi rst Big
Dance , the Tall Firs won the
Northern Division of the Pacifi c
Coast Conference, then beat
Southern Division champion
California in a three-game
series. The victory sent Oregon
to the regional tournament on
Treasure Island in San Francisco
Bay, where the team beat Texas,
56-41, and Oklahoma, 55-37,
before heading to Illinois for the
title game via train.
The
eight-team
NCAA
Tournament was founded by the
National Association of Basket-
ball Coaches to compete with the
National Invitation Tournament
in New York.
See TALL FIRS/2B
(5 innings)
R H E
PHS
205
73 — 17 12 0
MHS
000
00 —
0 2 1
Lauren Richards and Kyla Solomon. Jordan Oliver, Caitlyn
Grogan (3) and Brittany Hays. W — Richards. L — Oliver.
2B — Madison Parker, Richards, Rylee Gentner 2.
HR — Kalan McGlothlan, Solomon.
RIVERSIDE 12, KNAPPA 3 — At
Boardman, Skylar Wightman struck out
nine from the circle and hit a home run
in the fourth inning to fi nish with four
RBIs as the Pirates beat the Loggers in a
non-league game on Wednesday.
Roe Elliot (2 for 4) added three RBIs,
and Abby Hernandez (3 for 3) and Sadie
Hasbell (2 for 4) also swung the bats well
for Riverside (4-2).
“I was very proud of the girls,” said
Riverside coach Jordan Mittelsdorf, “we
were missing a few key players due to spring
break. We had some younger players step up
and gain experience at the varsity level.”
———
R H
RHS
300 403
2 — 12 15
KHS
100 011
0 — 3 8
W — S. Wightman. L — Weaver.
HR — Wightman (RHS).
E
2
3
Men’s College Basketball
Gonzaga AD is co-architect of hoops success
Mike Roth makes his
impact behind the scenes
By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
Associated Press
Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review via AP
In this Jan. 12, 2017 photo, Gonzaga athlet-
ic director Mike Roth stands on the sideline
before an NCAA college basketball game
against Loyola in Spokane, Wash.
SPOKANE, Wash. — You might say
Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth has
tunnel vision.
Roth, co-architect of the team that is
making its fi rst Final Four appearance
this weekend, is too nervous to watch the
Bulldogs play from a seat. Years ago, he
started standing in the tunnels leading into
basketball arenas, where he could pace and
mutter as the Bulldogs played.
“I get nervous energy around games,”
Roth said this week. “It gives me the ability
to work off that nervous energy.”
You can expect to fi nd Roth standing in
a tunnel when Gonzaga plays South Caro-
lina on Saturday in Glendale, Arizona, with
the winner advancing to the title game.
“Why mess with something that’s
working?” Roth said.
You could say that about Roth’s entire
20-year tenure as athletic director.
While coach Mark Few and his players
deservedly get the lion’s share of attention
for the team’s success, Roth is the behind-
the-scenes leader.
It was Roth who elevated Few to head
RIVERSIDE 8, BURNS 4 — At
Boardman, Roe Elliot drove in four runs, and
Sadie Hasbell knocked in three more to help
Riverside get its second non-league win of
the day on Wednesday at the Columbia Bash.
Elliot batted 3 for 4 and Hasbell went 2
for 3, and Skylar Wightman got her second
win from circle with six strikeouts.
Riverside (5-2) coach Jordan Mittels-
dorf said Masie Hancock came up big in
the fi eld and turned a double play in the
fi fth inning. She had fi ve putouts and two
assists for the game.
UP NEXT
The Pirates will play at Portland Chris-
tian on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
———
R
BHS
002 010
1 — 4
RHS
300 302 X — 8
W — S. Wightman. L — Sutcliffe.
2B — S. Hasbell (RHS).
See GONZAGA/2B
H
5
6
E
3
2
See PREPS/2B
Sports shorts
Westbrook has 57 in overtime win
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Russell Westbrook
had 57 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists to
lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 114-106
overtime win on Wednesday night.
Westbrook, a leading MVP candidate, led the
Thunder from behind by as many
as 21 points in the second half as
he recorded his 38th triple-double
of the season. And like the
13-point outburst in the fi nal three
minutes against Dallas on Monday
night for the win, Westbrook
was again the catalyst as he hit
Westbrook
big shots in the fourth quarter,
including the tying 3-pointer with 7.1 seconds
remaining to force the extra period.
Enes Kanter added 17 points and 10
rebounds off the bench for the Thunder, and
Victor Oladipo had 13 points while returning
to Amway Center for the fi rst time since being
traded by the Magic last June.
“I know that he is
somewhat entertaining the
thought of it. I can’t tell you
how strong it is. You’ve
got to talk to him. And that
chance isn’t happening.“
— Pete Carroll
Seattle Seahawks head coach on
retired running back Marshawn
Lynch’s desire to make a return to
football. The Seahawks signed RB
Eddie Lacey in free agency, but
the soon-to-be 31 Lynch would
reportedly have a suitor in the
Oakland Raiders should he return.
He would need to be released or
traded by the Seahawks.
Venus Williams beats No. 1
Kerber in Miami Open quarters
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) — Venus
Williams whacked a winner on her fi fth match
point, then spun and threw a celebratory fi st
toward her father, who watched from the front
row while munching popcorn.
The taste of victory never gets
old.
Venus and her dad have been
coming together to Key Biscayne
for 20 years, and she moved a
step closer to her fi rst title in
the event since 2001 by beating
Williams
top-ranked Angelique Kerber
7-5, 6-3 Wednesday night in the Miami Open
quarterfi nals.
It was Williams’ 15th career win against a
No. 1 player, but her fi rst since 2014.
The tournament was once known as the
Williams Open because of the way Venus and
Serena dominated. Now Venus, seeded 11th
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1983 — New York Islander
Mike Bossy becomes the fi rst
player to score 60 or more goals
in three consecutive seasons.
1990 — UNLV pounds
Duke 103-73 to win its fi rst
NCAA championship and
extend the Blue Devils’ streak
to eight Final Four appear-
ances without a title. The
Runnin’ Rebels become the
fi rst team to score more than
100 points in a championship
game and the 30-point margin
is the largest ever.
2012 — Doron Lamb
scores 22 points as Kentucky
wins its eighth men’s national
championship, holding off
Kansas for a 67-59 victory.
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