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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 2017)
SPORTS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2017 BOARDMAN Pro Basketball Grizzlies hold off Blazers 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS Pirates are going to the ‘ship By ANNE M. PETERSON Associated Press PORTLAND — Tyreke Evans scored 21 points off the bench, Mike Conley had 20 — all in the second half — and the Memphis Grizzlies NBA held off the Portland Trail Blazers 98-97 on Tuesday Memphis night. M a r c Gasol added 16 points as the Grizzlies improved to Portland 2-1 on their fi ve-game road trip. Memphis wrestled with the Blazers for the lead in the fi nal quarter after neither team was able to put together a double-digit advan- tage through the fi rst three. Dillon Brooks stripped Port- land’s Ed Davis and got a layup with a free throw that gave the Grizzlies a 96-91 lead with 39 seconds left. But the Blazers weren’t out of it. CJ McCollum hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds remaining to pull Portland to 98-97. After a video review, offi - cials reversed an out-of-bounds call with 12.1 seconds left, giving the ball to the Blazers. McCollum missed a pull-up jumper and got his own rebound but couldn’t get another shot off in time. McCollum led Portland with 36 points. Brooks, starting for the Griz- zlies as a rookie, went to college at Oregon and was treated to hearty applause during pregame introductions. Ducks coach Dana Altman had courtside seats for the game. Brooks was a second-round pick by Houston and was sent to Memphis in a draft-night trade. He was last season’s Pac-12 player of the year and helped take the Ducks to the team’s See BLAZERS/3B 98 97 Staff photo by E.J. Harris Riverside’s Jose Peralta, second from right, celebrates scoring a goal with his teammates in the Pirates’ 4-0 win against De La Salle on Tuesday in Boardman. Riverside will play for the state championship on Saturday in Hillsboro. Riverside advances to first state championship game since 2011 By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ East Oregonian BOARDMAN — Entering the semifi nal match on Tuesday afternoon, the Riverside Pirates had a few goals in mind. The fi rst, to defend their home turf and remain undefeated. The second, to make it back to the state championship. The last time the Pirates played for a state title was in 2011 when they defeated St. Mary’s 2-0 to cap of a perfect season. They are looking to repeat that fate Saturday after defeating De La Salle 4-0 to punch their ticket to the 3A/2A/1A championship game. Riverside entered the postseason as the No. 1 and hosted each round of the 3A/2A/1A playoffs. Its latest victim, De La Salle, came 3A/2A/1A Semifi nals #5 De La Salle #1 Riverside 0 4 to Boardman, and like those who came before fell prey to the Pirates aggressive style of play and ability to fi nd the net in almost any circum- stance. It was Riverside’s ninth shutout of the season, and pushed its overall record to 16-0-1. There was never any doubt that the game wouldn’t end that way. “This is our house,” assistant coach Jose Duenas said. “I told the boys, this is our house and we’re See PIRATES/3B Staff photo by E.J. Harris Riverside’s Misael Madrigal goes up to head the ball into the goal challenged by De La Salle’s George Shabani in the Pirate’s 4-0 win against the Knights on Tuesday in Boardman. Pro Basketball Finally healthy, Richardson becoming what Seahawks hoped Fourth-year WR a real weapon in the pass game By TIM BOOTH Associated Press AP Photo/Elaine Thompson Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Paul Richardson celebrates after scoring his second touchdown of the game against the Houston Texans on Oct. 29 in Seattle. RENTON, Wash. — Paul Rich- ardson believed that if he could ever get through all the injuries that have sidetracked his career, he could develop into a consistent option for the Seattle Seahawks. It’s fi nally happening, and just in time with Richardson in a contract year. “I’m pretty confi dent in myself out there and in the offense. My biggest focus every week is to stay healthy,” Richardson said. “So as long as I’m healthy, I feel like I give us a good chance on offense to make some plays or at least draw some attention, take the top off or whatever my duty calls me to do that week, I just maximize it.” One of the big questions entering the season was who would become the complementary wide receiver opposite Doug Baldwin, especially after Jermaine Kearse was traded to the New York Jets before the start of the regular season. Richardson is fi lling that role. He’s already set a career high with a team-high fi ve touchdown receptions, including two TDs and 105 yards receiving in Seattle’s win over Houston two weeks ago. He’s four catches away from tying his career-best of 29 receptions in his rookie season in 2014. Having those second and third options has become even more important as Seattle’s run game has scuffl ed through the fi rst eight weeks and the team has relied more on quarterback Russell Wilson’s arm. Seattle is second in the NFL in passing yards per game and Wilson is on pace to attempt more than 600 passes this season for the fi rst time in his career. Baldwin will always be Wilson’s primary target. But Richardson’s improved consistency and ability to win deep throws downfi eld has been a boost for Seattle’s offense. “It is really fun to see him so confi dent now,” coach Pete Carroll said. “He has just grown so much. He has been very level-headed about it as well in his work habits and everything. His mentality has been great, but you can see the confi dence is really just coming out of him.” See SEAHAWKS/3B Sports shorts Ex-Phillies, Blue Jays star pitcher Halladay dies in plane crash HOLIDAY, Fla. (AP) — Roy Halladay, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who pitched a perfect game and a playoff no-hitter, died Tuesday when his private plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. He was 40. Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said during a news conference that Halladay’s ICON A5 went down around noon off the coast of Florida. The sheriff’s Halladay offi ce marine unit responded to the downed plane and found Halladay’s body. No survivors were found. Police said they couldn’t confi rm if there were additional passengers on the plane or say where it was headed. Halladay retired in 2013 after 12 seasons with the Toronto and four with Philadelphia. “In order to be great at something, you have to have mentors, and he was one for me ... What he did here was something special. You didn’t miss those moments when he pitched. When you had Roy Halladay on the mound, you didn’t miss an inning, you didn’t miss a pitch. You were watching every moment. “ — Cole Hamels MLB veteran pitcher refl ecting on for- mer pitcher Roy Halladay, who was a teammate of Hamels’ in Philadelphia. Phoenix trades Bledsoe to Milwaukee for Monroe, picks MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Phoenix Suns have traded disgruntled guard Eric Bledsoe to the Milwaukee Bucks for big man Greg Monroe and two 2018 draft picks. Bledsoe has not been with the team since Oct. 22 when he posted “I Don’t wanna be here” on Twitter, the same day the Suns fi red coach Earl Watson. He had been averaging 15.7 points per game, second behind Devin Booker, and was the team’s Bledsoe on-court leader. Monroe, who joined the Bucks as a free agent in 2015, has been sidelined recently because of a left calf strain. Bledsoe averaged more than 20.0 points and 6.0 assists per game in each of the last two seasons with the Suns. Bledsoe spent the past fi ve seasons in Phoenix. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1975 — Kansas snaps second-ranked Oklahoma’s 28-game winning streak, 23-3, in Norman, Okla. The Jayhawks defense holds the Sooners’ offense to its lowest scoring output since 1966. 1981 — Don Shula records his 200th NFL victory when the Miami Dolphins edge the New England Patriots 30-27 in overtime. 2009 — The Indianapolis Colts become just the fourth team in NFL history with 17 consecutive regular-season wins with a 20-17 victory over Houston. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
