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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 2017)
SPORTS WEEKEND, DECEMBER 9-10, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS PENDLETON College Football Blue Devils bump Bucks Pendleton scores just 9 points in second half as offense stalls By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian PENDLETON — During the fi rst week of practice in mid November, Pendleton boys basketball coach Kyle Tedder said he liked his new group of Buckaroos but described the team as a “project” and a “work-in-progress” due to a small number of varsity returners. Through the fi rst two weeks of the Boys season, it’s easy to see Basketball what Tedder m e a n t . Pendleton started its Pendleton non-league schedule with three wins in four games, k n o c k i n g Walla Walla off some quality t e a m s including Crescent Valley and Baker. But now the team has lost two straight, most recently a 54-37 clunker to Walla Walla on in the Buckaroos’ home opener Friday evening at Warberg Court. Pendleton started Friday’s game having the appearance of a team that was starting to jell together on the court. The offense had a good fl ow with ball movement all the way around the court, the passes were crisp, and the Bucks were consistently working into effi cient shot attempts that resulted in easy points. The Buckaroos and Blue Devils traded leads and bursts of momentum throughout the fi rst half, with Walla Walla holding a slim 29-28 lead at the break. However, in the second half the Buckaroos came out looking like a completely different team. The smooth fl ow of the offense disappeared into a stagnant unit, where defensive adjustments by the Blue Devils led to less ball See BUCKS/3B Ducks choose Cristobal as head coach Spent 2017 season as Oregon’s offensive coordinator By RALPH D. RUSSO Associated Press 37 54 Staff photo by E.J. Harris Pendleton’s Tyler Newsom shoots the ball over Walla Walla’s Taylor Hamada in the Bucks’ 54-37 loss to the Blue Devils on Friday in Pendleton. Oregon has promoted offensive coordinator Mario Cristobal to head coach. The Ducks made the formal announcement early Friday afternoon. A news conference was set for 4 p.m. local time. Cristobal was co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Oregon this past season and was named interim coach on Tuesday when Willie Cristobal Taggart left to become head coach at Florida State. He becomes the 34th coach in Oregon history. “Mario’s leadership skills, work ethic, and experience makes him a perfect fi t to lead the Oregon football program,” Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said in a statement. “He has a passion for Oregon and a vision for our future success, and has made a signifi - cant impact on our student-ath- letes during his time here. We look forward to a great future on the horizon for the Ducks under Mario’s leadership.” Before coming to Eugene, Oregon, with Taggart, Cris- tobal had spent four seasons as offensive line coach at Alabama. He has six seasons of head coaching experience at Florida International, where he went 27-47, including 20-26 in conference, with two bowl appearances from 2007-12. He was also an assistant at Miami, his alma mater. See CRISTOBAL/4B HERMISTON Bulldogs stand tall against Chiawana BY ALEXIS MANSANAREZ East Oregonian HERMISTON — Entering Friday’s game, head coach Casey Arstein knew Chiawana would have the size advan- tage. But a late addition to the group, Matthew Kroner — the 6-foot-9 center who was only cleared to play earlier that day — made things interesting for the Bulldogs. His presence in the paint wreaked havoc as Hermiston was out rebounded 32-22, but the Bulldogs stuck to their game plan and pulled off a 76-67 win over the Riverhawks (0-5). “They defi nitely tried to stick to their game plan and we had to stick to ours,” Arstein said. “(The) kids battled. Things didn’t go our way and they still kept battling, didn’t pout their heads, I was proud of them.” Boys Basketball Hermiston Chiawana 76 67 The boys played in the second game of Friday’s doubleheader, and things were interesting from the jump. The match up didn’t start with the usual tipoff. Instead, junior Ryne Andreason stepped up to the free- throw line for two shots as Chiawana earned a technical foul during warm ups. After Andreason successfully made one of his two attempts, the Bulldogs (3-2) got the ball back and increased their early lead thanks to Andreason. The fi rst quarter had eight lead changes before Hermiston ended it with a 21-18 lead. Chiawana, with the help of Kroner and its other top shooter, senior Austin Penny, battled back to force two ties during Hermis- ton’s 12-8 run at the end of the fi rst. Junior Cesar Ortiz got the packed house on their feet at the buzzer as he nailed a deep 3-pointer to secure the lead. Both teams ended the game combined for 19 threes with Ortiz knocking down the most for Herm- iston and Kroll coming up big for Chiawana. Late in the game, Kroll’s buckets gave Hermiston a scare as the River- hawks began to chip away at the lead the Bulldogs would end up holding until the fi nal buzzer. Hermiston’s Andrew Earl goes up for a shot during Friday’s non-league game against Chi- awans in Hermiston. Staff photo by Kathy Aney See DAWGS/3B Sports shorts Blazers’ Nurkic to miss Saturday’s game with ankle injury PORTLAND (AP) — Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic has been ruled out of Saturday’s game against the Houston Rockets with an ankle injury. Nurkic was hurt midway through the fi nal quarter of Portland’s 106-92 loss Tuesday night to the Washington Wizards. He limped off the court and went straight to the locker room after appearing to injure his right ankle Nurkic on a drive to the rim. He had 15 points and nine rebounds before leaving. Portland said X-rays on the ankle were negative, but said he was ruled out of the home game against Houston. Nurkic is averaging 15.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game for the Blazers. NHL expects 2018 salary cap to rise by $3-7 million “We have some shooters too, but, man, for a while there I was like, ‘someone get a stop.’ Preferably us.” — Casey Arstein Hermiston boys basketball coach on back-and-forth scoring in second half of Hermiston’s 76-67 win over Chiawana on Friday night. MANALAPAN, Florida (AP) — NHLs team will be allowed to spend more next season. Commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters at the conclusion of the league’s board of governors meeting Friday that the projected salary cap for 2018-19 will be somewhere between $78 million and $82 million, up from the current $75 million. “The league has never been healthier,” Bettman said in a ballroom at the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa. “The game has never been healthier. Our franchises have never been healthier. Our fan base has never been better.” Bettman said hockey-related revenue will be around $4.54 billion this season, an 8.2 percent increase. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 2007 — Peyton Manning of Indianapolis becomes the fi fth quarterback in NFL history to throw 300 touch- down passes, getting four and going 13-for-17 for 249 yards in a 44-20 win over Baltimore. 2012 — Lionel Messi breaks German soccer great Gerd Mueller’s 40-year-old record for most goals in a year by scoring for the 86th time in 2012. 2016 — James Harden scores 21 points, and the Houston Rockets overcome Russell Westbrook’s seventh consecutive triple-double to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 102-99. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com