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Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian Friday, December 22, 2017 Men’s College Basketball Prep Basketball San Diego State upsets No. 12 Gonzaga Bouncin’ Cancer roars into 9th year By BERNIE WILSON Associated Press SAN DIEGO — Senior Trey Kell scored 10 of his 14 points in the final 2:56 and redshirt freshman Jalen McDaniels scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half and had 10 rebounds for San Diego State, which overcame poor shooting to upset No. 12 Gonzaga 72-70 on Thursday night. Freshman Matt Mitchell added 15 points for San Diego State (8-3), which led the whole game while shooting only 36.1 percent. While McDaniels and Mitchell made big shots down the stretch, Kell— who didn’t start due to a thigh injury that’s limited him in practice — made eight of 10 free throws in the final 2:56 and added a nice reverse layup with AP Photo/Denis Poroy San Diego State forward Max Montana (10) fights for a loose ball with Gonzaga’s Zach Norvell Jr. (23), left, and Josh Perkins (13), right, on Thursday’s in San Diego. 46.4 seconds to go to give SDSU a 66-60 lead. The biggest shot for McDaniels was when he swooped in for a slam dunk off Kell’s missed 3-pointer for a 54-47 lead with 4:48 left that brought the crowd to its feet. That came one possession after Mitchell hit a 3-pointer. Gonzaga (10-3) twice Gonzaga San Diego St. 70 72 closed to two points, on a 3-pointer by Silas Melson and then on two free throws by Rui Hachimura with 1:36 left. Kell then made the final two of his free throws and his reverse layup to give the Aztecs some breathing room. Gonzaga’s Jesse Wade hit a 3-pointer with one-tenth of a second left. Zach Norvell Jr. led Gonzaga with 22 points while Hachimura had 13 and Johnathan Williams added 12 points and 15 rebounds. UP NEXT Gonzaga hosts Pacific in a West Coast Confer- ence opener on Thursday. STAR: Has enjoyed her time living in Pendleton Continued from 1B as many school-sponsored sports, so Senkerikova has been honing her skills by playing high-level club soccer for the last few years. So it was no surprise to see her display a high level of talent on the pitch this season for Pendleton, which helped her earn Columbia River Conference Co-Player of the Year honors as well as Class 5A first team all-state honors. She was one of only two CRC players to make the all-state list, which is voted on by the 5A coaches and compiled by The Orego- nian, the other player being league champion Hood River Valley’s Yahaira Chavarria. “It felt pretty good,” Senkerikova said of getting the awards. She was caught by surprise when her accom- plishments were announced at a school assembly in the gymnasium, which Senker- ikova described the scene as “awesome.” Senkerikova arrived in the US on Aug. 24 and will stay here throughout Pend- leton’s school year before flying back to her home country in mid-June. During her stay, she is living with host parents Richard and Charity Boyer of Pendleton, and so far has enjoyed her time living in the town of just over 16,800 residence, citing an affinity for the area’s restaurants and nice people. While studying at Pendleton High School, she lists her favorite classes as training and conditioning and mathematics. When she goes back to Europe, she will still have roughly two years of schooling before she gradu- ates high school. And being that she turns 18 years of age in May, she will likely try out for the Czech Republic women’s national program as well before eventually hoping to return to the US to play collegiate soccer. But until then, she will enjoy the final five-plus months of her exchange program and continue learning the ropes of being a Buckaroo. ———— Contact Eric at esinger@ eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0839. Follow him on Twitter @ByEricSinger. SEAHAWKS: 55-16 since 2010 in games holding opponents under 100 rushing yards Continued from 1B K.J. Wright were injured. Founette rushed for 101 yards in the game, with 84 of those coming in the second half. It was a similar story against the Rams, just a different point of the game. With Wagner limited because of a hamstring injury and Wright out because of a concussion, Gurley ran for 144 of his 152 yards in the first half of the Rams’ 42-7 rout. While Gurley’s 57-yard TD sprint in the final minute of the first half got most of the attention, the bigger issue was the huge chunk plays Gurley had well before his long run. The Rams had eight run plays of 10 yards or more in the rout. The Seahawks allowed 10 total run plays of 10 yards or more during a five-game span from late October and November when they were ranking among the best run defenses in the league. “I’m excited for him, Todd Gurley is a heckuva player,” Cowboys QB Dak Prescott said. “You watch that game and you see why. Zeke with a lot of the similar abilities and traits, we’re excited for what he can do.” While Seattle is unsure how much the Cowboys will feature Elliott, the fact he hasn’t played in six weeks and isn’t worn down from a long season is a boost. Wagner has been playing with a hamstring injury for nearly two months and was its most troublesome last week when he lacked the explosiveness to try and chase down Gurley. Bradley McDougald has played well at strong safety, but he isn’t Kam Chancellor when it comes to stopping the run. The Seahawks will get a lift by having Wright back this week. Wagner noted that because of all the injuries, what’s been an experienced, veteran defense is now full of new faces that have never played together. “It’s kind of just furthering the thing that we have kind of been dealing with, with everybody trying to relearn everybody,” Wagner said. Stopping the run has long been a hallmark of Carroll’s defensive priorities and it’s proved true in his Seattle tenure. The Seahawks are 23-31-1 since 2010 in games where they’ve allowed at least 100 yards rushing to the opponent. They are 55-16 when holding oppo- nents under 100 yards. Before his suspension, Elliott had four straight games of at least 93 yards rushing, and three of those were well over 100 yards. “I think he’ll be really fired up to play football. I think he has to be about as hungry as you can get,” Carroll said. OREGON: Track athlete had grade changed from a “F” to a “B” by professor to stay eligible Continued from 1B Track and field coach Robert Johnson is not mentioned in the case that featured a professor changing a failing grade to allow an athlete to pass a class and continue competing in the sport. “Coach Altman and coach Graves are committed to compliance with NCAA bylaws, they have the highest ethical standards on and off the court, and each acknowledges the infrac- tions that took place within their programs,” Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said in a statement. “In both cases, our moni- toring program identified the issues and they were reported to the NCAA. We have addressed the matters with the responsible employees and enhanced compliance training within the department. These cases do not merit the level of charges against the coaches sought by the NCAA.” Altman and Graves were both alleged to have exceeded the NCAA limit of four coaches by allowing other staff members to participate in team activities during practice. The alle- gations against the men’s basketball team date back to 2013 while the women’s program committed similar violations beginning in December 2016. The men’s basket- ball team allowed “a noncoaching staff member” to serve as referee between 10 and 20 times per year. From May 22 to Aug. 19. 2016, the staff member “provided technical or tactical basketball instruc- tion to, participated with/or observed men’s basketball student-athletes ... during nonorganized voluntary athletically related activi- ties” at least 64 times. Earlier this year, a staff member watched an Oregon player running at a local high school track on three occasions. From December 2016 until May, an assistant strength and conditioning coach participated in “on-court” activities with the Ducks. The names of the staff members and players who worked with them are redacted from the report. The allegations state that Altman “is presumed responsible for the violations ... and did not rebut the presumption of responsibility. Specifically, Altman did not demon- strate that he promoted an atmosphere of compliance and monitored his staff within the program due to his personal knowledge of and/or involvement in the violations described.” Altman released a statement saying “I fully acknowledge that some members of our staff made mistakes when it comes to refereeing practice games and working out some players. We have taken steps to correct these issues with our staff, and we are committed to complying with NCAA rules.” The allegations against the women’s program are similar stating that an assis- tant strength and condi- tioning coach participated in individual workouts and practices. Like Altman, Graves is declared respon- sible for the violations by the NCAA. “I regret that some members of my staff made errors of judgment, and I have taken actions to ensure that it doesn’t happen again,” Graves said in a statement. “I am steadfastly committed to building a winning program at the UO that operates in full compli- ance with NCAA bylaws and is committed to the highest levels of integrity.” According to the NCAA website, any penalties for the coaches are determined on a case-by-case basis and that precedent is not a guide because “each case has its own aggravating and mitigating factors, and the committee considers both sides in assessing penal- ties.” However, the website also indicates that a head coach could be “suspended from 10 percent to an entire coaching season” for a Level I or Level II violation. In the track and field case, an adjunct professor in the anthropology department gave an athlete a “B-” in Scientific Racism in March 2016 although she should have received an “F” for not submitting three-fourths of the coursework. The grade change was made when the professor realized the athlete’s eligibility would be in question with a failing grade. The case appears to involve track athlete Jasmine Todd, whose UO career ended prematurely when she was declared ineligible before the 2016 NCAA West Regionals. Todd, who placed second in the long jump and fourth in the 100 meters at the 2015 NCAA Championships, told Flotrack.com in June 2016 a story similar to the one outlined in the NCAA report, adding that her professor allowed her to turn in her assignments late because of her travel schedule with the track team. The charge against the football program was a recruiting violation from November 2016, during former coach Mark Helfrich’s tenure, when the school “created an electronic presentation that included each prospective student-athlete’s name, physical attributes and high school highlight video and displayed it on a video board located in the football performance center.” Oregon reported that it would not contest that charge. By ERIC SINGER & ALEXIS MANSANAREZ East Oregonian Last year, the Bouncin’ Cancer basketball event spearheaded by Nixyaawii athletic director Aaron Noisey nearly came to an end due to a lack of interest from other teams. But now as the event prepares for its 11th annual fundraiser, it will continue a promise Noisey made after his own families experience with cancer. Beginning Dec. 28, the two-day event will feature a handful of local high schools with all the proceeds from ticket sales, raffle items, etc., going to Your Friend Pamela Faye — an organization that helps family members with gas, meals, hotels as they or family members fight cancer. The American Cancer Society estimated 1,688,780 new cases diagnosed and more than 600,000 deaths to cancer in the United States in 2017. While millions of dollars are raised to fund cancer research, there is also a great need for financial assistance with non-medical expenses while these battles are being waged — some- thing that Noisey knows all too well. In 1985, his mother was diagnosed with cancer. For treatment, she stayed in a hospital a great distance away from Noisey, his step- father and siblings. During his mothers fight, the family never had the opportunity to be together. The cost of gas, motels and the time that needed to be taken off work for the many visits they would make, added up. So, Noisey and his brothers had to take turns seeing their mother. She passed away in August of that year. “There were times when no one would be with my mom,” Noisey said. “Part of the reason I got started (with Bouncin’ Cancer) is because I want to do everything I can do to make sure someone who’s going through this can still be a family.” The event began in 2008 between Echo and Nixyaawii with local businesses spon- soring the event by way of Bouncin’ Cancer • When: Dec. 28-29 • Where: Helix • Teams: Nixyaawii, Echo, Helix, South Wasco, Ione, Trout Lake (WA) • Admission: $5 adults, $3 students, free for seniors, children 5 and under. • All proceeds donated to help families battling cancer. donations and raffle baskets, and since then more than $60,000 has been raised. A feat, Noisey said, wouldn’t be possible without the overwhelming commu- nity support. “We’ve seen a great benefit,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if we raised $2 or $2,000, anything we get benefits the community.” Your Friend Pamela Faye assists families within the Northwest — Washington, Idaho and Oregon — and has partnered with Bouncin’ Cancer for the past five years. Each year, Noisey receives a break down of where and what the donations have gone and been used for. “It’s too bad the circum- stances we’re raising money for,” he said. “Hopefully one day there won’t be a need for it.” But for now, Noisey will continue his efforts and do his best to give families who are going through on of the most difficult times of their lives, the chance to be just that: a family. Helix, Echo, Nixyaawii, South Wasco County, Ione, Trout Lake (WA) all playing. Admission $5 for adults, $3 students, seniors and children 5 and under free. Volunteer opportunities are available, and businesses are still welcome to join the cast of sponsors. ——— Game schedule (Girls game first, then boys) Dec. 28 Echo vs. Ione, Noon/1:30 p.m. Helix vs. Trout Lake, 3/4:30 p.m. Nixyaawii vs. South Wasco, 6/7:30 p.m. Dec. 29 Trout Lake vs. Echo, Noon/1:30 p.m. Ione vs. Nixyaawii, 3/4:30 p.m. South Wasco vs. Helix, 6/7:30 p.m. ——— Contact Alexis or Eric at sports@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0818. BRIEFLY Seahawks fined for Wilson’s concussion protocol violation RENTON, Wash. (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks have been fined $100,000 for not properly following concussion protocol with quarterback Russell Wilson during a game in November. The NFL and NFLPA announced their decision on Thursday following an investigation that lasted more than a month. Along with the financial penalty, Seattle’s coaching and medical staffs will be required to attend remedial training regarding the concussion protocol. The investigation determined that Wilson was allowed back on the field before a required evaluation was performed on the sideline. Wilson was hit in the chin by Arizona’s Karlos Dansby, who was flagged for roughing the passer. Referee Walt Anderson sent Wilson off the field. But Wilson was in Seattle’s injury tent for only a few moments and he missed just one play before returning to the field. “In this case, through a series of communication breakdowns, the protocol not followed,” NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart said Thursday. “The player was allowed to return to the game without going through the protocol, a clear violation.” ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Andrew Barker Riverside High School • Wrestler Barker won the 126 pounds bracket at the Mac-Hi Christmas Tournament on Saturday, winning all three of his matches by fall. Proudly Sponsored By: