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Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian Wednesday, December 27, 2017 College Football Bowl Roundup Moss, Utah run past West Virginia in Heart of Dallas Bowl doesn’t want to be the group that lets the previous groups down. They want to keep that bowl prowess alive.” By STEPHEN HAWKINS Associated Press DALLAS — Zach Moss took a third-down handoff and quickly burst through the line and into an opening in the middle of the field. Utah was off and running to another bowl victory. Moss ran for 150 yards, including a career-long 58-yard run for a touchdown on the Utes’ opening drive in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on way to a 30-14 win over West Virginia on Tuesday. They are now 11-1 in postseason games under Kyle Whittingham, who matched Alabama’s Nick Saban for the most bowl wins by an active coach. “He knows how to coach the team and he always caps the year off right,” Utah sophomore quarter- back Tyler Huntley said. Huntley scored twice, both on 2-yard keepers, but they led for good in their fifth straight bowl victory after Moss broke free on a drizzly and chilly day in Cotton Bowl Stadium. “It was very important for us to come out of the gates with a big play early on and set the tone,” said Moss, who like Huntley still has two seasons left with the Utes (7-6). West Virginia (7-6) finished the season with its third straight loss. The Mountaineers had only 153 total yards without junior quarter- back Will Grier, who broke a finger Nov. 18, and 1,000-yard rusher Justin Crawford, a senior who bypassed the bowl game in advance Quick Lane Bowl Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News via AP Utah running back Zack Moss (2) stiff-arms West Virginia Moun- taineers linebacker Al-Rasheed Benton (3) while running the ball during the third quarter of Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl game in Dallas on Wednesday. of the NFL draft. “It was a pretty disappointing loss to end a pretty disappointing season,” Mountaineers coach Dana Holgorsen said. “You never hear me use it as an excuse. If you lose guys, you need guys to step in and play at a high level and that is the bottom line.” Whittingham’s debut as head coach was a Fiesta Bowl win at the end of the 2004 season. He co-coached that game with Urban Meyer, who had taken the Florida job three weeks earlier but returned to be part of Utah’s postseason win over Pittsburgh after his defensive coordinator had been promoted to head coach. Under Whittingham, the Utes prepare for bowl games like regular season games, often in full pads and with continuing conditioning work. There is also a little bit of peer pressure. “We’ve got a group of guys and have had several groups of guys come here that take a lot of pride in their bowl performance and the bowl record that we have,” Whit- tingham said. “This group was no different. Each subsequent group DUKE 36, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 14 — At Detroit, Daniel Jones threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Duke beat Northern Illinois 36-14 in the Quick Lane Bowl on Tuesday. Jones finished with 338 yards of offense, while Shaun Wilson and Brittain Brown added touchdowns for Duke (7-6). “We knew Northern Illinois had a lot of success rushing the passer this year, but our offensive line really controlled things,” Jones said. “That really opened things up.” Marcus Childers threw for 234 yards and a score for Northern Illinois (8-5). The Blue Devils took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, sandwiching rushing touchdowns around a failed Northern Illinois fake punt on 4th-and-18 from their own 11. The Huskies had two first downs and 46 yards in the quarter, but tied the game with two scores in the first 2:38 of the second. Duke, though, moved back into a 26-14 lead with two touchdowns before halftime. “We let up for a little while, and they took advantage of our mistakes,” Duke linebacker Joe Giles-Harris said. “We knew we had to get focused again, and we shut them out from there.” Jones fumbled on the first possession of the second half, but College Football Northern Illinois turned the ball back over after a failed fake field goal. Cactus Bowl KANSAS STATE 35, UCLA 17 — At Phoenix, Alex Delton ran for 158 yards and accounted for four touchdowns, leading Kansas State to a 35-17 Cactus Bowl victory over UCLA on Tuesday night in what could be the final game of coach Bill Snyder’s career. Delton replaced Skylar Thompson late in the first quarter and scored on runs of 68 yards, 3 yards and 1 yard. Alex Barnes added 117 yards and a touchdown for the Wildcats, who rushed for 345 yards. Kansas State (8-5) struggled in the first half against UCLA’s potent offense, but shut down the Bruins in the second to give Snyder his 210th — and possibly final — win with the Wildcats. UCLA (6-7) played without top NFL prospect Josh Rosen, who’s recovering from a concussion, and built a 10-point halftime lead without its star quarterback. The Bruins’ offensive success didn’t carry over into the second half and their defense had a hard time containing Delton, saddling interim coach Jedd Fisch with a loss in his last game before Chip Kelly takes over the program. Snyder has not decided whether he will return for a 27th season or retire again to spend time with his family. Hockey Army ends successful season with bowl win US dominates Denmark By JOHN KEKIS Associated Press WEST POINT, N.Y. — Four years after he was hired at Army, coach Jeff Monken has succeeded where so many others had failed over a span of more than two decades, and the achievements are significant. The Black Knights finished 2017 with a 10-3 record, a gutsy 42-35 win over San Diego State in the Armed Forces Bowl on Saturday the perfect cap to a memorable season. Army heads into the offseason with these accomplishments to build on: The Black Knights won the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, emblematic of service academy supremacy, for the first time since 1996; matched the academy record for wins in a season; posted its second straight winning season, which hadn’t been done in 27 years; won its second straight bowl game, which had only been done once before, in the mid-1980s; led the nation in rushing; defeated a Power Five foe (Duke) that also played in the postseason; and, most importantly, beat Navy for the second straight year. Army QB Ahmad Brad- shaw (17) stopped by a San Diego State defender during the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, SteveNuren- berg/Star-Tele- gram via AP Monken has changed the culture in his short tenure. Army now expects to win, and the academy is lobbying to be included in the AP Top 25 when the final poll is released in the new year. “When you have a whole team of guys that have been with the coaching staff, it’s really satisfying to see what they accomplished as a group,” Monken said. “This means a lot to our team.” In this day of pass-happy offenses, Monken has accom- plished the unthinkable with his option attack — his Black Knights have been winning regularly by pretty much sticking to the ground and not committing turnovers. Army had only five fumbles in more than 800 plays — 785 rushes, 20 receptions — in 2017, a remarkable statistic, while attempting just 65 passes. Three of Army’s victories were achieved without completing a pass, the most significant a 21-0 triumph on the road against service academy nemesis Air Force. Against archrival Navy, Army attempted to throw just once in a riveting 14-13 victory over the Midshipmen. The Black Knights won eight of their final nine games, but there are big holes to fill on both sides of the ball. Chief among them is the key to the offense — quar- terback Ahmad Bradshaw. The Black Knights scored 42 touchdowns on 51 trips into the red zone, and Bradshaw was the catalyst, rushing for an academy single-season record 1,746 yards and scoring 14 TDs. Army also loses Josh Boylan, Mike Houghton, Bryce Holland and Brent Toth, who started on the offensive line for 12 straight weeks and helped create the seams and holes for a team that averaged 362.3 yards per game and six yards per carry. But four fullbacks who combined for 1,871 yards rushing — Darnell Woolfolk, Andy Davidson, Connor Slomka and Calen Holt — return along with speedy running back Kell Walker. Defensively, hard-hitting safety Rhyan England, defensive end John Voit (39 straight starts) and linebacker Alex Aukerman (15.5 TFLs) depart. But James Nachtigal (103 tackles), Cole Chris- tiansen (84 tackles) and Kenneth Brinson (38 tackles) will give the Black Knights veteran leadership at line- backer while safety James Gibson (45 tackles) and cornerback Elijah Riley will help anchor the secondary. to open world junior championship By JONAH BRONSTEIN Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. — Casey Mittelstadt got the United States off to a quick start in its title defense at the world junior hockey champi- onship. Mittelstadt scored twice in the first period, Kieffer Bellows also had two goals and Joseph Woll made 17 saves to earn the shutout as the U.S. opened the tourna- ment with a 9-0 victory over Denmark on Tuesday night. In other prelimi- nary-round games, the Czech Republic upset Russia 5-4, Sweden beat Belarus 6-1 and Canada held on for a 4-2 win over Finland. Max Jones, Kailer Yamamoto, Patrick Harper, Andrew Peeke and Dylan Samberg also scored for the U.S., which had three goals in the first nine minutes. “We came out ready to go,” said Mittelstadt, the most recent first-round draft choice for the Buffalo Sabres. “We wanted to come out and score some goals and get our team going right away.” World Juniors Denmark United States 0 9 Mittelstadt’s second goal gave the U.S. a 5-0 lead late in the first period. “Every time Casey steps on the ice, we know everyone is going to be watching him,” Bellows said. “He does some special stuff with the puck and he’s a really special player.” U.S. coach Bob Motzko remained undefeated in the world junior championships. After winning last year’s tournament in Montreal, the U.S. is seeking back-to-back gold medals for the first time. Denmark placed fifth last year, its highest finish in history. The opening game was the most competitive of the day as Czech Republic stunned Russia with a 5-4 win. Russia has medaled at the past seven world juniors while the Czech Republic has not reached the medal round since 2005. SCOREBOARD Local slate PREP BOYS BASKETBALL Thursday Ione vs. Echo (at Helix), 1:30 p.m. Heppner vs. Liberty Christian (WA) (at Irrigon), 4:30 p.m. Trout Lake (WA) at Helix, 4:30 p.m. Riverside at Stevenson (WA), 5 p.m. Pendleton at Mountain View, 6 p.m. Silverton at Hermiston, 7 p.m. Mac-Hi vs. Pilot Rock (at Irrigon), 7 p.m. Waitsburg (WA) at Irrigon, 7:30 p.m. South Wasco vs. Nixyaawii (at Helix), 7:30 p.m. Umatilla at Salem Academy Tourn., TBD Friday Pendleton vs. Grants Pass (at Summit HS), 12:30 p.m. Heppner vs. Waitsburg (WA) (at Irrigon), 1:30 p.m. Condon/Wheeler vs. Tri-City Prep (WA) (at Pendleton Convention), 1:30 p.m. Echo vs. Trout Lake (WA) (at Helix), 1:30 p.m. Mac-Hi vs. Liberty Christian (WA) (at Irrigon), 3 p.m. Burns vs. Weston-McEwen (at Pendleton Convention), 4:30 p.m. Ione vs. Nixyaawii (at Helix), 4:30 p.m. South Wasco at Helix, 7:30 p.m. Pilot Rock at Irrigon, 7:30 p.m. Hermiston at Crescent Valley, 7:30 p.m. Umatilla at Salem Academy Tourn., TBD Saturday Pendleton vs. Bend (at Mountain View), 11:30 a.m. Hermiston vs. Central (at Crescent Valley), 2:30 p.m. South Wasco at Echo, 4:30 p.m. Ione at Helix, 5:30 p.m. Condon/Wheeler vs. Weston-McEwen (at Pendleton Convention), 7:30 p.m. Umatilla at Salem Academy Tourn., TBD PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL Wednesday Hermiston vs. Oregon City (at Lake Oswego), 7 p.m. Thursday Mac-Hi vs. Pilot Rock (at Irrigon), Noon Ione vs. Echo (at Helix), Noon Heppner vs. Liberty Christian (WA) (at Irrigon), 3 p.m. Trout Lake (WA) at Helix, 3 p.m. Riverside at Stevenson (WA), 3:30 p.m. Waitsburg (WA) at Irrigon, 6 p.m. Nixyaawii vs. South Wasco (at Helix), 6 p.m. Pendleton at Mountain View, 7:45 p.m. Umatilla vs. Western Mennonite (at Salem Academy), 8 p.m. Hermiston at Lake Oswego Nike Shootout, TBD Friday Heppner vs. Waitsburg (WA), Noon Trout Lake (WA) vs. Echo (at Helix), Noon Condon/Wheeler vs. Tri-City Prep (WA) (at Pendleton Convention), Noon Mac-Hi vs. Liberty Christian (WA) (at Irrigon), 3 p.m. Burns vs. Weston-McEwen (at Pendleton Convention), 3 p.m. Ione vs. Nixyaawii (at Helix), 3 p.m. Pendleton vs. Lake Washington (WA) (at Bend), 4 p.m. Pilot Rock at Irrigon, 6 p.m. South Wasco at Helix, 6 p.m. Hermiston at Lake Oswego Nike Shootout, TBD Umatilla at Salem Academy Tournament, TBD Saturday Pendleton vs. Wilson (at Bend), 1:15 p.m. South Wasco at Echo, 3 p.m. Ione at Helix, 4 p.m. Condon/Wheeler vs. Weston-McEwen (at Pendleton Convention), 6 p.m. Hermiston at Lake Oswego Nike Shootout, TBD Umatilla at Salem Academy Tournament, TBD PREP WRESTLING Saturday Pendleton, Mac-Hi, Riverside, Irrigon, Echo, Heppner at Schimmel Memorial Tournament (Pendleton HS), 9 a.m. COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL Thursday BMCC vs. Everett (at North Idaho), 2 p.m. Friday EOU at Walla Walla, 1:30 p.m. Saturday EOU at Walla Walla, 8 p.m. COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Saturday BMCC at Pacific University JV, 4 p.m. Friday EOU at Walla Walla, 11:30 a.m. Saturday EOU at Walla Walla, 6 p.m. Football NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pct PF y-New England 12 3 0 .800 432 Buffalo 8 7 0 .533 280 Miami 6 9 0 .400 265 N.Y. Jets 5 10 0 .333 292 South W L T Pct PF y-Jacksonville 10 5 0 .667 407 Tennessee 8 7 0 .533 319 Houston 4 11 0 .267 325 Indianapolis 3 12 0 .200 241 North W L T Pct PF y-Pittsburgh 12 3 0 .800 378 Baltimore 9 6 0 .600 368 Cincinnati 6 9 0 .400 259 Cleveland 0 15 0 .000 210 West W L T Pct PF y-Kansas City 9 6 0 .600 388 L.A. Chargers 8 7 0 .533 325 Oakland 6 9 0 .400 291 Denver 5 10 0 .333 265 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East W L T Pct PF y-Philadelphia 13 2 0 .867 457 Dallas 8 7 0 .533 348 PA 290 343 371 356 PA 253 346 414 391 PA 284 272 322 382 PA 315 262 343 355 PA 289 332 Washington 7 8 0 .467 332 370 N.Y. Giants 2 13 0 .133 228 378 South W L T Pct PF PA x-New Orleans 11 4 0 .733 424 295 x-Carolina 11 4 0 .733 353 305 Atlanta 9 6 0 .600 331 305 Tampa Bay 4 11 0 .267 304 358 North W L T Pct PF PA y-Minnesota 12 3 0 .800 359 242 Detroit 8 7 0 .533 375 365 Green Bay 7 8 0 .467 309 349 Chicago 5 10 0 .333 254 297 West W L T Pct PF PA y-L.A. Rams 11 4 0 .733 465 295 Seattle 9 6 0 .600 342 306 Arizona 7 8 0 .467 269 337 San Francisco 5 10 0 .333 297 370 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division ——— Week 17 Sunday’s Games N.Y. Jets at New England, 10 a.m. Washington at N.Y. Giants, 10 a.m. Chicago at Minnesota, 10 a.m. Dallas at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. Green Bay at Detroit, 10 a.m. Cleveland at Pittsburgh, 10 a.m. Houston at Indianapolis, 10 a.m. Cincinnati at Baltimore, 1:25 p.m. New Orleans at Tampa Bay, 1:25 p.m. Kansas City at Denver, 1:25 p.m. Jacksonville at Tennessee, 1:25 p.m. Buffalo at Miami, 1:25 p.m. Arizona at Seattle, 1:25 p.m. San Francisco at L.A. Rams, 1:25 p.m. Oakland at L.A. Chargers, 1:25 p.m. Carolina at Atlanta, 1:25 p.m. NCAA Bowl Schedule TUESDAY Heart of Dallas Bowl Utah 30, West Virginia 14 Quick Lane Bowl Detroit Duke 34, Northern Illinois 16 Cactus Bowl Phoenix Kansas State 35, UCLA 17 WEDNESDAY Independence Bowl Shreveport, La. Southern Mississippi (8-4) vs. Florida State (6-6), 10:30 a.m. (ESPN) Pinstripe Bowl Bronx, N.Y. Boston College (7-5) vs. Iowa (7-5), 2:15 p.m. (ESPN) Foster Farms Bowl Santa Clara, Calif. Arizona (7-5) vs. Purdue (6-6), 5:30 p.m. (FOX) Texas Bowl Houston Texas (6-6) vs. Missouri (7-5), 6 p.m. (ESPN) THURSDAY Military Bowl Annapolis, Md. Virginia (6-6) vs. Navy (6-6), 10:30 a.m. (ESPN) Camping World Bowl Orlando, Fla. Oklahoma State (9-3) vs. Virginia Tech (9-3), 2:15 p.m. (ESPN) Alamo Bowl San Antonio Stanford (9-4) vs. TCU (10-3), 6 p.m. (ESPN) Holiday Bowl San Diego Washington State (9-3) vs. Michigan State (9-3), 6 p.m. (FOX) FRIDAY Belk Bowl Charlotte, N.C. Wake Forest (7-5) vs. Texas A&M (7-5), 10 a.m. (ESPN) Sun Bowl El Paso, Texas NC State (8-4) vs. Arizona State (7-5), Noon (CBS) Music City Bowl Nashville, Tenn. Kentucky (7-5) vs. Northwestern (9-3), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN) Arizona Bowl Tucson, Ariz. New Mexico State (5-6) vs. Utah State (6-6), 2:30 p.m. (CBSSN) Cotton Bowl Classic Arlington, Texas Southern Cal (11-2) vs. Ohio State (11-2), 5:30 p.m. (ESPN) SATURDAY TaxSlayer Bowl Jacksonville, Fla. Louisville (8-4) vs. Mississippi State (8-4), 9 a.m. (ESPN) Liberty Bowl Memphis, Tenn. Iowa State (7-5) vs. Memphis (10-2), 9:30 a.m. (ABC) Fiesta Bowl Glendale, Ariz. Washington (10-2) vs. Penn State (10-2), 1 p.m. (ESPN) Orange Bowl Miami Gardens, Fla. Wisconsin (12-1) vs. Miami (10-2), 5 p.m. (ESPN) Basketball NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Boston 27 10 Toronto 23 9 New York 17 16 Philadelphia 15 18 Brooklyn 12 21 Southeast Division W L Washington 19 15 Miami 18 16 Charlotte 12 21 Orlando 11 24 Atlanta 8 25 Central Division W L Cleveland 24 10 Detroit 19 14 Pct GB .730 — .719 1½ .515 8 .455 10 .364 13 Pct .559 .529 .364 .314 .242 Pct .706 .576 GB — 1 6½ 8½ 10½ GB — 4½ Indiana 19 15 .559 5 Milwaukee 17 15 .531 6 Chicago 11 22 .333 12½ WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W L Pct GB Houston 25 7 .781 — San Antonio 24 11 .686 2½ New Orleans 17 16 .515 8½ Memphis 10 24 .294 16 Dallas 10 25 .286 16½ Northwest Division W L Pct GB Minnesota 21 13 .618 — Oklahoma City 19 15 .559 2 Denver 19 15 .559 2 Portland 17 16 .515 3½ Utah 15 20 .428 6½ Pacific Division W L Pct GB Golden State 27 7 .794 — L.A. Clippers 14 19 .424 12½ Phoenix 13 23 .361 15 L.A. Lakers 11 21 .344 15 Sacramento 11 22 .333 15½ ——— Tuesday’s Games Dallas 98, Toronto 93 Detroit 107, Indiana 83 Miami 107, Orlando 89 Chicago 115, Milwaukee 106 San Antonio 109, Brooklyn 97 Phoenix 99, Memphis 97 Denver 107, Utah 83 L.A. Clippers 122 Sacramento 95 Wednesday’s Games Boston at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Dallas at Indiana, 4 p.m. Washington at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Brooklyn at New Orleans, 5 p.m. Denver at Minnesota, 5 p.m. New York at Chicago, 5 p.m. Toronto at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m. Cleveland at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Memphis at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Utah at Golden State, 7:30 p.m. NCAA Men’s Basketball Top 25 Schedule Wednesday’s Games No. 1 Villanova at DePaul, 4:30 p.m. (CBSSN) No. 6 Xavier at Marquette, 5:30 p.m. (FS1) Thursday’s Games No. 25 Creighton at No. 23 Seton Hall, 3:30 p.m. (FS1) Pacific at No. 20 Gonzaga, 6 p.m. (ESPN2) Women’s Basketball Top 25 Schedule Monday-Wednesday No games schedule Thursday’s Games No. 19 Green Bay at Wright State, 1:30 p.m. Illinois at No. 15 Maryland, 3 p.m. Penn State at No. 21 Michigan, 3 p.m. Syracuse at No. 2 Notre Dame, 4 p.m. No. 3 Louisville at Georgia Tech, 4 p.m. Jacksonville at No. 13 Florida State, 4 p.m. No. 9 West Virginia at TCU, 4:30 p.m. No. 24 Oklahoma St. at Texas Tech, 4:30 p.m. Miss. Valley State at No. 5 Mississippi State, 5 p.m. No. 6 Baylor at Kansas State, 5 p.m. No. 8 Texas at Oklahoma, 5 p.m. No. 12 Ohio State at Nebraska, 5 p.m. No. 18 Villanova at Creighton, 5 p.m. SMU at No. 22 Texas A&M, 5 p.m. No. 23 Iowa at Wisconsin, 5 p.m. Hockey NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP W L OT Tampa Bay 35 26 7 2 Toronto 37 22 14 1 Boston 34 19 10 5 Montreal 36 16 16 4 Florida 36 15 16 5 Detroit 35 13 15 7 Ottawa 34 11 15 8 Buffalo 36 9 20 7 Metropolitan Division GP W L OT New Jersey 35 21 9 5 Columbus 37 22 13 2 Washington 37 22 13 2 N.Y. Rangers 36 19 13 4 N.Y. Islanders 36 19 13 4 Carolina 35 16 12 7 Pittsburgh 37 18 16 3 Philadelphia 36 15 13 8 Pts 54 45 43 36 35 33 30 25 GF GA 133 87 122 104 101 89 98 114 103 119 96 113 92 114 78 120 Pts 47 46 46 42 42 39 39 38 GF GA 113 103 105 99 114 107 117 104 130 127 99 109 104 118 99 103 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA St. Louis 38 23 13 2 48 113 94 Nashville 35 21 9 5 47 116 99 Winnipeg 37 20 11 6 46 121 105 Dallas 37 20 14 3 43 110 106 Chicago 35 17 13 5 39 103 94 Minnesota 36 18 15 3 39 102 106 Colorado 35 17 15 3 37 112 113 Pacific Division GP W L OT Pts GF GA Vegas 34 23 9 2 48 119 100 Los Angeles 37 22 11 4 48 109 85 San Jose 34 19 11 4 42 95 84 Anaheim 37 16 13 8 40 101 108 Calgary 36 18 15 3 39 101 106 Edmonton 36 17 17 2 36 108 113 Vancouver 37 15 17 5 35 98 121 Arizona 38 8 25 5 21 85 133 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. ———— Monday-Tuesday No games scheduled Wednesday’s Games Buffalo at N.Y. Islanders, 4 p.m. Montreal at Carolina, 4 p.m. Ottawa at Boston, 4 p.m. Columbus at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m. Detroit at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Nashville at St. Louis, 5 p.m. Washington at N.Y. Rangers, 5 p.m. Dallas at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Edmonton at Winnipeg, 5 p.m. Arizona at Colorado, 6 p.m. Vegas at Anaheim, 7 p.m.