SPORTS
TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2018
1B
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PENDLETON
Bucks take fi rst place behind four top fi nishers
Pendleton handily
tops competitors at
annual tournament
By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — It’s a
constant in Pendleton during
the holiday season.
In between Christmas
and New Years Day, the
Buckaroos welcome teams
across Oregon, and even
one from Washington, to the
Rollin Schimmel Memorial
Tournament. And just as
the tournament itself takes
place year in and year out at
Warberg Court, there’s one
team that remains unbeaten.
The Pendleton Buckaroos
dominated the all-day event
once again, and earned fi rst
place after racking up 247
points.
The efforts of Caleb
Tremper (113), Alex Rendon
(138), Brendon Bedolla (152)
and Ian Bannister (160) — all
of whom fi nished fi rst in their
respective weight classes —
catapulted Pendleton above
the rest of the competition,
leaving a 60-plus point
defi cit between itself and
second place Baker (184.5).
“We’re getting better,
I’m just happy to see us get
better,” head coach Fred
Phillips said. “We’re getting
older, we are still young —
we only have two seniors
— but I’m glad to see them
get better. We’re doing new
moves and we’re learning
and actually putting things
we work on in practice on the
mat, which I’m happy to see.
“I saw a lot of things
we have worked on in the
last few weeks today that
I was really happy to see
their improvement as far as
learning and being willing to
learn new techniques,” Phil-
lips added. “A lot of them
wrestled tough matches and
wrestled pretty hard, too.”
Tremper’s fi rst place
fi nish set the tone for the rest
of the Bucks, as he outlasted
Kiez White of Mac-Hi to win
by a 17-7 major decision. It
was his fi rst and only bout
of the day as he received
byes in the previous three
rounds.
The lull had little to
no effect on Tremper’s
performance, as he had
a 5-1 advantage after the
second round and then
extended his lead in the
fi nal round.
Both Tremper and
White were taking a
beating. White fell into the
scorers table in the third
round and Tremper had to
fi ght off many of White’s
attacks.
In the fi nal seconds of
the bout, tensions were
See SCHIMMEL/3B
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Chris Chambers, of Pendleton, wrestles Ridgeview’s
Ethyne Reid to victory Saturday during the Rollin Schim-
mel Wrestling Tournament in Pendleton in the 132-pound
class.
College Football Playoffs
Pro Basketball
Bama rolls into title game
McCollum
leads Blazers
over Bulls
Portland outlasts Chicago in
overtime, will continue road
tip in Cleveland on Tuesday
By DAN HAYES
Associated Press
CHICAGO — C.J. McCollum scored
25 of his 32 points after halftime, including
the tiebreaking basket with 56.5 seconds
remaining in overtime, and the Portland Trail
Blazers beat the Chicago Bulls 124-120 on
Monday night.
NBA
Al-Farouq
Aminu
added a season-high 24
points and Evan Turner
also had his season best
Portland
with 22 for Portland,
which
was
without
leading scorer Damian
Lillard for a fi fth straight
game.
Kris Dunn scored 22
Chicago
points and Nikola Mirotic
had 18 points off the
bench for Chicago, which
blew a late lead for a
second straight game. The Bulls lost for only
the fourth time in 14 games since Mirotic
returned to the lineup.
Lauri Markkanen fi nished with 19 points,
including a jumper from the corner that tied
it at 120 with 1:14 left in overtime.
McCollum then made his short fl oater and
added a pair of late free throws.
McCollum and Aminu, who made 5-of-6
3-pointers after halftime, carried the Blazers’
offense as they rallied from a seven-point
defi cit.
After scoring four straight points to tie it
at 112, McCollum missed two tries to pull
ahead in the fi nal 36 seconds of regulation.
Led by Mirotic and Bobby Portis, the
Bulls’ bench helped them overcome a
sluggish start. Each had nine points in a
second quarter in which Chicago’s reserves
outscored Portland’s 18-7. Mirotic hit a deep
3-pointer with 5:21 left before the half to
give the Bulls a 43-39 lead after they trailed
by as many as 10 points early.
Portis fi nished with 14 points and seven
rebounds. Neither Mirotic nor Portis played
the fi nal 7 1/ 2 minutes of regulation or
overtime.
Pat Connaughton had 16 points for Port-
land.
Lillard missed his fi fth straight game
with a right hamstring strain. Expected to be
a game-time decision, Lillard, who hasn’t
played since Dec. 20, was ruled out early.
Portland coach Terry Stotts wasn’t sure if
Lillard would play on Tuesday at Cleveland.
124
AP Photo/Butch Dill
Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts (2) and defensive lineman Da’Ron Payne (94) hoist the bowl trophy after defeating
Clemson in the Sugar Bowl semi-fi nal playoff game for the NCAA college football national championship in New Orleans.
By PAUL NEWBERRY
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — The
rubber match of the Alabama-
Clemson trilogy was a total
dud compared to the previous
meetings.
Except to the Crimson Tide
defense, which will remember it
as a thing of beauty.
In a game where every yard
was a struggle, the ‘Bama
defenders took matters into their
own hands. The Tide’s defense
scored a pair of touchdowns
just 13 seconds apart in the third
quarter to turn an offensive slog
into a 24-6 rout of defending
national champion Clemson in
the Sugar Bowl semifi nal game
Monday night.
“That was a relentless defen-
sive attitude,” said coach Nick
Saban, who earned another shot
at his record-tying sixth national
title. “They were warriors out
there on the fi eld. I couldn’t
be more proud of the way a
bunch of guys competed for 60
minutes.”
It was quite a contrast to the
teams’ last two games, both
high-scoring classics with the
national title on the line , not to
mention the Rose Bowl semi-
fi nal that preceded it. Georgia
knocked off Oklahoma 54-48
in a double-overtime thriller
that wasn’t decided until the
Alabama was on its second
possession in the Big Easy.
There would be no drama
in the nightcap. With Deshaun
Watson off to the NFL,
top-ranked Clemson (12-2)
simply had no answer for the
Crimson Tide’s latest group of
defensive standouts, setting up
an all-Southeastern Conference
showdown for the national
title — with Saban matched
against his former defensive
coordinator, Georgia coach
Kirby Smart.
“I’m proud of the job he’s
done,” Saban said.
Clemson was fortunate to
be down only 10-3 at halftime
against the fourth-ranked Tide
(12-1), and actually closed the
gap with a fi eld goal after Jalen
Hurts fumbled on the fi rst play
of the second half.
But any thoughts of a Tiger
rally were snuffed out by the
time the third quarter was done.
It began with 308-pound
defensive tackle Da’Ron Payne
picking off a wobbly pass, the
ball fl uttering through the air
after besieged Clemson quarter-
back Kelly Bryant was hit as a
threw — a familiar sight on this
night.
Payne rumbled 21 yards on
the return, even showing off
an impressive open-fi eld move
that eluded running back Travis
Etienne’s attempted tackle,
and drew a 15-yard personal
foul penalty when Tremayne
Anchrum yanked him down
with a horse collar.
After Alabama drove to a
fi rst down at the Clemson 1,
Payne re-entered the game —
presumably to add another big
body for blocking purposes.
That’s certainly what Clemson
was thinking, totally biting
when Hurts faked the handoff.
Payne slipped open near the
right pylon and hauled in the
touchdown pass, even managing
to get both feet down before the
celebration commenced beyond
the sideline.
“I’ve got gold hands,”
quipped Payne, who was picked
as the game’s defensive MVP.
A bit shell-shocked by that
turn of events, Clemson was
thoroughly demoralized after
its next offensive play. Bryant’s
pass defl ected off the hands of
Deon Cain and was intercepted
by linebacker Mack Wilson,
who returned it 18 yards for
another touchdown.
Just like that, Alabama had
an 18-point lead.
They could’ve called it right
then.
“Just incredibly disappointed
in our performance,” Clemson
coach Dabo Swinney said. “But
congratulations to Alabama.
They were the better team today.
No doubt about it.”
The Tide, which began
the season in Atlanta beating
Florida State , will return to
Mercedes-Benz Stadium next
Monday night to face No. 3
Georgia and give Saban a shot
at his sixth title, which would
match Bear Bryant.
Saban has four champion-
ships in the last eight years at
Alabama, along with a BCS title
at LSU during the 2003 season.
120
Sports shorts
Thomas to make debut with
Cavs against Portland
CLEVELAND (AP) — The agonizing
wait to play again is over for Isaiah Thomas.
Vengeance on the Celtics is still on hold.
Thomas, sidelined with a hip injury since
last season’s Eastern Conference
fi nals, will make his debut for the
Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday
night against the Portland Trail
Blazers.
After months of rehab, the
All-Star point guard will take the
fl oor for the fi rst time with the
Thomas
Cavaliers, who acquired him last
summer in the blockbuster trade
that sent Kyrie Irving to the Celtics.
Coach Tyronn Lue said Thomas will come
off the bench and initially will play limited
minutes. Also, he will not play in back-to-back
games as he builds up strength, which means he
won’t face the Celtics on Wednesday in Boston.
“Every season’s a little
bit different. Every
season you go through
tests and challenges.
It’s going to try to pull
you apart. It’s going to
test you, and it’s going
to test your mental
toughness and our
players hung in there.”
— Sean McDermott
Buffalo’s head coach said after
the team clinched the AFC’s sixth
and fi nal playoff berth ending a
17-year postseason drought —
the longest in North America’s
four major professional sports.
Washington star DL Vita Vea
declares for NFL draft
SEATTLE (AP) — Washington standout
defensive lineman Vita Vea, the Pac-12
Conference defensive player of the year, has
declared for the NFL draft.
Vea announced the expected
decision in a lengthy post on
social media on Monday. Vea
hinted following Washington loss
to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl
he would be leaving early for the
NFL, where he’s expected to be a
fi rst-round pick.
Vea nearly left Washington
Vea
after his sophomore year but
opted to stay for his junior season.
He was a disruptive force on the defensive line
and was voted the conference defensive player
of the year by the league’s coaches. He was
the fi rst Washington player named defensive
player of the year in the conference since 1996
and just the fourth defensive player in school
history to be player of the year.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1996 — No. 1 Nebraska
demolishes No. 2 Florida
62-24 in the Fiesta Bowl
to become the fi rst repeat
champion in 16 years.
2015 — Greg Ward throws
three touchdowns in the fi nal
3:41 of the Armed Forces
Bowl, two after Houston
recovered onside kicks, and
completes a game-winning
2-point conversion as the
Cougars beat Pittsburgh
35-34 with an improbable
comeback. Pitt led 31-6 with
14 minutes left in the game
when Houston goes on to the
biggest comeback in an FBS
game this season, and the
third-largest in a bowl game.
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