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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 3, 2018)
SPORTS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2018 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS PENDLETON Bucks get fi rst wins of 2018 Pendleton girls win sixth straight, boys stop losing skid By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian PENDLETON — For the fi rst 21 minutes of play Tuesday evening, Pendleton’s fi rst game of 2018 looked like a regrettable performance for the Buckaroos. The Buckaroo girls did not have the look of a team that was riding Girls a fi ve-game win Basketball streak, instead they looked like the young team that was lost early Dallas in the season, and trailed Dallas 31-21 with 5:25 left in the third quarter. “Sadly, that Pendleton might’ve been one of the poorest games we’ve played all year,” Pendleton coach Kevin Porter said. “We weren’t patient on offense, we forced the ball when we didn’t need to ... we just didn’t have the effort I thought we should’ve had to start tonight.” However, for the fi nal 13-plus minutes of the game, the Buckaroos played like a team on fi re. Pend- leton chipped away at Dallas’ lead as the third quarter ticked away, and continued to gain momentum in the fourth quarter while the Dragons stumbled. Over that fi nal 13-plus minute stretch, Pendleton outscored the Dragons 28-11 to steal a 49-42 win for its sixth consecutive victory. “I don’t know what switch they fl ipped, but I’m glad they fl ipped it,” Porter said. Kalan McGlothan powered Pendleton’s comeback with another monster game and yet another double-double. She fi nished with 25 points and 13 rebounds, with 17 points coming in the second half. Jaiden Lemberger was the only other Buckaroo in double fi gures with 13 points. Porter says that the way McGlothan performs and the productions she gives game after game is surprising, but not surprising at the same time. “She loves basketball and she puts the effort in,” Porter said. “She’s never going to get Prep Roundup Pirates take down Rockets Riverside girls win sixth straight game East Oregonian 42 49 Staff photo by Kathy Aney Kalan McGlothan (34), of Pendleton, goes up for a jumper as Zoe Whitlow (32), of Dallas, tries to block Tuesday at Warberg Court. outworked. She’s 5-foot-8 and plays like she’s 6-foot-8. I tell the kids every day to play at a level you’re opponent is not willing to play at, and I don’t have to tell her that, she just does it.” Pendleton (7-5) controlled most of the fi rst quarter, getting the ball inside to the posts and drawing fouls to earn the majority of its 12 fi rst- quarter points from the free throw line. But after a slow start, Dallas (6-3) roared back to take a 13-12 lead at the quarter break, and then held the lead for the entire second quarter for a 24-19 advantage at halftime. The Dragons slowly built up their advantage to its largest lead of 11 points with four minutes See BUCKS/3B BOARDMAN — There is no stopping the Riverside girls basketball team as the Pirates wrapped up the brunt of their nonleague schedule Tuesday. In the fi rst of two games at Riverside High, the Pirates hosted the Pilot Rock Rockets — who won three of their last fi ve games. The Rockets, however, were no match for the streaking Pirates as Riverside handed Pilot Rock a 45-35 loss. Led by junior Alondra Caldera, who scored a game- high 16 points, the Pirates (10-2) claimed their sixth consecutive victory. The Rockets (8-4) made things interesting to start, and held their own to give River- side a narrow 15-11 lead after the fi rst quarter. Both teams were held to single digits in the second quarter, but the Pirates were able to bounce back after the break and outscored Pilot Rock 22-14 in the second half. Along with Caldera’s game best performance, she notched fi ve assists and fi ve rebounds. For the Rockets, junior Kaitelyn Evans was the top scorer with 12 points. UP NEXT Riverside will travel to Nyssa Friday to open league play. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. Pilot Rock will host two nonleague games before it opens league play. First up on the schedule is a 6 p.m. matchup with Imbler on Friday. ——— PR 11 8 7 7 — 35 RHS 15 9 10 11 — 45 PILOT ROCK — K. Evans 12, S. Weinke 8, G. Austin 6, K. Deist 5, R. Oates 3, L. Brewer 1. RIVERSIDE — A. Caldera 16, F. Rosen 8, Br. Avalos 6, E. Daltoso 6, S. Wightman 4, A. Hernandez 3, C. Garcia 2. 3-pointers — PR 1, RHS 2. Free throws — PR 10-22, RHS 13-29. Fouls — PR 20, RHS 19. See PREPS/3B Pro Basketball Thomas has smashing debut as Cavs down Trail Blazers By TOM WITHERS Associated Press CLEVELAND — Isaiah Thomas showed fl ashes of what made him an All-Star in his long-awaited Cleve- land debut as the Cavaliers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 127-110 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night. Thomas scored 17 points and played 19 minutes in his fi rst game in seven months, an impressive return to action for the dynamic point guard. Thomas added three 3-pointers and three assists before leaving with 8:10 left and the Cavs Wade teamed NBA up by 12. up in the fourth LeBron quarter. James scored Thomas, Cleveland who fi nished 6 24 points, Portland Kevin Love of 12 from the had 19 and Jae fi eld, knocked Crowder added down a jumper 15 for the Cavs, who were and then fi red a pass toward coming off losses at Golden the baseline to a cutting State, Sacramento and Utah. Wade, who made a reverse Damian Lillard scored 25 layup. On Cleveland’s next for the Blazers after missing possession, Thomas spotted fi ve games with a hamstring up in the corner in front injury. Jusuf Nurkic added 23 of Cleveland’s bench and and CJ McCollum had 19 for buried a 3-pointer to give the Portland. Cavs a 100-91 lead. The Cavs were unable to A few moments later, separate from the Blazers James was sent in for until Thomas and Dwyane Thomas, who fi rst got a 110 127 hug from his teammate and another from coach Tyronn Lue as the crowd roared. Thomas hadn’t played since May 19 because of a torn labrum in his hip that ended his 2017 postseason with Boston and threatened to derail his career. But the 5-foot-9 playmaker, who inspired the Celtics and an entire city last year, patiently stuck with his rehab. With 4:33 left in the fi rst quarter, Thomas, wearing his familiar headband and No. 3, checked in to a loud ovation as Cleveland fans fi nally got to see a player See BLAZERS/3B AP Photo/Tony Dejak Cleveland’s Isaiah Thomas, right, drives past Portland Trail Blazers’ Shabazz Napier in Tuesday’s game in Cleveland. Sports shorts Bengals to keep Marvin Lewis as head coach through 2019 CINCINNATI (AP) — Coach Marvin Lewis got a two-year contract extension Tuesday, yet two more chances to try to get the Cincinnati Bengals that playoff victory that has eluded him for 15 seasons. The agreement came after a second straight losing season and two days of discussions with owner Mike Brown. Lewis has the second-longest active coaching tenure in the NFL, behind Bill Belichick’s 18 seasons with New Lewis England. Unlike Belichick, who has won fi ve Super Bowls and made two other appearances in the title game, Lewis is 0-7 in the playoffs, the worst such coaching record in NFL history. The Bengals have yet to win a playoff game since the 1990 season, the sixth-longest streak of futility in league history. “I think I’m the hottest guy in Buffalo right now. According to my Twitter, I think everybody’s loving us right now. Obviously that’s a crazy fan base and they’re all pretty excited.” — Andy Dalton The Bengals quarterback said of his role in Buffalo’s long-awaited playoff appearance. Dalton threw a 49-yard touch- down pass with 44 seconds left to eliminate the Ravens and open a spot for the Bills, who got the fi nal AFC wild-card berth. Arizona QB Carson Palmer retiring after 15 seasons in NFL PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Cardinals QB Carson Palmer is retiring after 15 NFL seasons. Palmer, who turned 38 last week, made the announcement in an open letter released Tuesday by the Cardinals. Palmer missed the last nine games of what would be his fi nal season with a broken left arm. He called his long professional career “the most incredible experience of my life.” Palmer The statement came one day after Cardinals coach Bruce Arians announced his retirement. Arians and Palmer spent the last fi ve seasons together. Palmer was a Heisman Trophy winner at USC and the No. 1-overall pick by Cincinnati in 2002. He threw for 46,247 yards, 12th-most in NFL history, in a career with the Bengals, Oakland and Arizona. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1920 — Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sells pitcher-outfi elder Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for $125,000 plus a $350,000 loan. 1993 — The Buffalo Bills stage pro football’s biggest comeback to beat the Houston Oilers 41-38 in overtime in the fi rst round of the NFL playoffs. 2016 — Jimmy Butler breaks Michael Jordan’s team record for points in a half, scoring 40 of his 42 after the break to lead the Chicago Bulls over the Toronto Raptors 115-113. Jordan had 39, also in the second half, in a game against Milwaukee in 1989. 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