SPORTS
Saturday, January 6, 2018
East Oregonian
Page 3B
NIXYAAWII: Stewart scores 25, grabs 6 boards, 6 steals
Continued from 1B
were going to come at them
hard. However, once the
game tipped off the Golden
Eagles zapped the energy
right out of the Badgers
players and their group of
fans that made the trip over
the Blue Mountains.
Nixyaawii
outscored
Powder Valley 17-1 in the
first quarter, with Powder’s
lone basket on a made free
throw at the 2:44 mark. The
Badgers’ first made field goal
did not come until one minute
into the second quarter when
Megan Bingham sank a
3-pointer to make it a 19-4
game.
The Golden Eagles’
defense simply frustrated the
Badgers for all 32 minutes.
The Badgers averaged 52.5
points per game coming in,
but shot a dreadful 15 percent
(9-of-61) from the floor and
just 5-of-16 from the free
throw line with 20 turnovers.
“Our defense, wow,”
Maddern said. “We were
just rotating correctly and
they put so much pressure on
(Powder) without fouling and
that’s just hard to deal with.
We just wear teams down
eventually, like tonight. As
long as we play defense like
that, we’ll beat anybody.”
Stewart added “Our
length on the court and our
ability to work together is
what makes us special,” she
said. “If someone’s not in
their spot, someone will fill
in, we just work together in
a cycle.”
To go along with her 25
points, Stewart also added
six rebounds, six steals and
five assists. The other half
of Nixyaawii’s 1-2 punch,
Milan Schimmel was also
exceptional as she finished
with 21 points, eight
rebounds, eight steals, eight
assists and three blocks.
Katilynn Melton added 10
points to round out their
leading scorers.
“We knew they were
going to give us a big effort
so we’ve been preparing
for them,” Schimmel said.
“We’ve been counting down
the days and eventually it
came and we were ready for
them and we played a great
game tonight.”
BOYS HOOPS
NIXYAAWII
53,
POWDER
VALLEY
51 — It is easy to see how
increased offensive depth
has the Nixyaawii boys
basketball team looking like
a postseason contender.
No longer needing to rely
on star guard Mick Schimmel
to carry the offense, the
Golden Eagles have reaped
the benefits of players such
as Deven Barkley, Quanah
Picard and Dazan Sigo step-
ping in and stepping up to
help spark the hot start. That
depth was put to the test on
Friday night, and the Golden
Eagles passed. Barely.
Nixyaawii overcame foul
trouble and another ice cold
shooting night as they pulled
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Nixyáawii’s Mick Schimmel shoots the ball over Pow-
der Valley’s Dawson Smith in the Golden Eagles’ 53-51
win against the Badgers.
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Nixyáawii’s Mary Stewart drives up court guarded by Powder Valley’s Kim Williams
in the Golden Eagle’s 71-24 win against the Badgers on Friday in Mission.
out a 53-51 victory over
Powder Valley on Friday
night for the Golden Eagles’
fourth consecutive victory.
Powder Valley had a chance
to win at the buzzer, but a
3-pointer by Tanner Eubanks
clanked off the backboard
and rim to seal the win for
Nixyaawii.
“We’re for sure relieved,”
Nixyaawii coach Shane
Rivera said. “It’s nice to get
a win and it keeps us atop
of the league right now.
Powder’s a good team and
it’s nice to come out on top
even when we didn’t play
our best.”
The Golden Eagles (11-2
overall, 4-0 Old Oregon
League) shot just 31 percent
(21-of-67) in the game,
including numerous attempts
from close-range and wide-
open jumpers. Schimmel
finished with 14 points as
he was the primary focus
of the Badgers’ defense
with numerous doubleteams
throughout. And Picard and
Barkley, who have been the
Golden Eagles’ No. 2 and No.
3 scoring threats, combined
for just seven points as both
battled foul trouble in the
first and second half.
But that brought out
big performances from the
likes of Sigo and senior
Noah Enright when their
team needed them the most.
Enright scored a huge 14
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Nixyáawii’s Noah Enright shoots the ball guarded by
Powder Valley’s Roper Bingham in the Golden Eagles’
53-51 win against the Badgers.
points and played solid
defense, while Sigo scored
10 including a pair of key
3-pointers.
“It just feels amazing,”
Enright said of his game.
“When you’re hot, you gotta
keep shooting and I felt good
out in that game.”
Added Rivera, “They
each had their moments for
sure and we needed that. To
be competitive at the end of
the season, we need every-
body to step up and we can’t
be relying on one or two
guys. Obviously it’s nice to
have those one or two, but
when they’re off you need
guys that are capable and
we do have guys that are
capable.”
After a slow first quarter
that saw the Golden Eagles
trailing 11-8, they battled
through the shooting woes
to take a 21-17 lead into the
halftime break. After half-
time, it was Powder Valley
(7-4, 2-1) that made the first
move to take a 22-21 lead
before the Golden Eagles
took it right back and then
started to find a groove.
Nixyaawii outscored the
Powder Valley 17-8 over
the final 6:30 of the third
quarter, and carried that
momentum into the fourth
where they built a lead as
large as 13 points at 43-30
just 30 seconds into the final
frame.
However, the Badgers
were not done. They turned
up their defensive pressure
and locked in their offense to
go on a 13-4 run to get the
game within four points at
47-43 with just 4:43 left.
Eventually the Badgers
wittled the lead to three
points at 53-50 and drove
down the court with 20
seconds remaining and a
chance to get closer or tie the
game. The Badgers missed
a pair of 3-pointers but got
offensive rebounds on both,
later setting up what looked
like a 3-point shot attempt in
the corner by Omar Benites
with under five seconds left
and then controversy ensued.
As Benites rose for the
shot, he was fouled by
Enright which seemingly
gave Benites a chance to
tie the game with three free
throw attempts. However,
one of the two game offi-
cials, positioned under the
basket on the baseline, ruled
that Benites’ foot was on the
3-point line which meant it
was a two-shot foul rather
than a three-shot foul, much
to the displeasure of the
Powder Valley faithful.
Benites made the first
and intentionally missed
the second, which was
rebounded by a teammate
and kicked out to Eubanks
for the final shot, which
bounced the Golden Eagles’
way.
“It wasn’t great, but it
just feels amazing the way
our team came together,”
Enright said. “It was a good
win.”
————
Girls
PV
1 8
9
6 — 24
NCS
17 20 13 21 — 71
POWDER VALLEY — J. Ash 8, S. Kerns 5,
M. Bingham 5, A. Davis 4, J. Krieger 2.
NIXYAAWII — M. Stewart 25, M. Schim-
mel 21, K. Melton 10, T. Melton 6, E. Butler
6, E. Looney 3.
3-pointers — PV 1, NCS 4. Free throws —
PV 5-16, NCS 7-11. Fouls — PV 9, NCS 13.
Boys
PV
11 6 13 21 — 51
NCS
8 13 19 13 — 53
POWDER VALLEY — D. Smith 18, H. Da-
vis 9, M. Nesser 8, O. Benites 6, T. Eubanks
5, R. BIngham 5.
NIXYAAWII — N. Enright 14, M.
Schimmel 14, D. Sigo 10, D. Barkley 6, Ma.
Moses 4, W. Oatman 3, Q. Picard 1.
3-pointers — PV 5, NCS 6. Free throws —
PV 6-16, NCS 4-11. Fouls — PV 15, NCS 15.
————
Contact Eric at esinger@
eastoregonian.com
or
541-966-0839. Follow him
on Twitter @ByEricSinger.
PREPS: Irrigon tops rival Riverside in wrestling dual
Continued from 1B
Echo entered Friday’s game
winning only two of its last
five matchups. A high-scoring
first quarter gave the Cougars
(5-9 overall, 2-2 Old Oregon
League) an early advantage.
Echo remained in control
and led 26-21 at halftime. After
the break, the Eagles (6-3, 2-1)
tried their hand at a comeback
but were never able to caught
up to the Cougars.
Freshman Chase Murray led
Joseph with 11 points.
———
JHS
11 10 13 15 — 49
EHS
17 9 11 16 — 53
JOSEPH — Ch. Murray 11, T. Homan 11, Ca.
Murray 10, M. Ferre 6, J. Palma 6, K. Kilgore 3,
H. Miller 2.
ECHO — D. Craig 20, M. Marcum 18, T.
Mulder 4, Z. Gerhke 3, D. Curiel 3, C. White 3,
N. Scott 2.
3-pointers — JHS 5, EHS 4. Free throws —
JHS 8-14, EHS 9-18. Fouls — JHS 18, EHS 14.
HEPPNER 67, UNION
48 — Heppner hit the road for
its first game of the new year.
After an extended break, the
Mustangs didn’t hesitate to start
2018 with a bang.
Heppner handed Union a
67-48 loss on its home court,
and improved to 3-6 on the
season.
The Mustangs were led by
junior Trent Smith, who scored
a game-high 18 points.
For the Bobcats (5-6),
freshman
Keegan
Glenn
finished with a team-high 16
points.
———
HHS
10 19 23 15 — 67
UHS
14 12 10 12 — 48
HEPPNER — T. Smith 18, T. Carter 11, K.
Smith 9, W. Steagall 6, A. Lindsay 6, H. Nichols
4, B. Wolters 4, L. Burright 3, Da. Howard 2, J.
McAninch 2, De. Howard 2.
UNION — K. Glenn 16, R. Schoemaker 9, L.
Cloutier 8, J. Phillips 7, T. Lantis 4, H. Coon 2,
C. Kirkland 2
3-pointers — HHS 6, UHS 4. Free throws —
HHS 3-7, UHS 2-6.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
PILOT
ROCK
44,
IMBLER 34 — The Pilot Rock
Rockets were finally back home
after two tough road losses, and
with their return came a 44-34
victory over Imbler.
The struggling Panthers
moved to 3-9 on the season
after the 10-point defeat.
“It was a well balanced
game,” head coach Dan Deist
said.
Senior Kayla Deist led Pilot
rock with 10 points. For Imbler,
senior Hannah Kilpatrick
knocked down a game-high 17
points.
The Rockets (9-5) will host
one more game this week, a
4 p.m. matchup on Saturday
against Imbler.
———
IHS
6 3 15 10 — 34
PR
12 7 14 11 — 44
IMBLER — H. Kilpatrick 17, C. McGinness 10,
S. Combe 3, K. Barry 2, A. McDonald 2.
PILOT ROCK — K. Deist (10), G. Austin 9, S.
Weinke 7, R. Oates 7, B. Howland 5, K. Evans
4, L. Brewer 2.
3-pointers — IHS 2, PR 2. Free throws — IHS
16-8, PR 4-6. Fouls — IHS 8, PR 11.
JOSEPH 46, ECHO 43
— Echo was hoping to end its
skid as the Cougars wrapped
up their three-game homestand
Friday. They came close with
an 18-point fourth quarter to
chip away at their deficit, but
the streaking Joseph Eagles
held on to the lead to pull off a
46-43 win.
The Eagles (8-2) were led
by senior Alexis Sykora, who
scored 22 points.
For the Cougars (5-9), senior
Marti Huff knocked down 22
points of her own to lead Echo.
Behind Huff, sophomore
Rachel McCarty scored 11 —
the duo accounted for all but
one of Echo’s total points.
———
JHS
14 8
8 16 — 46
EHS
9 8
8 18 — 43
JOSEPH — A. Sykora 22, S. Albee 12, E. Hite
8, H. Miller 4.
ECHO — M. Huff 22, R. McCarty 11, L. Cox 1.
3-pointers — JHS 2, EHS 3. Free throws —
JHS 12-23, EHS 6-19. Fouls — JHS 22 (A. Syko-
ra fouled out), EHS 24 (A. Putname fouled out).
NYSSA 47, RIVERSIDE
35 — Riverside opened league
play Friday at Nyssa, where the
Bulldogs snapped the Pirates’
six-game winning streak.
It’s only Riverside’s third
loss of the season, and the
Pirates now sit at 11-3 overall
and 0-1 in the Eastern Oregon
League.
They will have a chance
to turn things around Tuesday
when their road trip continues
in Irrigon.
For the Bulldogs (7-6, 1-0), they will start a
three-game away stretch Jan. 13.
WRESTLING
RIVERSIDE — On Friday,
Irrigon defeated Riverside
42-30 in a duals meet. In six
of the seven bouts the Knights
came on the winning side of,
each wrestling pinned their
opponent anywhere from 0:45
to 4:27.
Irrigon’s Brady Harrington
had the fastest win by fall, as
he finished off Adolfo Martinez
in 45 seconds in the 195-pound
weight class.
Tucker McAllister (220) and
Kaleb Kendrick (285) followed
pinning their respective oppo-
nents in 1:27 and 2:54.
Riverside’s Yeidi Ramos
(106) and Fernando Ortega
(113), along with Andrew
Baker (126) and Christian
Reyes (132), earned 24 points
for the Pirates to give them the
advantage.
But Silvestre Vasquez (138),
Jose Aguilera (160) and Tanner
Mills (182) sealed the victory
for the Knights.
Riverside’s Ethan Snyder
(145) and Irrigon’s Alex Miran-
da-Walls (170) won by forfeit.
JOSEPH — At the Jo-Hi
tournament, Echo earned
three points on the first day of
competition. In the 145-pound
weight class Mychael Pointer
placed sixth.
Four Cougars are slated to
wrestle in Saturday’s quarter-
final bouts: Kyle Ranger (126),
Ethan Piercy (132), Kenneth
Bevan (195) and Logan Butler
(220).
AP Photo/Timothy J. Gonzalez
Oregon State’s Tres Tinkle (3) gets to the
basket past Oregon’s Kenny Wooten (1) in
Friday’s game in Corvallis.
BEAVERS:
Continued from 1B
BIG PICTURE
Oregon: Sophomore guard Payton Pritchard
came into the game leading the Ducks with 15.4
points per game, but he didn’t score on Friday
until there were 14 minutes remaining. He finished
with nine points. . Coach Dana Altman remains
two wins away from 200 for his career.
Oregon State: Thompson Jr. became the 40th
Oregon State player to join the 1,000 point club.
The junior now has 1,012. . Berger, a transfer from
UMass, scored a season-high 12 points.