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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 2018)
SPORTS Wednesday, January 17, 2018 East Oregonian Page 3B Washington State QB Tyler Hilinski found dead PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinski has died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The 21-year-old Hilinski was discovered in his apart- ment after he didn’t show up for practice Tuesday. A rifle “was recovered next to Hilinski and a suicide note was found,” according to the Pullman Police Department. “We are deeply saddened to hear the news of Tyler’s passing,” Washington State coach Mike Leach said in a statement. “He was an incredible young man and everyone who had the privilege of knowing him was better for it. The entire WSU community mourns as thoughts and prayers go out to his family.” Hilinski was the presump- tive starting quarterback AP Photo/Young Kwak, File In this Sept. 17, 2016 file photo, Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinski (3) runs onto the field with his teammates before an NCAA college football game against Idaho in Pullman, Wash. Hilinski has died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. going into next season. He started Washington State’s Holiday Bowl loss to Mich- igan State after Luke Falk was unable to play due to a wrist injury. “The tragic news today surrounding Tyler Hilinski is devastating to all. Tyler was a tremendous individual, great friend and teammate, and he will be deeply missed. Our hearts go out to his family and friends,” interim athletic director John Johnson said. “Earlier tonight, the football team was brought together and informed of the tragedy. There, they were met by campus and department counseling and psychological services, including athletics’ on-staff clinical psychologist and a licensed mental health counselor, along with WSU Athletics medical team. The university will continue to coordinate and provide ongoing counseling care for all student-athletes as long as needed.” Hilinski appeared in eight games during his sophomore season, throwing for 1,176 yards and seven touchdowns. His most memorable outing came in the second week of the season when he led Wash- ington State from a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Boise State 47-44 in triple overtime. Hilinski threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns coming off the bench, and was carried off the field after the victory. His only start came in the bowl game against Michigan State, although he played extensively in a loss to Arizona. Former Washington State linebackers coach Roy Manning, who recently left for a position at UCLA, tweeted , “Words can’t describe what I’m feeling right now. My heart is beyond saddened. Please pray for the family and all of us affected!” Washington State’s players took to social media in reaction to Hilinski’s death. “Ty you were a great teammate, friend, brother anything we needed you to be. You brought smiles to the people around you. I am sorry I could not be there for you when you needed a smile for yourself. Love you man,” defensive back Skyler Thomas wrote on Twitter . Fellow quarterback John Bledsoe also wrote on Twitter , “God, let Tyler find peace. Everyone please pray for the Hilinski family tonight. Heaven received a very special person.” Hilinski is from Clare- mont, California, and went to high school at nearby Upland. He arrived on campus in 2015 and redshirted before appearing in four games in 2016. DAWG HOUSE: Girls get first win of 2018 at home Continued from 1B 3-point of the night. Ortiz led the team with 29 points, while Smith was the only other player to hit double digits with 11. The Tigers (10-7) strug- gled to get anything going in the opening eight minutes. Their first basket was a free throw from GT Blackman, who finished with 15 points, but that was nearly three minutes into the game. La Grande’s top scorer Kaden Chandler was just one of three players to score in the first quarter for the Tigers. Chandler finished with 20 points, 14 of which were in the second half. It would take La Grande nearly two full quarters to finally find its rhythm. The Tigers went on 9-2 run to cut their deficit to only five points going into the break. Hermiston had a tight grip on its 28-23 lead, something they weren’t able to come by so quickly on the road against La Grande. The two teams traded buckets in the third quarter, but the Tigers never quite got within reach. It was only after another short run capped off by Cade Reed dishing in the layup as time expired that La Grande was back in it. “I was about ready to sit down, I thought we’d have a 10 point lead and stretch it to 12 but they play hard,” Arstein said. The Tigers would cut the lead down to as little as two points, but the Bulldogs didn’t budge. Hermiston played sound, smart ball the last few minutes — something that was a rarity early in the season — and with the help of some clutch free throws from Smith and Staff photo by Kathy Aney Staff photo by Kathy Aney Hermiston’s Jordan Thomas (34) goes up for a jumper Tuesday against La Grande at the Dawg House. Andrew Earl, of Hermiston, drives to the basket during Tuesday’s game against La Grande at the Dawg House. Andrew Earl, the Bulldogs held on to the lead. Earl’s efforts off the bench was the highlight of Hermis- ton’s defense. Despite some missed opportunities by the sophomore in the first half, Earl had to back-to-back buckets to put the Bulldogs up by two possessions. Then, on the final inbound with 7.6 seconds left on the clock, Earl jumped in front of a Tiger for a steal and was fouled on his breakaway to the basket. He sunk both and pushed the lead to 66-59. La Grande hit a three to eclipse 60 points in the final two seconds, but Earl had Girls basketball Hermiston got its first win of the new year Saturday against the Tigers, and earned the sweep after a 50-41 victory at home. “Any type of win for us right now is helpful,” head coach Juan Rodriguez said with a smile. It was one of Hermiston’s better starts, although it wasn’t the prettiest of perfor- mances overall. The Bulldogs (4-11) got off to a 22-2 lead after the first quarter, and pushed the pace to frustrate the Tigers (7-9). “Tonight we came out fast, already sealed the deal. “He’s an athletic kid, only a sophomore, and it’s nice to have a kid off the bench to provide a spark and he’s very quick when he wants to be,” Arstein said of Earl. Arstein dug deep into his bench, playing 10 of his 13 players. And for the guys who didn’t touch the rock, their efforts were still noted. Hermiston will stay at home, bringing the momentum of its first win in nearly three weeks to the league opener. The Bulldogs will host The Dalles Riverhawks at 7 p.m. Friday. kind of like what I expected,” Rodriguez said. It took La Grande nearly half the first quarter to score its first basketball, a lay-in from Ella Dunlap — who finished with 11 points. That’s all the Tigers would get while Hermiston’s Hannah Thompson led the Bulldogs’ efforts. The senior scored eight of her 10 points in the opening quarter, two being back-to- back three’s. Only one other player would reach double figures for Hermiston, and that was Jordan Thomas with a game- high 22 points. “Jordan has come a long ways,” Rodriguez said. “She’s finally developing that aggressiveness that we need from her and she’s establishing herself down low, and not only that but she’s finishing which is big.” The Tigers continued to struggled until the final minutes of the second quarter, when La Grande went on a 9-5 to cut its deficit to 29-13 going into halftime. That momentum stuck with the visiting team, as it opened the third quarter with a quick 9-2 run to trail by nine, 35-24. “We just got tired and didn’t deny (Camryn Collman) the ball as well, and didn’t keep her on the side of the court. She got loose, and when she gets loose she scores and does things like that. Honestly, defensively we just stopped exectuting from the second quarter on.” Despite not getting a shot off in the first quarter, Collman — who led the team with 16 points — was key in La Grande’s efforts late in the game. Nearly all of her points came in the second half, 12-of-16 to be exact, and she was able pull the Tigers within two possessions after nailed both her free throws with only 37.2 seconds left. The Bulldogs, who have struggled from the charity stripe, made three of four free throws in the final 18 seconds to build up its lead. Hermiston will start league play on the road in The Dalles, and will return home on Jan. 26 to welcome Hood River Valley. ——— Contact Alexis at aman- sanarez@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4542. Follow her on Twitter @almansanarez. ROUNDUP: Baker gets best of Pendleton in final non-conference tune-up Continued from 1B RIVERSIDE 60, STAN- FIELD 46 — The Riverside Pirates have had more losses than wins as of late, but a strong performance at home led by Christian Rea — who finished the night with a double-double led Riverside to a 60-46 victory over Stan- field. Riverside jumped out to a commanding 27-11 lead after the first quarter and never let up. Rea finished with 16 points and 11 steals and got some help from Mario Madrigal, who was the only other Pirate (8-8) to finish in single digits. For Stanfield, the Tigers (8-10) looked to the reliable Brody Woods, who ended the night with 15 points. The Tigers will return home, and with it jump right back into league play. Stan- field will welcome Weston- McEwen for a 4 p.m. tipoff Saturday. The Pirates will also have the home-court advantage for their next four games. Up first, a matchup against Vale at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Girls basketball BAKER 56, PEND- LETON 41 — At Baker, Pendleton was bested by a strong closing performance from the home team. Baker was able to extend its lead by over 10 points going into halftime, and never let up as the Bulldogs defeated the Buckaroos 56-41. “Baker is a really food team,” head coach Kevin Porter said. “We weren’t full strength, which isn’t an excuse. ... It was a tough matchup.” Pendleton was able to stay toe-to-toe in the first quarter, and got out to a quick 10-9 lead. But a 19-point perfor- mance in the second and a total of 18 point in the third gave Baker a 46-28 lead going into the final quarter. Leading the Bulldogs (15-1) was Kaeli Flanagan with 21 points. For the Buckaroos (8-6), Kalan McGlothan finished with a team-high 14 points and 12 rebounds. Pendleton has made it through its non-league schedule, and will start league play on Friday at home. The Bucks will face off against Hood River Valley at 7 p.m. RIVERSIDE 45, STAN- FIELD 8 — Riverside was dominant on Tuesday night against Stanfield. Hosting the Tigers, the Pirates held the visitors to zero points in the fourth quarter on the way to a 45-8 victory. Abby Hernandez was Riverside’s best leading scorer with 13 points, while Stan- field’s Kendra Hart finished with a team-best of only four. Stanfield will hit the court again Saturday, facing Weston-McEwen at 5:30 in Stanfield. For Riverside, Vale will travel to Boardman for a 6 p.m. matchup Friday. SCOREBOARD Local slate PREP BOYS BASKETBALL Thursday Heppner at Culver, 4:30 p.m. Pendleton at Hood River, 7 p.m. Friday The Dalles at Hermiston, 7 p.m. Pilot Rock at Weston-McEwen, 7 p.m. Joseph at Nixyaawii, 7 p.m. Nyssa at Umatilla, 7:30 p.m. Vale at Riverside, 7:30 p.m. Burns at Irrigon, 7:30 p.m. Ione at Condon/Wheeler, 7:30 p.m. Arlington at Mitchell/Spray, 7:30 p.m. Echo at Cove, 7:30 p.m. Pine Eagle at Helix, 7:30 p.m. Saturday Vale at Umatilla, 3 p.m. Weston-McEwen at Stanfield, 4 p.m. Heppner at Pilot Rock, 4 p.m. Ontario at Mac-Hi, 4:30 p.m. Nyssa at Irrigon, 4:30 p.m. Burns at Riverside, 4:30 p.m. Nixyaawii at Wallowa, 5 p.m. Helix at Echo, 5 p.m. Condon/Wheeler at Horizon Christian, 5:30 p.m. Arlington at South Wasco, 5:30 p.m. Sherman at Ione, 5:30 p.m. PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL Thursday Heppner at Culver, 6 p.m. Hood River at Pendleton, 7 p.m. Friday Pine Eagle at Helix, 5 p.m. Burns at Irrigon, 6 p.m. Vale at Riverside, 6 p.m. Nyssa at Umatilla, 6 p.m. Ione at Condon/Wheeler, 6 p.m. Arlington at Mitchell/Spray, 6 p.m. Joseph at Nixyaawii, 6 p.m. Echo at Cove, 6 p.m. Hermiston at The Dalles, 7 p.m. Pilot Rock at Weston-McEwen, 7:30 p.m. Saturday Nyssa at Irrigon, 3 p.m. Burns at Riverside, 3 p.m. Ontario at Mac-Hi, 3 p.m. Nixyaawii at Wallowa, 3 p.m. Helix at Echo, 3:30 p.m. Sherman at Ione, 4 p.m. Condon/Wheeler at Horizon Christian, 4 p.m. Arlington at South Wasco, 4 p.m. Vale at Umatilla, 4:30 p.m. Weston-McEwen at Stanfield, 5:30 p.m. Heppner at Pilot Rock, 5:30 p.m. PREP WRESTLING Wednesday Pendleton at Hood River, TBD Hermiston at The Dalles, TBD Thursday Mac-Hi at Baker, 5 p.m. Friday Heppner at Grant Union Tournament Echo at Padilla Invite (ID) Hermiston at Liberty Invitational Saturday Mac-Hi, Riverside, Irrigon, Echo at Hep- pner Tournament Hermiston at Liberty Invitational Pendleton at Wilsonville Invite PREP SWIMMING Saturday Pendleton, Hermiston at Hood River Valley COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL Friday EOU at Corban, 7:30 p.m. Saturday BMCC at Walla Walla CC, 4 p.m. EOU at Northwest Christian, 7:30 p.m. COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Friday EOU at Corban, 5:30 p.m. Saturday BMCC at Walla Walla CC, 2 p.m. EOU at Northwest Christian, 5:30 p.m. COLLEGE WRESTLING Saturday EOU vs. Warner Pacific/Embry-Riddle (AZ) (at Portland), 1 p.m. Prep Scores Boys Basketball Tuesday Ione 66, Mitchell/Spray 51 Liberty 64, Hood River 55 Mountain View 71, Bend 53 Ontario 37, New Plymouth, Idaho 32 Pendleton 50, Baker 49 Prairie City 74, Burnt River 29 Riverside 60, Stanfield 46 Sherman 68, Dufur 37 Girls Basketball Tuesday Baker 56, Pendleton 41 Bend 47, Mountain View 40 DeSales, Wash. 30, McLoughlin 25 Grant Union 54, Burns 43 Ione 51, Mitchell/Spray 42 New Plymouth, Idaho 59, Ontario 40 Prairie City 44, Burnt River 16 Riverside 45, Stanfield 8 Sherman 49, Dufur 39 The Dalles 44, Summit 43 Vale 35, Weiser, Idaho 29 Weston-McEwen 61, Waitsburg, Wash. 37 Basketball NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic W L Pct Boston 34 11 .756 Toronto 29 13 .690 Philadelphia 20 20 .500 New York 20 24 .455 Brooklyn 16 28 .364 Southeast W L Pct Miami 25 18 .581 Washington 25 19 .568 Charlotte 17 25 .405 Orlando 13 31 .295 Atlanta 12 31 .279 Central W L Pct Cleveland 26 17 .605 Indiana 24 20 .545 Milwaukee 23 20 .535 Detroit 22 20 .524 Chicago 17 27 .386 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest W L Pct Houston 30 12 .714 San Antonio 29 16 .644 New Orleans 23 20 .535 Memphis 14 28 .333 Dallas 15 30 .333 Northwest W L Pct Minnesota 29 17 .630 Oklahoma City 24 20 .545 Portland 23 21 .523 Denver 23 21 .523 Utah 17 26 .395 Pacific W L Pct Golden State 36 9 .800 L.A. Clippers 22 21 .512 Phoenix 16 29 .356 L.A. Lakers 15 28 .349 Sacramento 13 30 .302 GB — 3½ 11½ 13½ 17½ GB — ½ 7½ 12½ 13 GB — 2½ 3 3½ 9½ GB — 2½ 7½ 16 16½ GB — 4 5 5 10½ GB — 13 20 20 22 Tuesday’s Games Orlando 108, Minnesota 102 New Orleans 116, Boston 113, OT Denver 105, Dallas 102 Portland 118, Phoenix 111 Wednesday’s Games Washington at Charlotte, 4 p.m. Detroit at Toronto, 4:30 p.m. New Orleans at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. San Antonio at Brooklyn, 4:30 p.m. Golden State at Chicago, 5 p.m. L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m. Miami at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. New York at Memphis, 5 p.m. Utah at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Denver at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. Thursday’s Games Orlando at Cleveland, 4 p.m. Philadelphia at Boston, 4 p.m. Minnesota at Houston, 6:30 p.m. Indiana at Portland, 7 p.m. NCAA Men’s Basketball Top 25 Schedule Tuesday No. 12 Cincinnati at UCF, 4 p.m. (CBSSN) No. 20 Clemson at No. 15 North Carolina, 4 p.m. Wisconsin at No. 3 Purdue, 4 p.m. (ESPN) No. 18 Kentucky at South Carolina, 6 p.m. (ESPN) No. 4 Oklahoma at Kansas State, 6 p.m. (ESPNU) Wednesday No. 1 Villanova at Georgetown, 3:30 p.m. (FS1) No. 17 Auburn at Alabama, 4 p.m. (SECN) SMU at No. 7 Wichita State, 4 p.m. (ESPNU) No. 8 Texas Tech at Texas, 5 p.m. (LHN) No. 19 Seton Hall at Creighton, 5:30 p.m. (FS1) St. John’s at No. 11 Xavier, 5:30 p.m. (CBSSN) No. 22 OSU at Northwestern, 6 p.m. (BTN) No. 21 Tennessee at Missouri, 6 p.m. (SECN) No. 14 Arizona at Cal, 6 p.m. (PAC12) Iowa State at No. 24 TCU, 6 p.m. (ESNPU) No. 16 Arizona State at Stanford, 8 p.m. (PAC12) Pac-12 Schedule Wednesday No. 14 Arizona at Cal, 6 p.m. (PAC12) No. 16 Arizona St at Stanford, 8 p.m. (PAC12) NCAA Women’s Basketball Top 25 Schedule Tuesday Indiana at No. 14 Maryland, 4 p.m. No. 19 Michigan at No. 8 Ohio St., 4 p.m. No. 20 Iowa at Nebraska, 5 p.m. Wednesday No. 17 West Virginia at No. 12 Oklahoma State, 5 p.m. No. 4 Baylor at Iowa State, 6 p.m. Pac-12 Schedule Wednesday Washington at Washington St., 7 p.m. Hockey NHL Tuesday’s Games St. Louis 2, Toronto 1, OT New Jersey 4, N.Y. Islanders 1 N.Y. Rangers 5, Philadelphia 1 Dallas 4, Detroit 2 Nashville 1, Vegas 0 San Jose 3, Arizona 2, SO