Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2018)
SPORTS WEEKEND, JANUARY 20-21, 2018 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS HERMISTON Dawgs show teeth in league opener Sound defense, high octane offense propel Hermiston past The Dalles By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ East Oregonian HERMISTON — If you ask the Hermiston boys basketball team about the losing skid that started late December and chased them into the new year, they just brush it off. For all intents and purposes, the Bulldogs came into Friday’s game with a clean slate — an 0-0 record as they began Columbia River Conference play with a simple message. “The message was, you can’t worry about the past,” head coach Casey Arstein said. “We know we lost some games we should have won but at the same time I thought even games we lost we prepared for, got a little bit better and we’ve played Boys Basketball The Dalles Hermiston 61 78 good competition and that’s huge going into league.” Hermiston hosted The Dalles on Friday for the fi rst of a nine-game league schedule, and drew away for a 78-61 victory. It was the most points the Bulldogs (6-9 overall, 1-0 CRC) have scored all season, and their aggressiveness on offense showed in the opening quarter. They came out with a 25-19 lead over the River- hawks (8-7, 0-1) behind eight early points from junior Adrian Mendez. Mendez fi nished with 18 points on the night. Hermiston’s press forced The Dalles to commit six turnovers in the opening quarter. The Bulldogs moved well in transition, passing along the perimeter before fi nding Mendez under the basket for an easy lay-in. “When you play with energy and emotion, good things happen,” Arstein said. “I thought the boys shared the ball pretty well. We weren’t shooting it like we did against La Grande (on Tuesday) but we hit some outside shoots, opened up and Adrian did a good job spacing inside and guys were looking for him.” Hermiston extended its lead to as many as 18 points before the half. After going on a 13-4 run to push the score to 41-23 and force a Dalles’ timeout, the River- hawks looked to their bench and their top scorer, junior Josh Nisbet, to cut their defi cit to only 11. Nisbet continued to fi nd good looks on offense and hit three of his four 3-pointers in the third quarter to keep The Dalles’ chances alive. After hitting the back-to- back threes with a little over three minutes left in the third, he brought the Riverhawks within fi ve — their narrowest margin of the night. But just as quickly as See DAWGS/3B Prep Roundup Carillo, Roa put in game winners for Irrigon boys East Oregonian Photo by Ellen Bishop Mushing through the snow Enterprise veterinarian Jereld Rice starts his team on the 200-mile event at the Eagle Cap Extreme sled dog race Thursday near Joseph. This Iditarod-qualifying race is Rice’s fi rst sled dog race ever. He is competing against six other experienced mushers from Montana and Idaho. The race is expected to conclude on Saturday. For updates, visit www.eastoregonian.com. Women’s College Basketball Oregon State topples Oregon in OT PAC-12 By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer CORVALLIS — Kat Tudor made seven 3-pointers and fi nished with a career-high 34 points, and No. 18 Oregon State snapped No. 7 Oregon’s nine- game winning streak with an 85-79 overtime victory Friday night. Marie Gulich added 28 points and 15 rebounds for the Beavers (14-4, 5-2 Pac-12), who extended their Civil War rivalry winning streak over the Ducks to 14 games. Sabrina Ionescu had a career- high 35 points for the Ducks (17-3, 6-1), including a 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left at the end of regulation that sent the game into overtime. Gulich’s turnaround jumper with 1:42 left in the extra period gave the Beavers an 80-77 lead. She made one free throw to extend the lead. Oregon Oregon State 79 85 Ionescu made two of three foul shots to close the Ducks within 81-79, but Katie McWil- liams made a 3-pointer and free throw with 15 seconds left to put it out of reach. Hebard fi nished with 24 points for the Ducks. The Ducks announced shortly before the game that they would be without senior guard Lexi Bando because of a leg injury. No other details were available. The team said Bando, a starter averaging 10.5 points per game, will not be available for Sunday’s rematch in Eugene, either. McGwire started in her place. Oregon trailed by as many as 12 points in the fi rst half, but Hebard’s layup tied it at 57 with 6:17 left in regulation. Her short jumper gave Oregon a brief 59-58 lead, but Gulich answered with a baseline jumper. The teams traded the lead down the stretch. Mikayla Pivec made a 3-pointer to give the Beavers a 72-71 lead with 49 seconds left and Katie McWilliams added a pair of free throws. Hebard and Tudor both missed one of two free throws before Ionescu nailed a 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left to send it to overtime. The Beavers had jumped out to an early 17-8 lead after a 3-pointer and free throw from Tudor. She made another 3 to give the Beavers a 28-17 lead at the end of the fi rst quarter. The sophomore guard led all scorers in the opening period with 10 points, including all three 3-point attempts. Collectively, the Beavers made their fi rst seven 3-point tries and nine of their fi rst 10. Oregon closed the gap in the second quarter when Ionescu raced to chase a ball that rolled half-way across the court then calmly drained a 3-pointer to pull within 28-24. But the Ducks couldn’t get any closer than four points and trailed 42-36 at the half. Ionescu and Tudor each had 18 points. Tudor’s 3-pointer put the Beavers up 49-38 in the third. The Ducks pulled within 51-48 on McGwire’s jumper, but Gulich answered with a layup on the other end before Maite Carzola’s basket to keep Oregon within 53-50 going into the fourth quarter. Hebard’s layup got the Ducks within one, but they were unable to get closer until her basket tied it at 57 with 6:17 left. Oregon is off to its best start in conference play since joining the Pac-10 in 1986. The Ducks were coming off a 74-64 victory at home over then-No. 18 Arizona State. IRRIGON — The Irrigon boys basketball team escaped Friday night with a thrilling overtime victory. The Pirates outlasted the visiting Hilanders 54-52 in single overtime. Burns, who came to Irrigon unde- feated in league, took an early lead after the fi rst quarter. Up 20-15, the Hilanders (9-8 overall, 2-1 Eastern Oregon League) were held to single digits in the second quarter while the Knights (14-2, 3-1) were preparing their comeback. They scored 10 points in the second to cut their defi cit to 28-25 going into halftime. Both teams came out of the break with new energy but it was the 10-point performance from Irrigon in the fourth quarter that forced the game into over- time. The Knights game winning shot were actually two shots. After senior Eric Carillo hit his two free throw attempts to knot the score at 52-52, fellow senior Adrian Roa stepped up to the charity stripe. Both shots fell and Irrigon was up 54-52. Burns would foul Roa yet again with second remaining, but this See ROUNDUP/3B AP Photo/Bill Sikes Will the Pats need a hand? New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady wears gloves as he ar- rives to speak to the media, Friday, in Foxborough, Mass. The Patriots host the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC championship on Sunday in Foxborough. Playoff previews, Page 2B Sports shorts Koepka out until the Masters with wrist injury DALLAS (AP) — U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka has a wrist injury that will keep him out until the Masters. Koepka is not sure how he injured his left wrist. He was coming off a nine-shot victory at the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan when he noticed discomfort at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas the fi rst week of December. A month of rest didn’t help. Koepka said at Kapalua it was still bothering him, Koepka and he says he probably shouldn’t have played. Doctors discovered a partial tear in the tendon. The recovery is expected to be eight to 12 weeks of rest and therapy. The injury means Koepka will miss Phoenix and Pebble Beach, along with the Honda Classic and two World Golf Championships ahead of the Masters. “I never played the third set so long, so I’m really happy I could stay and win it. I’m almost dead.” — Simona Halep top-ranked U.S. tennis player, after defeating fellow American Lauren Davis 4-6, 6-4, 15-13 in a 3 hour, 45 minute match at the Australian Open. When asked about an ankle injury she said “My ankle is, I don’t know how it is because I don’t feel it anymore!” NFL: Raiders complied with ‘Rooney Rule’ ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — The NFL said Friday that the Oakland Raiders complied with the “Rooney Rule” when they hired Jon Gruden as head coach. The league said a review found the Raiders conducted “bona fi de” interviews with minority candidates during their search for a replacement for the fi red Jack Del Rio. The “Rooney Rule” requires NFL teams to consider at least one minority candidate before making an offer to a head coaching candidate. The team offi cially hired Gruden on Jan. 6. The Fritz Pollard Alliance had called for an investigation last week out of concern that Raiders owner Mark Davis came to an agreement with Gruden before the team interviewed any minority candidates. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1891 — The International YMCA in Springfi eld, Mass. is the site of the fi rst offi cial basketball game. Peach baskets were used, but it wasn’t until 1905 that someone removed the baskets’ bottoms. 1980 — President Carter announces the U.S. Olympic team will not participate in the Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan the previous month. 1985 — Joe Montana passes for a Super Bowl record 331 yards and three touchdowns to lead the San Francisco 49ers to a 38-16 victory over the Miami Dolphins. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
