SPORTS
WEEKEND, JANUARY 20-21, 2018
1B
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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.
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sports@eastoregonian.com