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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 2018)
SPORTS TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2018 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS PILOT ROCK ATHENA Rockets continue to soar Speed reaches 1,000 career points Pilot Rock boys thump Culver, stay perfect in conference play By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian When Pilot Rock’s four seniors — Bryson Pierce, Riley Lankford, Chris Weinke and Boys Levi Thieme — were eighth graders, they Basketball sat in the stands as the varsity basketball team struggled their way to a Culver 1-23 overall record. Now as seniors, those four players are leading the Rockets to one of the school’s best seasons in the last decade. Pilot Rock Pilot Rock thumped the Culver Bulldogs 54-35 on Saturday night to get to 14-6 overall and a perfect 5-0 mark in the Columbia Basin Conference. “We’re having a lot of fun, obvi- ously,” Thieme said afterward while wearing a wide smile. “Going out and winning when we’ve had rough seasons in the past, it’s really nice.” From 2008-2013, the Rockets put together three 20-win seasons, including back-to-back seasons in 2011-12 and 2012-13 that came with district titles. But then over the next three seasons the team won a combined 16 games. Last season gave a glimpse to the current Rockets’ potential as the team went 11-10 overall and 4-4 in a loaded league, narrowly missing out on a trip to the district tournament with a play-in loss to Weston-McEwen. However this season, with a rela- tively weaker league, the Rockets have taken full control of the CBC and look poised for a trip back to the postseason. “What’s driving us is those seniors are good leaders, good players, and they play together,” Pilot Rock coach Eric Smidt said. “It’s not hard to coach this team. Mike Weinke coached those guys last year and prepped them well, I’ve just tried to give them something to play for and get them out there on the floor and there’s not a lot I have to do. “They play defense and rebound really well and that’s really what drives it.” See ROCKETS/2B TigerScots’ senior the 9th to reach mark in school history 35 East Oregonian 54 Staff photo by Kathy Aney Riley Lankford (1), of Pilot Rock, goes up for a shot as Culver’s Weston Basl (3) defends during Saturday’s game in Pilot Rock. ATHENA — Brett Speed recently cemented his name among the all-time greats to play basketball at Weston- McEwen High School. During Brett Speed Weston-McE- wen’s 64-63 loss to the Heppner Mustangs on Jan. 13, Speed scored a team-high 26 points which helped him surpass the 1,000 career point mark. He became the first TigerScot since Dallas Rich in 2012 to join the 1,000 point club, and only the ninth in school history according to the school record book. Speed said he was not aware he was approaching the scoring mark until coach Brian Pickard told him following the Heppner game. “I was pretty shocked, honestly,” Speed said Monday evening. “It’s an honor to able to accomplish this. It wouldn’t be possible without all my coaches giving all the opportunities the last four years and all of my teammates I’ve had to help me along the way. It’s definitely been a fun experience.” A four-year varsity player, See SPEED/2B Saturday Prep Roundup Pilot Rock girls struggle in loss to Culver East Oregonian PILOT ROCK — The Pilot Rock Rockets’ struggles inside the Columbia Basin Conference continued on Saturday night, with a 34-21 loss to the Culver Bulldogs on Saturday night. The Rockets (11-9 overall, 1-4 CBC) started the game well, trading baskets with the Bulldogs (12-8, 3-2) throughout the first quarter and led 10-9 at the end of the first eight minutes. A three- point play by Grace Austin one minute into the second quarter gave the Rockets a 13-9 lead, but from that point forward the Rockets hit a big-time wall. Pilot Rock shot just 2 for 32 from the field over the final 23 minutes of the game and scored just eight points in that span. Austin was the team’s leading scorer with 12 points. Mia Gamboa led the Bulldogs with 11 points. As a team, Culver shot just 23 percent (10 for 43). IONE 61, DUFUR 49 — At Ione, the Cardinals put together their sixth straight victory in league play with 61-49 victory over Dufur on Saturday evening. Maggie Flynn led the Cardinals (8-11 overall, 7-2 BSL) with a game-high 20 points, Morgan Orem scored 16 and Jessica Medina added 14. Alexus Outlaw led the Rangers (8-10, 4-5) with 14 points. HEPPNER 55, STAN- FIELD 33 — At Stanfield, the Heppner Mustangs picked up their 12th win of the season after thumping the Stanfield Tigers on Saturday night. Freshman Sydney Wilson led the Mustangs (12-4 overall, 4-1 CBC) with 15 points and five rebounds on an efficient 7 for 12 shooting, and Jacee Currin added 14 points. For the Tigers (), Kendra Hart had a game-high 25 points. NIXYAAWII 64, POWDER VALLEY 42 — At North Powder, Mary Stewart’s triple double led the Nixyaawii Golden Eagles to win No. 19 on the season with a 64-42 win over No. 3 Powder Valley on Saturday. Stewart recorded her triple double with 28 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to lead the Golden Eagles (19-0 overall, 10-0 OOL) and Milan Schimmel added 14 points. The Badgers (18-2, 8-2) were led by Samantha Kerns with 14 points. HELIX 45, COVE 32 — At Helix, the Grizzlies defended their home court with a victory over Cove on Saturday for their fourth straight win in league play. Charmayne Bennett nailed three 3-pointers for the Grizzlies (13-7 overall, 7-3 OOL) and led the team with 12 points, while Sadie Wilson had 11 points and 14 rebounds and Kailey Mize added 10 points. Raegan Duby led the Leopards (7-12, 3-7) with eight points. CONDON/WHEELER 51, MITCHELL/SPRAY 18 — At Condon, the Condon/ Wheeler Knights snapped a five-game losing streak with See PREPS/2B Staff photo by Kathy Aney Kayla Deist, of Pilot Rock, wrestles Culver’s Lesli Alvarado for the ball during Saturday’s game. Sports shorts Day outlasts Noren through 6 playoff holes to win Farmers Open SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jason Day sank an 18-inch birdie putt on the sixth playoff hole to beat Alex Noren and win the Farmers Insurance Open in front of empty grandstands on No. 18 at Torrey Pines. Day and Noren had to return Monday morning after grinding through five playoff holes Sunday before it got too dark to continue. Day teed off at 8:04 a.m. and sank the winning putt 13 minutes later, his fourth birdie on the par-5 Day hole in the playoff. Noren tried an aggressive second shot from the first cut, but his ball landed short of the green and rolled into a pond. Day, meanwhile, hit his second shot out of the rough and over some trees onto the fairway before hitting a beautiful approach shot that set up the winning putt. “I’m not just somewhat concerned [about the rule]. I am concerned. You want there to be clarity from an officiating standpoint and a coaching and player standpoint ... I think here you might have clarity in a large element of it, but what happens is that it’s not the rule that people really want.” — Roger Goodell The NFL Commissioner in a radio interview with FS1’s Colin Cow- herd on Monday said he will be pushing for change to clear up the league’s notorious catch rule. Indians to remove Chief Wahoo logo from uniforms in 2019 CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Indians are removing the divisive Chief Wahoo logo from their jerseys and caps starting in the 2019 season. Following numerous discus- sions with Major League Baseball and Commissioner Rob Manfred, the Indians will no longer wear the big-toothed, smiling, red-faced caricature during games. The iconic logo, which has been used in various expressions by the team since 1947, has been deemed racist and offensive by some. Manfred said the team conveyed to him that some fans have a “long-standing attachment” to the logo, but the Indians agreed that it’s “no longer appropriate for on-field use.” The Indians will wear the Wahoo logo this season and continue to sell merchandise featuring it. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1994 — The Dallas Cowboys, behind MVP Emmitt Smith and safety James Wash- ington, beat Buffalo 30-13 for their second straight NFL title while giving the Bills four straight Super Bowl losses. 1996 — Magic Johnson finishes with 19 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 128-118 victory over Golden State. It is Johnson’s first regu- lar-season game back from a 4 1/2-season retirement. 2006 — Teemu Selanne scores two goals for his 1,000th career point in Anaheim’s overtime victory against Los Angeles. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com