SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2018
1B
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HERMISTON
Bulldogs get their bling
Hermiston receives
football state
championship rings
By ERIC SINGER
East Oregonian
Joey Gutierrez could not
stop smiling on Tuesday
night.
Exactly 67 days after
the Hermiston Bulldogs’
football team captured the
Class 5A state championship,
Gutierrez and his teammates
received their shiny state
championship rings during
a presentation at halftime of
Tuesday’s Hermiston-Pend-
leton varsity basketball
game.
“Oh man, it’s such a good
feeling to have it,” Gutierrez
“All of our hard work paid off and now
we get to look at this ring and remember
all of the good times from this year.”
— Beau Blake,
Hermiston football senior
said, smiling. “It’s a memory
we’re always going to have
and it definitely looks a lot
better in person than in the
pictures.
“Not a lot of people can
say they have a state cham-
pionship football ring, so
it gives you an even better
See BLING:/2B
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Hermiston father and son duo freshman Jordan Lopez and
assistant coach Eddie Lopez model their rings after a foot-
ball state championship ring presentation during halftime of
Tuesday’s boys varsity basketball game against Pendleton.
Prep Girls Basketball
Prep Boys Basketball
Buckaroos win thriller
Buckaroo boys
stun Bulldogs
Pendleton hangs on
for big road victory
at Hermiston
Pendleton erases first half deficit,
keeps CRC win streak alive
By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ
East Oregonian
By ALEXIS MANSANAREZ
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — It never
fails when it comes time to play
a big rivalry game, that either
one team will win handily or
it will come down to the wire
and
the
winner will
Girls
n a r r o w l y Basketball
escape with
the victory.
At least
Pendleton
that’s what
the Pend-
leton’s girl
head coach
K e v i n
Porter was
Hermiston
saying to
a
friend
b e f o r e
Tuesday
night’s big
rivalry, and in Hermiston, the
Buckaroos do the latter.
First, holding the lead.
Then, entering halftime down
by two only to finish with a
17-point fourth quarter that
sealed the 49-45 win over the
Bulldogs.
“It doesn’t matter level of
sport, or what sport you’re
talking about, rivalries are a
flip of a coin and we came out
on top tonight,” Porter said.
“I’m awful excited about it,
obviously. But Hermiston
played a great game and we
just made a few more plays
coming down the stretch.
“I told the girls before
the game, if we execute we
can win this game, and we
did (that). To me, that’s the
difference.”
The Buckaroos (12-6
overall, 3-0 Columbia River
Conference) were finally able
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
to take control of the lead,
a lead they had held until Pendleton’s Jaiden Lemberger puts up an off-balanced shoot guarded by Hermiston’s
the final 00.2 seconds of the Sydney Stefani in the Bucks’ 49-45 win against the Bulldogs on Tuesday in Hermiston.
second quarter.
Senior Kalan McGlothan, again at 45-45 with 58.7 left, the Bucks defeated the cross- up 16-12 after the first quarter.
the team’s top scorer, hit a but the Bucks were able to town foe in the first of a three McGlothan led those efforts
field goal to knot the score at make some last second baskets game series.
for the Bucks, and junior
38 points apiece. Sophomore from the charity stripe to stretch
“Every single kid, including Jordan Thomas — who ended
Samantha Spriet followed their narrow lead.
the managers that were on that the night with a game-high 22
that up with two made free
McGlothan
led
the bench contributed,” Porter said. points — was off to a good start
throws — her only points of efforts with a team-best 22 “Whether they were cheering, with a third of Hermiston’s
the game — to put Pendleton points. Fellow seniors Jaiden whether they made a basket opening baskets.
up 40-39 with 3:58 left on the Lemberger and Maureen or they went in for 30 seconds
At the end of the second
game clock.
Davies followed with 11 and and gave somebody a blow quarter, the Bulldogs went
In the final three minutes 10 points, respectively.
on defense, offense — every on an 11-1 run to go into the
of play, the Bulldogs (6-12,
While the big three are single person on our bench and break up 27-25. They went on
2-1) came close to having the Pendleton’s top scorers, it was the crowd, they all get credit.”
advantage, tying the score a full on team effort that helped
See THRILLER, Page B3
Pendleton started the game
49
45
HERMISTON — The Hermiston-Pendleton
matchup is going to draw crowds no matter the
sport. It’s also going to put added pressure on the
players to come away with a win for bragging
rights, or to keep a win streak
alive, or to assert your domi-
Boys
as the team to beat in the
Basketball nance
conference.
On Tuesday in Hermiston,
the Buckaroos did just that
as they defeated the Bulldogs
Pendleton
51-44.
Despite being led by junior
Tyler Newsom — who is argu-
ably the best offensive player
in the conference — with 16
points, Pendleton had another
Hermiston
star breakout 30 miles away
from its home gym and in one
of the most hostile environ-
ments the team will face.
Freshman Dakota Sams finished behind
Newsom with 15 points, 11 of which came in the
second half when the Bucks (11-7 overall, 3-0
Columbia River Conference) desperately needed
them.
Pendleton opened up the game with a meager
seven points, while Hermiston built a six-point
lead netting 13 of its own.
“Anytime you have a freshman coming into
a hostile game for the first time and go for 15 —
Dakota Sams is unbelievable,” head coach Kyle
See BUCKAROOS/3B
51
44
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Pendleton’s Shaw Jerome shoots the ball
over Hermiston’s Andrew Earl in the Bucks’
51-44 win against the Bulldogs on Tuesday
in Hermiston.
Sports shorts
Former Beaver wideout Rodgers
returns to Corvallis as a coach
CORVALLIS — Former Oregon State receiver
James Rodgers is returning to the Beavers as
director of player development under new coach
Jonathan Smith.
Rodgers played for the Beavers
from 2007-11, setting the school
record with 6,373 all-purpose yards.
He caught 222 passes, good for third
on the school’s career list. He had
19 TD receptions and nine rushing
touchdowns.
Rodgers
After Oregon State, Rodgers
was with the Atlanta Falcons for
two seasons, spending time on the team’s practice
squad. He also played for the CFL’s Montreal
Alouettes for two seasons.
Last year Rodgers was director of player devel-
opment under coach Mike Riley at Nebraska.
Riley, a former head coach of the Beavers, has
since joined Smith’s staff in Corvallis.
“Now they’re at a point
in their healing process
where they want to
confront Larry, and they
want to show the world
that they are survivors
and they are strong
and they are part of this
movement. It helps them
through the healing
process.”
— Mick Grewal
An attorney said of his 11 clients
that have signed up to speak at
Larry Nassar’s, the former gym-
nastics doctor, who will again
return to court
With Griffin gone, Clippers
fall short against Trail Blazers
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Damian Lillard
scored 28 points and the Portland Trail Blazers
pulled away in the third quarter to beat the Los
Angeles Clippers 104-96 on
Tuesday night.
Los Angeles was playing its
first game since Blake Griffin’s
trade to Detroit on Monday.
CJ McCollum added 16 points
and Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points
and 18 rebounds for the Blazers, who ended
a seven-game skid against the Clippers while
winning their third in a row.
Lou Williams scored 20 points off the bench
and DeAndre Jordan had 19 rebounds for the
Clippers, who made a run in the fourth after
they trailed by 20.
The Trail Blazers next host the Bulls on
Wednesday in the second game of a back-to-
back.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1999 — John Elway gets
his second straight Super Bowl
ring, weaving his magic for the
final time during the Denver
Broncos’ 34-19 win over the
Atlanta Falcons.
2009 — Serena Williams
routs Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-3 to
win the Australian Open — her
10th Grand Slam title — and
return to the No. 1 ranking.
2015 — Lydia Ko, 17,
becomes the youngest golfer,
male or female, to be ranked
No. 1. She shares second
place at the LPGA Tour’s
season opener, where she
finishes a shot behind Na
Yeon Choi.
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