E AST O REGONIAN
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2018
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B1
NATIONAL FINALS RODEO
Knowles takes steer wrestling bronze
Heppner cowboys has great
run in Vegas; Brazile wins
all-around
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
It’s been a year to remember for Hep-
pner’s Blake Knowles.
Fresh off a third-place fi nish in the steer
wrestling at the National Finals Rodeo,
Knowles said he enjoyed every minute of
his time in Las Vegas.
“We had a fun time,” said Knowles, who
was competing in his fourth NFR. “There
is never a guy down there who appreci-
ates it more than me. I will meet with fans,
sign autographs. You are excited for the
opportunity to compete — it’s a sense of
accomplishment.”
Knowles, 33, placed in two rounds at
the NFR, and fi nishing third, he pocketed a
nice chunk of change. When it was all said
and done, he fi nished ninth in the world
standings with a career-high in earnings of
$162,669.
“I’m happy. It turned out pretty well,”
said Knowles, who also qualifi ed for the
NFR in 2009, 2011 and 2015. “I was for-
tunate to have good year. Now, you pick it
apart to see where you could have done bet-
ter. You can always make it better.”
Knowles started his run at the NFR with a
3.8-second performance in the fi rst round at
Thomas & Mack Center — good enough for
second place and a check for $20,730.
In the fourth round, he split third and
fourth place with Blake Mindemann, good
for $13,326.
In the seventh round, he broke the bar-
rier. If not, his time of 3.7 seconds would
have landed him in a tie for third/fourth and
another nice payday.
He was fi fth overall after eight rounds,
but runs of 5.3 and 8.3 seconds in the fi nal
two rounds bumped him up to third.
“There is an opportunity to win each
night,” Knowles said. “It’s a pretty good
crown for the guy who wins the average. I
See Knowles, Page B2
Courtesy of James Phifer/PRCA
Heppner cowboy Blake Knowles (right) slides down onto his steer during the National Finals
Rodeo in Las Vegas. Knowles fi nished third at the NFR in steer wrestling and ninth in the world
standings. At left is hazer Matt Reeves.
Umatilla boys run win
streak to 7 games
Heppner girls
overcome early
defi cit for 51-41 win
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
T
he Umatilla boys
basketball team is
off to a hot start.
The Vikings improved
to 8-1 on Monday with
a 64-51 nonleague home
win over Heppner.
“Defense is our empha-
sis,” said Vikings coach
Scott Bow, whose team
gives up an average of 34
points per game. “Every
team we have played, we
have held them to double
digits below their average.
We have to be one of the
better defensive teams out
there.”
The Mustangs kept
pace with the Vikings in
the fi rst half, trailing just
26-22 at the half.
“They came out and hit
some pretty good shots
and got after it,” Bow said.
Umatilla, which has
won seven games in a
row, took over in the sec-
ond half, leading by 15 at
one point.
Sebastian Garcia had
four 3-pointers in the sec-
ond half and fi nished with
20 points, six assists and
fi ve steals for the Vikings.
“He took after it,”
Bow said. “For someone
who was face-guarded all
night, he played fantastic.”
Andrew Earl added
12 points and four assist,
while Trent Durfey had
10 points and seven
rebounds.
Trent Carter led the
Mustangs with 19 points
— 15 of which came in
the second half — and 11
rebounds.
The Vikings held Hep-
pner’s 6-foot-10 Justin
McAninch to fi ve points.
He did have two blocked
shots.
“Hats off to our big
guys at 6-2 to outworking
him,” Bow said.
The Mustangs (5-5)
will host Grant Union in
their Blue Mountain Con-
ference opener on Friday.
Umatilla will host
River View, Wash. (4-2),
in a nonleague game at
4:30 p.m. Friday, then will
play in the Salem Acad-
emy Classic Jan. 3-5.
“That’s a good tourna-
ment for us before we start
league play,” Bow said.
Girls
HEPPNER 51, UMA-
TILLA 41: Sydney Wil-
son poured in a game-high
22 points, and added fi ve
rebounds, three assists and
three steals as the Mus-
tangs beat the Vikings
in a nonleague game in
Umatilla.
The Vikings led 11-9
after the fi rst quarter, but
a 23-11 run by Heppner in
the second was more than
Umatilla could overcome.
Jacee Currin added 15
points and six assists for
the Mustangs (6-4), which
will open Blue Moun-
tain Conference play Fri-
day against visiting Grant
Union.
Freshman
Taylor
Durfey had 16 points and
10 rebounds for Uma-
tilla (3-7), which will host
River View, Wash., on
Saturday.
Blazers
defeat
Clippers
131-127
By BETH HARRIS
Associated Press
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Umatilla’s Jakeb Cook blocks a shot from Heppner’s Gibson McCurry in the Vikings’ 64-51
win over the Mustangs on Monday in Umatilla.
LOS ANGELES —
Damian Lillard scored 22
of his 39 points in a dom-
inant third quarter and
the Portland Trail Blazers
defeated the Los Ange-
les Clippers 131-127 on
Monday night.
Lillard hit fi ve of
his six 3-pointers in the
third when the Blazers
outscored the Clippers
42-28. Portland was 10 of
20 from 3-point range in
the game.
C.J. McCollum added
27 points and Jusuf Nur-
kic had 20.
Tobias Harris matched
Lillard with a career-
high 39 points and rookie
Shai Gilgeous-Alexan-
der added 24 for the Clip-
pers, who have lost four
in a row for the fi rst time
this season.
Los Angeles trailed by
15 in the fi rst quarter but
erased the defi cit in the
second when the Clippers
took their fi rst lead, only
to fall behind by 15 again
in the third.
Lillard’s fi fth 3 left
the Clippers down 95-80.
Portland made seven 3s in
the period and stretched
its lead to 18 points early
in the fourth.
The Clippers chipped
away and got to 125-123
after Harris hit three of
four free throws. McCo-
llum’s jumper kept Port-
land ahead 127-123.
Danilo Gallinari, who
fi nished with 22 points,
missed a 3-pointer, but
after a scramble got
the ball back and made
See Blazers, Page B2
SPORTS SHORTS
Pacers hire NBA’s fi rst female assistant GM
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Pacers have
hired Kelly Krauskopf as their new assistant general
manager, making her the fi rst woman in league history
to hold the title.
Krauskopf has a long history with the franchise.
She spent 19 seasons as the top executive of the
WNBA’s Indiana Fever and helped oversee Indiana’s new
NBA2K league team. She also served as the WNBA’s fi rst
director of basketball operations, as an assistant commis-
sioner for the Southwest Conference and on USA Basket-
ball’s women’s senior national team committee.
“My past experience has shown me that building win-
ning teams and elite level culture is not based on gender
— it is based on people and processes,” Krauskopf said
in a statement released by the team. “I am excited to join
the Pacers as we continue building the best NBA fran-
chise in the business.”
Kelly Krauskopf, left, president and general manager of
the Indiana Fever in 2016, has been hired by the Indiana
Pacers as the fi rst female assistant general manager.
AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File