B2
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Saturday, January 19, 2019
Record 135 forgo college eligibility to enter NFL draft
By RALPH D. RUSSO
AP College Football Writer
NEW YORK — A record
number of college football
players will bypass their
remaining years of eligibility
to enter the NFL draft.
The 135 players forgoing
eligibility surpasses the 119
from last year. The NFL
released the offi cial list on
Friday. There are 103 under-
classmen eligible for the
April 25-27 draft. Another
32 players have graduated but
still have college eligibility.
The vast majority of players
made their intentions known
ahead of Monday’s NFL dead-
line. Among the most notable
were Heisman Trophy winner
Kyler Murray of Oklahoma
and Ohio State quarterback
Dwayne Haskins.
Alabama has seven players
among the 135, the most of any
school, including All-America
defensive tackle Quinnen
Williams, All-America safety
Deionte
Thompson
and
All-America offensive tackle
Jonah Williams. Ohio State
and Oklahoma each have six
players.
Murray has already signed
a contract with the Oakland
Athletics after being selected
in the fi rst round of the MLB
draft in June. Murray has yet
to break his deal with the A’s,
but he could abandon it to play
in the NFL. Murray, who is
listed at 5-foot-10 and 195, had
a spectacular season with the
Sooners and is a possible fi rst-
round pick by NFL teams.
The 103 underclassmen
who have met the NFL’s
three-year eligibility rule and
renounced their remaining
eligibility to enter the draft
are three short of last year’s
record 106. That number has
been trending up for years,
including a spike in 2014,
when 98 underclassmen were
granted special eligibility by
the league. In 2013, 73 players
fell into that category.
Since 2014, at least 95
underclassmen entered the
draft without completing their
degrees in every season but
2015, when the number was
74.
“It is not a good situation,”
said former Dallas Cowboys
executive Gil Brandt, who now
works for the NFL Network.
Brandt said too many
players who are not ready
to compete in the NFL are
swayed by agents to enter
the draft. He said offensive
linemen and quarterbacks in
particular can usually benefi t
from more college seasoning.
“When we start taking all
these guys, they’re doing the
colleges a disservice, they’re
doing the players a disser-
vice,” Brandt said.
Among the players who
didn’t need special entry
granted by the league because
they had fulfi lled their degree
requirements were quar-
terbacks Daniel Jones of
Duke, Jarrett Stidham of
Auburn and Tyree Jackson of
Buffalo, along with Clemson
All-America defensive end
Clelin Ferrell and Northern
Illinois All-America defensive
end Sutton Smith.
AP Photo/Jeff rey McWhorter, File
In this Dec. 1, 2018, fi le photo, Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray (1) celebrates on
the sidelines after throwing a touchdown against Oklahoma during the second half of
the Big 12 Conference championship NCAA college football game in Arlington, Texas.
Umatilla: The Bulldogs PREP ROUNDUP
‘shot the ball really well’ Nixyaawii remains unbeatable in Old Oregon League play
East Oregonian
Continued from Page B1
I was happy I was on
tonight.”
The Bulldogs (8-8
overall, 2-1) led 43-36
heading into the fourth
quarter, and after Jaquez
stole the ball and converted
at the other end with 5:42
to play, Nyssa had a 48-39
lead.
“At that point, I told the
guys defense was going to
win the game,” Bow said.
“We had to get stops. I told
them they had to decide
whether they wanted to be
a state team or just play a
league game.”
From there, the Vikings
went on a 13-4 run. Sebas-
tian Garcia converted a
pretty jumper in the key
with 13 seconds remaining
to tie the score.
“In the fourth, they were
trying to play reserved,”
Earl said of Nyssa. “We
were trying to get in the
paint and get quick shots.
We drove instead of being
passive.”
Jaquez had just fi ve
points in the fourth
quarter. He scored 20 in
the fi rst half.
“It wasn’t so much
trying to keep the ball out
of his hands, but to keep
them from getting easy
shots,” Earl said.
Nyssa hit fi ve 3-pointers
in the fi rst quarter en route
to a 17-13 lead, but the
Vikings rallied with six
consecutive points to tie
the score at 19-19 midway
through the second.
Umatilla had leads
of 22-21 and 25-23, but
would not lead again until
overtime.
“They shot the ball
really well,” Bow said
of the Bulldogs. “No. 4
(Jaquez) stroked the ball
really well. He pulled up
from deep and the ball
found the bottom of the
net. He is a special player.”
Sebastian Garcia led
the Vikings with 17 points
and four assists, while
Durfey had 14 points and
11 rebounds, De Loera 11
points and eight rebounds,
and Uriel Garcia seven
points, seven rebounds and
three steals.
GIRLS HOOPS
Nyssa
Umatilla
40
36
Girls
NYSSA
40,
UMATILLA 36 — The
Vikings turned the ball
over six times and went
0-for-3 from the free-
throw line in the fi nal 3:43
of the game, as the visiting
Bulldogs escaped with an
Eastern Oregon League
win.
“Hands down, turn-
overs have been an issue
for us,” Vikings coach
McKenzie Davis said.
“And that makes it hard
to win games. A lot of it is
inexperience.”
The game was close
throughout,
and
the
Vikings (2-14, 0-3 EOL)
led 36-35 with 3 minutes
to play, but could not hold
the lead.
Alexia Arredondo hit a
3-pointer with 2:19 to play
to give Nyssa a 38-36 lead.
She led the Bulldogs (8-8,
2-1) with 12 points.
“Tonight was a close
game game, and we learned
from it,” Davis said.
“The last time they were
in a game this close, the
seniors were freshmen. For
us, we don’t worry about
the plays, we worry about
fundamentals. That’s what
we have been working on.
They are learning to trust
their coach and learning to
win. It’s hard to break that
shell.”
Charlene Alvarez led
the Vikings with 12 points,
while freshman Taylor
Durfey added 10.
Blazers: ‘Statistically
we’ve been pretty good’
Continued from Page B1
“I think when he fi rst
came back, you want to
be a little cautious on it,”
Gentry said about rein-
corporating Mirotic. “I
don’t plan on playing him
38 minutes or anything
but I don’t have to look at
anything and say he’s at
25 minutes, uh oh.”
Trail Blazers: With a
backcourt featuring two
scoring guards, ques-
tions about the defense
are frequent. But lately,
they’ve been quite stingy.
Over the last 10 games,
the Blazers have been
fourth in defensive rating.
Coach Terry Stotts likes
the team’s consistency on
that end.
“Part of it is we’ve
been playing teams with
poor records but we’ve
still stayed consistent with
it,” Stotts said. “We’ve
been pretty locked in
on scouting reports and
tendencies and their plays
and things like that. But
over the last 11-12 games,
statistically we’ve been
pretty good.”
Up next
Pelicans: At Memphis
on Monday night.
Trail Blazers: At Utah
on Monday night.
In their strongest offensive
game so far this season, the
Nixyaawii boys crushed the
visiting Elgin Huskies 106-34
in Old Oregon League play.
Senior guard Deven
Barkley paved the way with 34
points for the Golden Eagles
on Friday night. He posted
three treys and 17 points in the
fi rst quarter alone.
“Everything was clicking
tonight,” said coach Shane
Rivera.
Quanah Picard chipped in
18 points, Mick Schimmel had
14, and Dazon Sigo had 13.
Nixyaawii (15-1, 5-0 OOL)
remains the team to beat
in the Old Oregon League.
Their next challenger will be
Joseph for a Saturday road
game.
Boys hoops
SOUTH
WASCO
COUNTY 52, IONE 50
— Ione is still in need of a
Big Sky League win after
Friday’s narrow home loss.
Hunter Padberg, Taylor
Rollins, and Jake Heideman
each had 10 points to lead the
Cardinals.
Ione (1-15, 0-9 BSL) travels
to Sherman on Saturday.
SHERMAN 61, ECHO
29 — The Cougars are now
on a four-game skid after a
home loss to Sherman on
Friday.
Braden MacPherson had
seven points to lead Echo,
while Jon Medrano and
Cameron Scott each added
six.
Echo (2-15, 1-8 BSL)
travels to Dufur on Saturday
to continue play in the Big
Sky League play.
IRRIGON 56, BURNS
45 — The Knights ended a
10-game losing streak with
a home victory over the
No. 4-ranked Hilanders in
Eastern Oregon League play.
Irrigon (7-10, 1-3 EOL)
will host Nysa on Saturday.
HEPPNER 69, PILOT
ROCK 57 — The Mustangs
won their fi fth consecutive
game with a Blue Mountain
Conference road win over the
Rockets.
“We are telling the kids
every day that we have a
target on our backs,” Heppner
coach Jeremy Rosenbaum
said. “We will get everyone’s
best game.”
Tyler Carter had a game-
high 26 points and 13
rebounds for Heppner (12-6,
6-0 BMC), while Justin
McAninch added 13 points
and 10 rebounds, and Hunter
Nichols 10 points.
Tanner Corwin led the
Rockets (2-14, 1-5) with
17 points, while Peyton
Thurman chipped in nine.
UNION 72, WESTON-
MCEWEN 52 — The Tiger-
Scots suffered a home loss to
fall to 2-4 in the Blue Moun-
tain Conference on Friday.
But that didn’t stop
Stockton Hoffman from
having a stellar game — the
junior posted 27 points to
lead Weston-McEwen for the
night.
The TigerScots (4-13, 2-4
BMC) travel to Heppner on
Saturday.
RIVERSIDE 57, VALE
46 — Francisco Barajas
poured in 18 points, with fi ve
3-pointers, to lead Riverside
to their third straight Eastern
Oregon League victory on
Friday.
Ramon Montes added
11 points and Johan Pena 10
during the home game.
The Pirates (8-9, 2-1 EOL)
will host Burns on Saturday.
STANFIELD
68,
GRANT UNION 52 —
Elias Esquivel sunk 15
points for Stanfi eld’s Eastern
Oregon League road win on
Friday.
“It was a good team
effort,” said coach Devil
Bailey. “Hopefully we can
keep riding this wave.”
Hugo Hernandez and
Eduardo Nunez each posted
10 points. The Tigers had
nine scoring players for the
night.
Stanfi eld (6-11, 3-3 EOL)
travels to Heppner on Friday.
Girls hoops
BURNS 53, IRRIGON
38 — Irrigon fell to 1-3 in the
Eastern Oregon League after
a Friday home loss.
The Knights were ahead
11-8 at the end of the fi rst
quarter, but Burns made a
21-10 run in the second to
claim the game.
JaLay Burns posted 12
points and three steals to lead
Irrigon, and Alyssa Luna had
10 points and eight rebounds.
Ana Zacharias also added 10
points.
Irrigon (10-7, 1-3 EOL)
hosts Nyssa on Saturday.
WALLOWA 42, HELIX
33 — Hannah Christman had
a team-high 11 points, but it
wasn’t enough to save Helix
from a league loss on Friday.
Wallowa held off the Griz-
zlies for three quarters until
Helix came back to claim the
fi nal quarter 11-6.
Helix (4-11, 1-4 OOL)
travels to Powder Valley
to continue play in the Old
Oregon League on Saturday.
ECHO 49, SHERMAN
25 — Faith McCarty had a a
game-high 18 points to drive
Echo to their third straight
Big Sky League victory on
Friday night.
Rachel McCarty and
Tylene Skillman added 10
points each for the Cougars
(8-8, 6-2 BSL). They’ll hit the
road to Dufur on Saturday.
IONE 49, SOUTH
WASCO COUNTY 41 —
The Cardinals improved to
7-0 in Big Sky League play
with a home win over the
Redsides.
Ione (12-2 overall), which
has won nine games in a row,
will play at Sherman County
on Saturday.
VALE 48, RIVERSIDE
15 — It was a rough night
for Riverside as the visiting
Vale Vikings handed them
their second Eastern Oregon
League loss on Friday.
Megan Hegar, Alexis
Villegas, Faith Rosen, and
Brendy Avalos each had three
points for the Pirates.
“Vale is very aggres-
sive, and it showed tonight.
They’re a very physical
team,” said Pirates coach
Clair Costello. “We just
weren’t strong enough to play
how we wanted to.”
Riverside (9-7, 1-2 EOL)
hosts Burns on Saturday.
UNION 57, WESTON-
MCEWEN 24 — Weston-
McEwen has now entered a
fi ve-game skid after Union
handed them a Blue Moun-
tain Conference home loss on
Friday.
Trinity Hearn had a
team-high eight points and
11 rebounds for the Tiger-
Scots (5-12, 0-6 BMC)
They’ll travel to Heppner on
Saturday.
GRANT UNION 53,
STANFIELD 47 — Stan-
fi eld was handed their third
consecutive Blue Mountain
Conference loss on the road
on Friday night.
Nyah Tejeda had 16 points,
and Kendra Hart added 13 of
her own to lead the Tigers
(8-9, 2-4 BMC). They’ll travel
to Heppner on Friday, Jan. 25.
NIXYAAWII
38,
ELGIN 34 — Lark Moses
posted 17 points for Nixy-
aawii’s Old Oregon League
home win on Friday.
Mackenzie
Kiona
followed with 11 points.
“I’m very pleased with
the gritty performance from
my team,” said coach Jeremy
Maddern.
The Golden Eagles (9-7,
2-3 OOL) travel to Joseph on
Saturday.
HEPPNER 58, PILOT
ROCK 48 — Heppner
improved to 4-2 in the Blue
Mountain Conference after
turning the visiting Rockets
away on Friday.
Jacee Currin had a
team-high 19 points for
the Mustangs, and Sydney
Wilson had 17.
Kate Evans and Breann
Baleztena led Pilot Rock with
six points each.
Heppner (12-6, 4-2 BMC)
hosts Weston-McEwen on
Saturday. Pilot Rock (7-9, 1-5
BMC) travels to Enterprise.
Bucks: ‘We had a good team effort tonight’
Continued from Page B1
Bucks, the Cowboys forced
them into a three-minute
scoring drought.
“They (Crook County)
have good players, they just
weren’t hitting baskets in
the beginning,” Sams said.
“But in the fourth quarter,
they started knocking down
shots.”
The Cowboys scored
seven unanswered points to
close the gap to 56-40, and
junior guard Jrei Ramirez
and senior post Miles
Chaney combined for three
at the line to close it to just
15 before the buzzer.
“We had a good team
effort tonight,” Dong said.
“We had a lot of energy
from the bench, too. It’s
a good feeling when you
can get guys in and give
them an opportunity to be
successful.”
Eight of Pendleton’s nine
players put points on the
scoreboard. Newsom led
with 19.
The Bucks improved
to 1-1 in the IMC and 10-5
overall, moving up to the
league’s No. 3 seat. They’ll
hit the road to The Dalles on
Friday.
Girls
The Pendleton girls hit
Crook County’s court hot
and never looked back en
route to a 76-30 victory on
Friday.
The win improved the
Buckaroos to 2-0 in the
IMC.
Pendleton
held
the
Cowboys to just eight points
in the fi rst quarter, and
posted 18 of their own. They
took a 38-15 lead into the
locker room.
“We shot the ball
extremely well tonight. It’s
been a long time coming,”
said coach Kevin Porter.
“We didn’t let Crook County
dictate our shots.”
It was Pendleton’s game
all the way through. While
Crook County had their best
run in the third quarter with
11 points, the Bucks outdid
them with 17. They put the
game away with a 21-4 run
over the Cowboys.
“Our defense was really
good tonight,” Porter said.
“We made some adjustments
at halftime that pushed us
forward. The girls were all
over the fl oor and played
defense as hard as ever. We
ran out and handled the busi-
ness we needed to handle.”
Freshman
Muriel
Hoisington drove the victory
with 16 points. Seniors Elli
Nirschl, Hunter Blake, and
Sarah Scott, and junior
Nicole Lee each added
eight. Blake also shot 4 of 4
from the fi eld.
The Bucks (5-10, 2-0
IMC) return home to play
The Dalles on Friday.
Boys Box Score
Pendleton 14 21 13 10 — 58
Crook County 10 9 10 14 — 43
PENDLETON — Newsom 19, Sams
12, O’Hanlon 6, Sweek 6, Sandford 5,
Broncheau 4, Murray 4, Sams 2
CROOK COUNTY — Kessi 14, Savage 9,
Mullan 7, Graydon 4, Sanchez 2, Ramirez
2, Lowenbach 2, Sanchez 2, Chaney 1
Girls’ Box Score
Pendleton 18 20 17 21 — 76
Crook County 8 7 11 4 — 30
PENDLETON — Hoisington 16, Nirschl 8,
Lee 8, Scott 8, Blake 8, Jennes 6, Neveau
5, Spreit 5, Garcia 5, Bradt 4, Taber 3
CROOK COUNTY — Freeman 9, Barker 5,
Ptomey 4, Mode 4, Kasberger 2, Rash 2,
Hutchins 2