B2
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Boys: Ramirez hits game-winning free throws
Continued from Page B1
The win put the Bull-
dogs (12-4 overall) at 8-4
in MCC play, and third in
the conference standings
behind Richland (13-0) and
Chiawana (9-3). They have
clinched a trip to the 3A
regional tournament.
“The guys never gave
up,” Hermiston coach
Casey Arstein said. “Sergio
(Mendez) got a huge steal
and basket, Jordan hits two
free throws, and Adrian,
who sat most of the second
half, gets the biggest steal
of the night. We will take
a win on the road. Now, we
are just battling for the No.
1 spot. We have to handle
our games.”
The Suns (3-14, 2-11)
led 37-36 heading into the
fourth quarter, and needed
a 3-pointer by Donavyn
Perry with 1:01 remaining
in regulation to send the
game into overtime with
the score tied at 53-53.
Southridge jumped out
to a 57-53 lead to open
the extra period, getting
baskets by Kody Bruton
and Tristan Smith.
Cesar Ortiz added a free
throw for the Bulldogs, but
Perry knocked down a pair
from the line to extend the
lead to 59-54 with 1:09 to
play.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Hermiston’s Jordan Ramirez drives to the basket during
Saturday’s game against Southridge in Kennewick. The
Bulldogs won 62-61 in overtime.
With 57 seconds left,
Ortiz knocked down a
3-pointer to cut the deficit
to 59-57.
After Perry missed two
free throws — the only two
he missed on the night —
Ramirez added one free
throw for the Bulldogs, and
Madrigal stole the ball and
converted the layup at the
other end to give Herm-
iston a 60-59 lead with 23
second left.
Cardinals fly past
Timberwolves for
conference wins
By BRETT KANE
East Oregonian
When you host the
East Region’s No. 1 team,
chances are it’s not going to
be pretty.
Saturday’s
North-
west Athletic Conference
matchup saw Blue Moun-
tain fall 137-69 at home to
North Idaho.
“Just look at their
roster,” Timberwolves head
coach Doug Baxter said.
“They have about eight
Division 1-talented players.
They shot 60-89 from the
field. There’s NBA teams
who can win doing that.”
Blue Mountain’s Mehki
Foreman was the court’s
hottest player with a game-
high 23 points, but North
Idaho had a more varied set
of strong shooters at their
disposal.
Alphonso Anderson had
22 points to lead the Cardi-
nals, Jarod Greene had
20, Emmitt Taylor 17, and
James Carlson 16.
“When you play against
this level of talent, you’re
going to struggle to do
what you want to do,”
Baxter said. “We played as
well as we could, but we
just got killed on the glass
and gave them too many
second chance points.”
Blue Mountain trailed
by just four points twice
in the first half before the
game slipped out of their
grasp. A 3-point jumper
from the Cardinals’ Iaian
McLaughlin sparked a
12-point run that left the
Timberwolves unable to
catch up.
North
Idaho
also
recorded an 11-point run
with 10:06 left in the first
half that made things even
harder on the Timber-
wolves. When the first
buzzer signaled the inter-
mission, the Cardinals had
nearly tripled Blue Moun-
tain’s points, 60-23.
Their advantage only
widened in the second half.
With 13:42 left to play, the
Cardinals’ James Carlson
made a layup that gave
them a 51-point advantage
and forced a Timberwolves
timeout.
Jaden Dewar hit a
bucket that gave the Cardi-
nals a 53-point lead with
8:09 to go.
Bryson
Wolters
knocked a shot down from
the outside for the Timber-
wolves with 0:40 left, but a
comeback was long out of
the question.
“We played as well as we
could,” Baxter said. “I told
the kids North Idaho could
compete for a national title.
I’m proud of the effort we
put in today.”
Blue Mountain (4-12,
2-3 NWAC) travels to
the East Region’s No. 4
contender Walla Walla on
Wednesday.
Women’s hoops
The
Timberwolves
suffered their 11th straight
loss after falling at home to
North Idaho on Saturday,
71-49.
“We played really well
in that first half,” said
Blue Mountain head coach
Adam Driver. “But then
that third quarter hit and we
folded under the pressure.
It really made a difference.”
It was anyone’s game in
the the first half, with Blue
Mountain tying the score at
8-8 with 5:59 left in the first
quarter, and even taking
a brief lead in the second,
20-17. But a 10-point
Cardinals run in the third
quarter left the Timber-
wolves down for the count.
North Idaho would put
the quarter away 21-8, and
despite the Timberwolves
keeping pace in the fourth,
the Cardinals escaped with
the win.
“(North Idaho) came out
and pressed us in the third,”
said Driver. “We had 4 or
5 straight turnovers. We
just didn’t handle their
pressure.”
Blue
Mountain’s
Ammarae
Broncheau
ended with a team-high
nine points and shot 2 for
2 at the line, and Karlie
Gerlinger added eight
points.
Brooke Wheeler sunk
two back-to-back buckets
to give the Timberwolves
their sole advantage. But
they were no match for the
sharpshooters on the Cardi-
nals’ roster.
Alex Carlton proved the
biggest threat, knocking
down 7 of her 11 shots
from the outside. Her trey
in the early second quarter
broke the Cardinals out of
the 20-20 tie for their final
lead.
By the end of the game,
she had poured in a game-
high 23 points.
“Carlton shot really
well,” said Driver. “And
for some reason, we just
couldn’t find her. She got
some wide open 3s.”
Blue Mountain (2-13,
0-5 NWAC) remains at the
bottom of the East Region
standings. They’ll stay at
home for a Monday confer-
ence game against Spokane
(3-3, 13-4).
Perry then made two
free throws with 18 seconds
remaining as the Suns went
out front 61-60.
After Ramirez hit what
would be the game-win-
ning free throws, Mendez
missed two after his steal
with 2.9 seconds left on the
clock.
The Suns attempted to
inbound the ball, but the
throw was too long, and the
ball went to the Bulldogs.
“Southridge
played
tough tonight,” Ramirez
said.
The Suns led 15-11 after
the first quarter, and 26-23
at the half. Cole Smith
came off the bench in the
second and scored all nine
of his points in the quarter
to keep the Bulldogs in the
game.
The third quarter was a
free throw contest, with the
Suns hitting 9 of 12, and
the Bulldogs 8 of 10. South-
ridge led 37-36 going into
the fourth.
“I thought the first half
we played good defense,”
Arstein said. “Offensively,
we didn’t move the ball
well against the matchup
zone and we got into foul
trouble. When we weren’t
in foul trouble and things
were going well, we were
in a groove.”
Ortiz led the Bulldogs
with 17 points, while Ryne
Andreason added 11 — all
in the second half.
Smith had 19 points to
lead the Suns, while Perry
added 18, with all but two
points coming in the fourth
quarter and overtime.
Hermiston 11 15 10 16 9 — 62
Southridge 15 8 14 16 8 — 61
HERMISTON — Andreason 11, Ortiz 17,
James 7, Smith 9, Madrigal 7, Ramirez
10, Mendez 1.
SOUTHRIDGE — Englert 2, Bruton 6,
Perry 18, Smith 19, Lopia 14, Stillwell 2.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Hermiston’s Jordan Thomas (24) eyes the basket against the
Southridge defense Saturday in Kennewick.
Girls: Hermiston rolls to big win
Continued from Page B1
points in the first half, while
Jordan Thomas scored
six of her 15 points before
halftime.
A 12-2 run by the Bull-
dogs in the third extended
their lead to 40-14.
The Suns scored nine
points in the fourth quarter
— all at the free throw line.
Southridge went 13-for-24
from the line to score more
than half of their points.
While the win was nice,
Rodriguez said he told his
team they would be keeping
track of two stats Saturday
night — offensive rebounds
and deflections.
“We had 17 offensive
rebounds and seven deflec-
tions. When you have that
many offensive rebounds,
it gives you more posses-
sions,” Rodriguez said. “I’m
glad they responded to that.”
Freshman Mia Hernandez,
who transferred from Sunny-
side right before Christmas,
added eight points, all in the
middle quarters.
“Mia came out of her
shell a little bit,” Rodriguez
said. “I know she can play.
She can be a little timid.
I’m pleased with her perfor-
mance today.”
The Suns (5-11, 1-11) got
six points from Bailie Bris-
bois, and five from Abril
Mendez.
Hermiston 10 18 12 14 — 54
Southridge 5 7 2 9 — 23
HERMISTON —Romero 16, Thomas 15,
Hernandez 8, Dowdy 2, Palzinski 2, Ste-
fani 2, Byrd 2, Ray 5, Young 2.
SOUTHRIDGE — Ball 3, Brisbois 6, Con-
nors 1, Mendez 5, Suitonu 1, Martin 2,
Crum 1, Santos 4.
Preps: Stevens drives Mac-Hi boys to GOL victory
Continued from Page B1
NYSSA 50, IRRIGON
45 — An intense home game
resulted in a Eastern Oregon
League loss for the Knights.
Irrigon led by eight at the
half, but turnovers got the
best of the the Knights down
the stretch.
“We started out really
well,” Irrigon coach Davie
Salas said. “But we didn’t
take care of the ball very
well in the second half.”
Irrigon (7-11, 1-4 EOL)
will play at Riverside on
Tuesday.
RIVERSIDE
51,
BURNS — The Pirates are
enjoying a four-game streak
after an Eastern Oregon
League home win over the
Hilanders.
Although the Pirates
were down by 11 in the first
quarter, and trailed by just
three at the half, they rallied
to win the second half 32-13,
holding Burns to just four
points in the third quarter.
Johan Pena led the Pirates
with 17 points. Riverside
(9-9, 3-1 EOL) hosts Irrigon
on Tuesday.
UMATILLA 56, VALE
47 — Sebastian Garcia
poured in 19 points in the
Vikings’ Eastern Oregon
League home victory.
The Vikings (14-3, 3-1
EOL) will travel to Irrigon
on Thursday.
NIXYAAWII
52,
JOSEPH 45 — The Golden
Eagles remained unbeaten
in Old Oregon League play
after beating the Eagles on
the road.
Nixyaawii (16-1, 6-0
OOL) travels to Wallowa on
Jan. 26.
POWDER
VALLEY
71, HELIX 41 — Elijah
Sprenger had 11 points to
lead Helix, but the Grizzlies
suffered an Old Oregon
League road loss to the
Badgers.
“The score didn’t show
it, but we played really hard
tonight,” Helix coach Zach
Orem said. “We’ve kind
of been on a losing streak
lately, so it’s good to see the
boys are still going hard.”
Helix (4-12, 0-6 OOL)
travels to Joseph on Friday.
ENTERPRISE
45,
PILOT ROCK 36 — The
Rockets fell to 1-5 in Blue
Mountain
Conference
action after a road loss to the
Outlaws.
Pilot Rock (2-14, 1-5
BMC) returns home to face
Grant Union on Friday.
Girls hoops
IONE 36, SHERMAN
19 — The Cardinals
improved to 8-0 in the Big
Sky League after a road win
over the Huskies.
Jessica Medina led Ione
with 14 points, while Hailey
Heideman chipped in nine.
Ione (13-2 overall) hosts
Mitchell/Spray on Tuesday.
IRRIGON 43, NYSSA
38 — The Knights ended
a three-game skid with a
home win over the Bulldogs
in Eastern Oregon League
play.
JaLay Burns had a team-
high 13 points and five
steals, while Ana Zacarias
also had 13 points. Myka
Davis
recorded
seven
rebounds.
The Knights (11-7, 2-3
EOL) led by 18 points in the
early third quarter before
Nyssa rallied back.
Irrigon plays at Riverside
on Tuesday.
DUFUR 53, ECHO 44
— The Rangers handed the
Cougars a Big Sky League
road loss.
Echo led 23-17 at the
half, but Dufur rallied for a
15-11 third quarter and went
on a 21-10 run in the fourth.
Tylene Skillman led
Echo (8-8, 6-2 BSL) with 12
points, while Faith McCarty
chipped in 10. The Cougars
will host Powder Valley on
Monday.
HEPPNER
59,
WESTON-MCEWEN 41
— The Mustangs rose to
No. 3 in the Blue Mountain
Conference after turning
away the visiting TigerScots.
Syndey Wilson led the
Mustangs with 19 points,
while Jacee Currin had
16. Katie Vescio had a
game-high 21 points for
Weston-McEwen.
Heppner (12-6, 4-2 BMC)
hosts Stanfield on Friday,
while
Weston-McEwen
(5-12,
0-6)
welcomes
Enterprise.
ONTARIO
48,
MAC-HI 19 — The
Pioneers fell to 0-3 in the
Greater Oregon League
standings after a home loss
to the Tigers.
Mac-Hi will travel to
Elgin on Tuesday for a
nonleague game.
ENTERPRISE
65,
PILOT ROCK 31 — The
Rockets dropped a Blue
Mountain Conference road
game to the Outlaws to fall
to 1-6 in league play.
Pilot Rock (7-10 overall)
will host Grant Union in
league play on Friday.
BURNS 50, RIVER-
SIDE 19 — Riverside
dropped an Eastern Oregon
League game at home on
Saturday.
Faith Rosen had a team-
high five points for the night.
Riverside (9-8, 1-3 EOL)
hosts Irrigon on Tuesday.
VALE 35, UMATILLA
24 — Taylor Durfey had 15
points and 11 rebounds, but
it wasn’t enough to save the
Vikings from their fourth
Eastern Oregon League
loss.
Umatilla (2-15, 0-4)
will travel to Irrigon on
Thursday.
JOSEPH 51, NIXY-
AAWII 34 — The Old
Oregon League’s No. 2 team
was too much for the Golden
Eagles as they dropped a
road game to the Eagles.
“We got off to a bad start
and couldn’t get our offense
going,” Nixyaawii coach
Jeremy Maddern said. “But
I’m real proud of how we
responded in the second
half. Joseph is a great team.”
Ashlyn Looney led Nixy-
aawii with eight points, and
Ermia Butler, Mackenzie
Kiona, and Lark Moses each
added six.
Joseph remains unde-
feated in league play, while
the Golden Eagles fell to
2-4. Nixyaawii will travel to
Wallowa on Saturday.
POWDER VALLEY 51,
HELIX 18 — The Grizzlies
fell to 1-5 in the Old Oregon
League play with a road loss
to the Badgers.
Annie Wood had seven
points to lead the Grizzlies,
while Hannah Christman
had five.
Helix (4-12, 1-5 OOL)
travels to Joseph on Friday.
Bucks: Finish fourth at wrestling tournament
Continued from Page B1
bumped up a weight class
against Thurston.
McGee posted a 5-2
record, registering four pins,
while Kirk Liscom (182)
went 4-2 with three pins and
a forfeit, and Collin Primus
(106) was 4-3, as was Aiden
Patterson (170).
Kellen Hanson (113) went
4-3, Chambers (138) was
4-2, and Shawn Yeager (152)
finished 3-2, with all three of
his wins coming by fall.
The Bucks will host
Hood River Valley in an
Intermountain Conference
dual Wednesday, then will
compete Saturday at the
Putnam Tournament.
3A Division
Irrigon went 1-2 on the
first day, but rebounded on
Saturday to win the consola-
tion title.
The Knights dropped
their first two matches
Friday — 54-27 to Willa-
mina Falls and 42-39 to
Yamhill-Carlton.
Irrigon rebounded with
a 58-24 win over Creswell,
but found itself in the conso-
lation bracket on the second
day.
On Saturday, the Knights
beat South Umpqua 66-12,
and topped Harrisburg
46-33 in the semifinals. In
the title match, they steam-
rolled
Douglas/Camas
Valley 59-16 to bring home
a trophy.
For the Knights, Alex
Miranda-Walls kept his
perfect record (29-0) intact
with a 6-0 mark on the
weekend at 170 pounds.
Miranda-Walls, whose
tournament titles include
the Hanford Winter Cup and
the Farm City Invitational,
posted three pins, two major
decisions and one forfeit.
Josue Aguilera also had
a flawless weekend, posting
five pins and a 7-5 overtime
victory over Jesse Bracht of
Douglas/Camas Valley.
Teammate Kaleb Kend-
rick (285) went 3-1 with
three pins, while Reece
Sheller (220) was 5-1 with
three pins and two forfeits,
and Kyler Shelton (132) was
5-1 with four pins. Justin
Patton (120) was 5-1 with
two pins and two forfeits.
Irrigon will wrestle
against Walla Walla aand
Mac-Hi on Tuesday at Walla
Walla High School. Friday,
they will wrestle at Ontario,
and Saturday, they will
compete in the R.D. Brown
Invitational in New Plym-
outh, Idaho.
Riverside finished sixth in
the 3A consolation bracket,
dropping its final match to
Vale, 35-34. The Pirates
forfeited five weight classes.
The Pirates had Abraham
Silva go 5-1 with three pins
and two forfeits. Ethan
Snyder (132) finished 5-1,
as did Jose Puerta (152/160),
while Fernando Ortega
(126/132) was 4-2.
2A/1A Division
Heppner/Ione reached the
seventh-place match against
Lowell, but no results were
listed.
Trevor Antonucci of
Heppner/Ione finished 4-1,
with two falls and two
forfeits, as did teammates
Conor Brosnas (145) and
Jace Coe (152).
Jacob Wallace (182)
posted a 4-1 record,
including three pins, while
Leo Waite (132) was 3-1.
4A Division
Mac-Hi/Weston McEwen/
Griswold lost its four matches
on Friday, then received two
matches in the bonus bracket
Saturday, beating Sisters
66-6 and Madras 42-33.