E AST O REGONIAN FOLLOW US ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2019 Irrigon girls edge past Umatilla TWITTER @EOSPORTS | FACEBOOK.COM/EOSPORTS B1 DAWGS TAKE DOWN WA-HI IN MCC DUAL By BRETT KANE East Oregonian It took some fi ghting, but the Irrigon girls withstood Umatilla’s pressure to send them packing 44-39 in an Eastern Oregon League matchup on Thursday night. The Knights sprinted out to a 15-2 lead at the end of the fi rst quarter, but the Vi k i n g s c a m e GIRLS HOOPS back to challenge t h e m moving forward. Ir rigon narrowly Irrigon Umatilla escaped 44 39 with the win. The last time the two teams clashed, Irrigon won by 12 points. “Umatilla has improved so much,” said Knights coach Mike Royer. “They’re starting to play with confi dence, and they’re learning how to win.” Freshman JaLay Burns ignited the Knights’ mighty fi rst quarter run, knock- ing down eight points including two 3-pointers. But despite the strong start, the Knights stumbled to let Umatilla top them 11-4 in the second quarter. Senior Alexandra Ford took care of seven of those points. The Knights were out front 19-13 at halftime. “I think the fi rst quarter got to our heads,” said Burns, a 5-foot-2 point guard. “We were getting tired towards halftime. I remember looking at the scoreboard Staff photo by Kathy Aney Adrian Delgado, of Hermiston (top), wrestles Walla Walla’s Ruben Lozano on Thursday in the 113-pound weight class. Delgado pinned Lozano. By ANNIE FOWLER East Oregonian n the fi nal night of Mid-Co- lumbia Conference wrestling, the Hermiston Bulldogs put on a show for their fans. The Bulldogs (3-5 MCC) won their fi rst six matches, and took advantage of four forfeits in the upper weights to cruise to a 61-18 victory Thursday night over visiting Walla Walla (1-7). “It’s fun to fi nish our league duals with a win,” Hermiston coach Kyle Larson said. “Not only did we win, but in a lot of those matches we got bonus points. We like it when we push the pace and try to pin a guy when it is 14-0 instead of getting a technical fall.” Blue Devils coach Jacob Butenhoff did not like giving away four matches. He said he simply does not have the men to fi ll the weight classes. “We are in that rebuilding phase,” he said. “We are struggling to fi ll the lineup. The guys we do have get out and scrap. We are young and green, and don’t realize we are in trouble until it’s too late.” It was senior night for the Bulldogs, who got wins from Gage Shipley at 132 and Isaac Lambert at 120. Om Pakdee was not as fortunate, but the exchange student from Thailand still had a smile on his face after the match. O See Hoops, Page B2 Staff photo by Kathy Aney Trevor Wagner, of Hermiston (top), wrestles Walla Walla’s Jesse Easley in the 160-pound weight class on Thursday. Wagner won by decision. MATCH RESULTS Team scores — Hermiston 61, Walla Walla 18. 106 — Zayne Helfer (H) p. John-Mark Whitaker, 1:30. 113 — Adrian Delgado (H) d. Ruben Lozano, 5-2. 120 — Isaac Lambert (H) p. Bernardo Bautista, 3:10. 126 — Hunter Dyer (H) p. Tanner Bollinger, :57. 132 — Gage Shipley (H) p. Camrin Henzel, 4:36. 138 — Jordan Franklin (H) tf. Emilio Sardina, 17-2. 145 — Tanner Siller (WW) p. Brock Remmer, 2:46. 152 — Alejandro Mata (WW) p. Om Pak- dee, 3:22. 160 — Trevor Wagner (H) tf. Jesse Easley, 16-0. 170 — Michael Ramirez (H) won by forfeit. 182 — Staff photo by E.J. Harris Blake Betz (H) won by forfeit. 195 — Stanley Scott (H) won by forfeit. 220 — Jon Lee (H) won by forfeit. 285 — Irrigon’s JaLay Burns shoots the ball over Umatilla’s Patricia Burres in the Knights’ 44-39 win against the Vikings on Thurs- day in Irrigon. Jerry Corona (WW) p. Dustyn Coughlin, 3:58. See Wrestling, Page B2 COLLEGE HOOPS Washington holds off Oregon Oregon State eases past Ducks’ late rally for 61-56 win Washington State 90-77 EUGENE (AP) — Jaylen Nowell scored 20 points, capped by three free throws with 1.6 seconds left, and Washington weathered a furi- ous Oregon rally to escape 61-56 on Thursday night. Nowell was fouled on a desperation 3-point try after Payton Pritchard lost the ball as the Ducks were trying to set up for a fi nal shot with the score at 56-56. Pritchard then hit Nowell on the arm as he rose to shoot from about 30 feet. Oregon’s last posses- sion ended with Paul White throwing the length of the court out of bounds, and Matisse Thybulle added two more free throws for the fi nal points. David Crisp added 18 points and Noah Dickerson 11 for the Huskies (15-4, 6-0 Pac-12), who won their eighth consecutive game. It’s also Washington’s best start in AP Photo/Thomas Boyd PAC-12 Oregon forward Francis Okoro (33) pulls down a re- bound against Washington during the fi rst half of an NCAA college basketball game on Thursday in Eugene. Washington Oregon 61 56 conference play in 35 years. Louis King had 19 points to lead the Ducks (11-8, 2-4), and Miles Norris added 10 off the bench. Oregon lost a fourth home game in Mat- thew Knight Arena for the fi rst time since it opened in 2011. CORVALLIS (AP) — Stephen Thompson Jr. had 22 points, with four 3-pointers, six rebounds and seven assists as Oregon State defeated Washington State 90-77 on Thursday night. Tres Tinkle had 21 points and four steals and Ethan Thompson added 20 points and six assists for the Beavers (12-6, 4-2 Pac-12). C.J. Elleby scored 21 points, all in the second half, and Robert Franks Jr. had 20 points and eight rebounds for the Cougars (8-11, 1-5). Oregon State shot 52 percent and 10 for 27 on 3-pointers, while Wash- ington State shot 50 percent and 12 for 28 from long range. But the Beavers outrebounded AP Photo/Amanda Loman Oregon State’s Zach Reichle guards Washington State’s Robert Franks Jr. during Thursday’s game in Corvallis. the Cougars 39-24 and grabbed 15 offensive boards. Oregon State led 52-36 at the break. Kylor Kelley fi nished with 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for Oregon State. PAC-12 Oregon St. Wash. St. 90 77