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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 8, 2019)
B2 SPORTS East Oregonian Friday, February 8, 2019 Bucks: Boys No. 2 PREP ROUNDUP Riverside gets the best of Umatilla in EOL contests in conference play East Oregonian Continued from Page B1 BOYS’ BOX SCORE “I told them yesterday at practice, ‘You’re going to be as focused and ready to go as you’ve been at any game all year,’” said coach Kevin Porter. “We can’t afford let- downs. We needed to go out there and handle business, and we did.” Hoisington helped the Bucks out to a 20-point lead midway through the second quarter, and a trey from senior Elli Nirschl gave them a 36-10 lead at the half. The second half got off to a sluggish start, with both teams enduring a 2 1/2 minute scoring drought. A bucket from Cooley at 2:07 gave Pendleton a 42-14 lead, but Cowgirls sophomore Dallas Hutchins hit one of her own with 0:50 to go to tie the quarter at 6-6. With the game claimed early on, Porter sent in his bench to take care of the second half. Every Buck- aroo that played on Friday put points on the board. “I was really happy with everyone tonight,” Porter said. “We had 13 kids in the game. And what coach wouldn’t be happy with having 13 of his players get time on the court? Tonight gave our younger kids some experience.” The Bucks took a 31-point lead twice in the fourth quarter, and a 3-pointer from Chloe Taber pushed them out to a 33-point lead. Hutchins and Cowgirls sophomore Liz Barker scored two straight baskets to close the game, but Pendleton was far out of reach. “Games like this help us,” Cooley said. “We’re cleaning things up to take on Redmond and win the league. Tonight helped us perfect the little things — that’s something you’re not able to do in those high-in- tensity games.” Hoisington led the Bucks (8-11, 4-1 IMC) with 13 points, nine of which came from outside the 3-point line. Cooley added 10 points, five assists, and a 2 of 3 performance at the line. Pendleton 25 8 24 11 — 68 Crook County 6 24 5 8 — 43 PENDLETON — Newsom 27, Sams 16, O’Hanlon 10, Sweek 5, Sandford 5, Broncheau 5 CROOK COUNTY — Mullan 16, Sanchez 8, Kessi 6, Langley 5, Graydon 3, Bishop 2, Humeston 2, Lowenbach 1 Pendleton travels to Hood River Valley on Tues- day for more league action. Boys hoops The Bucks took control of the Cowboys early on to post a 68-43 IMC victory in Crook County on Friday. “We came out hot in the first quarter,” said coach Zach Dong. “Our press looked really good.” Senior guard Tyler New- som knocked down 10 points from the field in the first quarter, and sophomore guard Dakota Sams sunk two from the outside to help the Bucks put the quarter away 25-6. The Cowboys retaliated in the second to outscore the Bucks 24-8 to bring them within three points of the lead at halftime. “Crook County made some good adjustments and started hitting shots,” Dong said of the Cowboy come- back. “At the half, we chal- lenged the boys to come back out and put them away, and they did just that.” Dong said that junior guard Kason Broncheau led the charge with his defen- sive press, and helped set the offensive tempo. The Bucks claimed the third quarter 24-5. Newsom scored eight of the Bucks’ 11 points in the final eight minutes to seal the team’s fourth confer- ence win. “Tyler and (Tanner) Sweek were monsters on the board tonight,” Dong said. Newsom posted 27 points to lead Pendleton (14- 5, 4-1 IMC). Sams chipped in 16, and junior post Red- mond O’Hanlon 10. The Bucks are No. 2 in conference play, and will host Hood River Valley on Tuesday. James: Believes EOU’s program is on the rise Continued from Page B1 This past fall, Herm- iston moved into the Mid-Columbia Conference with the Tri-City schools, and had its share of suc- cess, including a road win over defending 4A state champion Richland. The 5-foot-10, 195- pound James threw for 1,391 yards and 12 touch- downs, and ran for another 753 yards and 12 touch- downs, finishing second in the MCC in total offense (2,144 yards). His efforts earned him the East Oregonian All- Area Player of the Year honor for the second year in a row. A shoulder injury in the first game of the sea- son limited James’ passing, and took him off defense. His junior year, he threw for more than 2,300 yards and 29 touchdowns as the Bulldogs won the Oregon 5A title. He will have shoul- der surgery on March 5 in Portland, and will miss baseball season. James isn’t sure when or where he will play at EOU, but he is not afraid to put in the work. “I have gotten into a groove here,” he said of Hermiston. “I have to get out of that. I will have to grind to get a spot there. I’m not completely sure where I will play. I might move to slot or play defense. I just like to play football. I will play anywhere.” James also got interest from Linfield, Whitworth, Oregon State and Western Oregon, but there were a couple of things that made Eastern his top choice. His dad David, a Pend- leton grad, played outside linebacker for the Mount- ies from 1980-81, and James believes EOU’s pro- gram is on the rise. “They are coming back up,” he said. “They are getting close to a national championship.” Blazers: Hood makes debut Continued from Page B1 Portland led by as many as 21 points early in the third quarter but the Spurs rallied to tie it at 88. The Blazers led 96-90 going into the final period and extended it to 108- 97 when Lillard found McCollum in the corner for a 3-pointer with 7:39 to play. Rodney Hood’s 3 gave the Blazers a 125-110 lead with just over two min- utes left. Hood, acquired by the Blazers in a Sun- day trade with Cleveland, made his debut in Portland with 4:09 to go in the first quarter. He finished with 14 points. The Trail Blazers also sent forward Caleb Swan- igan to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for forward Skal Labissiere just before the deadline Thursday. On Thursday night, the Riverside boys played their season’s “best game,” according to coach Clair Costello. The Pirates turned the visiting Umatilla Vikings down 47-36 in Eastern Ore- gon League action. “This was unexpected,” Costello said of the win. “The kids had to play really well in order to beat (Uma- tilla), and they did.” Mario Madrigal led Riv- erside with 16 points, and Juan Reyna added 13. The Vikings were led by Chris- tian De Loera with 14 points. Umatilla managed just 12 points in the opening two quarters. “We shot only 15 per- cent in the first half,” said Vikings coach Scott Bow. “We couldn’t get anything going offensively. Riverside had great energy, and really capitalized on our lack of shooting.” Riverside (10-13, 4-5 EOL) ends their regular season on Saturday with a home game against Nyssa. The Vikings (17-6, 5-4 EOL) host Burns. Girls hoops RIVERSIDE 53, UMA- TILLA 33 — Faith Rosen poured in 16 points, and Brendy Avalos contributed 11 on the way to a Eastern Oregon League home vic- tory on Thursday. Cesi Garcia added nine points to help in the win. “That’s what’s been kill- ing us all season — having just one person doing all the scoring,” said Pirates coach Clair Costello. “Tonight, we had three good scorers.” Taylor Durfey posted 16 points for the Vikings, and Charlene Alvarez had 13. Riverside (12-10, 4-5 EOL) hosts Nyssa on Sat- urday to close the regu- lar season. Umatilla (2-21, 0-9 EOL) will welcome the Burns Hilanders. Staff photo by E.J. Harris, File Pendleton’s Alex Rendon attempts to pin Redmond’s John Downing in the 132-pound match in the Bucks’ 36-32 win over the Panthers on Jan. 3 in Pendleton. Rendon: Wrestling has always been his top sport Continued from Page B1 Rendon, who is 45-3, has had an impressive sea- son. He won the 138-pound title at the Muilenburg Invi- tational in La Grande, then captured the 132-pound title at the Joe Stewart Invita- tional and the Bend Invite. He also went 7-0 at the Oregon Classic, and 5-0 at the Colton Holly Tournament. While he has wrestled at various weights this season, Rendon will take the mat at 126 pounds this weekend. His three losses this year are to guys at 132, so the sacri- fice is worth it. “It’s a struggle every day,” Rendon said of watch- ing his weight. “But 132 is stacked for state. At 126, there is a two-time state placer from Crook County (junior Hunter Mode).” Rendon likely will see Mode in the district finals this weekend. He has not wrestled him before. “I’m pretty sure we will find each other at the tour- nament,” he said. Mode won the Class 4A 106-pound title last year, and was second as a fresh- man for the Cowboys, who are in their first year at the 5A level. “We have the No. 1 and No. 2 kids in the state at 126 in our conference,” Phillips said of Mode and Rendon. “They are in opposite sides of the bracket and could see each other in the finals.” In the beginning Rendon started wrestling when he was about 7 years old, but he was not a natural from the start. “It took a couple of years, but once I got it, I was pretty talented,” he said. “More so than I am now.” Phillips said he knew who Rendon was from the time he came on the wres- tling scene. “Everyone knew who Alex was,” Phillips said. “He had this curly head of hair and he won a lot. I knew at one point he’d wrestle for us.” Rendon also played soc- cer when he was younger, but discovered football in middle school. “Football is more for me,” said Rendon, who was the kicker for the Bucks football team. “In middle school, I decided I liked football more than soccer, and I had a pretty good foot from soccer.” But wrestling has always been his top sport. He went to state as a freshman, but did not place. He placed fifth as a soph- omore, then lost the 126- pound championship match last year to Crescent Val- ley’s Beau Ohlson by an 11-5 decision. Rendon fin- ished his junior season 44-6. “I saw him (Ohlson) at the Bend Invite, but he is heavier than me now,” Ren- don said. The next chapter Rendon said he has thought about wrestling at the college level, but has not made any commitments. Eastern Oregon Univer- sity and Southern Oregon University are on his radar. Phillips wrestled at Southern Oregon and has good contacts. “He’s just not sure what he wants to do,” Phillips said. “We joke around that to be a successful college wrestler, you have to be a little off. You have to be able to endure pain and suf- fering. I’m not sure he is willing to do that.” Rendon said he appreci- ates what Phillips has done for him over the years. “He has been a good coach all four years,” Ren- don said. “I would not be as good as I am without him.” SCOREBOARD LOCAL SLATE NBA FRIDAY, FEB. 8 EASTERN CONFERENCE Boys Basketball Union at Pilot Rock, 6 p.m. Stanfield at Weston-McEwen, 6 p.m. Pendleton at Crook County, 6:30 p.m. South Wasco County at Echo, 7:30 p.m. Nixyaawii at Elgin, 7:30 p.m. Pine Eagle at Helix, 7:30 p.m. Vale at Irrigon, 7:30 p.m. Girls Basketball South Wasco County at Echo, 6 p.m. Nixyaawii at Elgin, 6 p.m. Pine Eagle at Helix, 6 p.m. Vale at Irrigon, 6 p.m. Crook County at Pendleton (at BMCC), 6:30 p.m. Union at Pilot Rock, 7:30 p.m. Stanfield at Weston-McEwen, 7:30 p.m. Boys Wrestling Pendleton at IMC Districts (Pendleton High School), 2 p.m. Atlantic Toronto Boston Philadelphia Brooklyn New York Southeast Charlotte Miami Orlando Washington Atlanta Central Milwaukee Indiana Detroit Chicago Cleveland SATURDAY, FEB. 9 Boys Basketball Mac-Hi at Ontario, 3 p.m. Grant Union at Stanfield, 4 p.m. Ione at South Wasco County, 5:30 p.m. Echo at Condon/Wheeler, 5:30 p.m. Joseph at Nixyaawii, 5:30 p.m. Nyssa at Riverside, 5:30 p.m. Helix at Wallowa, 5:30 p.m. Burns at Umatilla, 6:30 p.m. Girls Basketball Ione at South Wasco County, 4 p.m. Echo at Condon/Wheeler, 4 p.m. Joseph at Nixyaawii, 4 p.m. Helix at Wallowa, 4 p.m. Nyssa at Riverside, 4 p.m. Mac-Hi at Ontario, 4:30 p.m. Grant Union at Stanfield, 5:30 p.m. Men’s Basketball Blue Mountain at Wenatchee Valley, 4 p.m. Women’s Basketball Blue Mountain at Wenatchee Valley, 2 p.m. Boys Wrestling Hermiston at Regional Tournament (Yelm High School), 9 a.m. Pendleton at IMC Districts (Pendleton High School), 2 p.m. Girls Wrestling Hermiston at Regionals (Othello High School), 11 a.m. W 40 35 34 29 10 W 26 25 23 22 18 W 40 36 24 12 11 L 16 20 20 27 43 L 28 27 32 32 36 L 13 19 29 42 43 Pct .714 .636 .630 .518 .189 Pct .481 .481 .418 .407 .333 Pct .755 .655 .453 .222 .204 GB — 4½ 5 11 28½ GB — — 3½ 4 8 GB — 5 16 28½ 29½ WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest W L Pct GB Houston 32 22 .593 — San Antonio 32 25 .561 1½ Dallas 25 28 .472 6½ New Orleans 24 31 .436 8½ Memphis 22 34 .393 11 Northwest W L Pct GB Denver 37 17 .685 — Oklahoma City 35 19 .648 2 Portland 33 21 .611 4 Utah 31 24 .564 6½ Minnesota 25 29 .463 12 Pacific W L Pct GB Golden State 38 15 .717 — L.A. Clippers 30 26 .536 9½ Sacramento 28 26 .519 10½ L.A. Lakers 28 27 .509 11 Phoenix 11 45 .196 28½ ——— Wednesday’s Games Brooklyn 135, Denver 130 Milwaukee 148, Washington 129 New Orleans 125, Chicago 120 Dallas 99, Charlotte 93 Utah 116, Phoenix 88 Houston 127, Sacramento 101 Golden State 141, San Antonio 102 Thursday’s Games Indiana 116, L.A. Clippers 92 Orlando 122, Minnesota 112 Toronto 119, Atlanta 101 L.A. Lakers 129, Boston 128 Oklahoma City 117, Memphis 95 Portland 127, San Antonio 118 Friday’s Games Cleveland at Washington, 4 p.m. Denver at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. New York at Detroit, 4 p.m. Chicago at Brooklyn, 4:30 p.m. Milwaukee at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Golden State at Phoenix, 6 p.m. Minnesota at New Orleans, 6:30 p.m. Miami at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Saturday’s Games San Antonio at Utah, 2 p.m. Cleveland at Indiana, 4 p.m. Charlotte at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Toronto at New York, 4:30 p.m. L.A. Clippers at Boston, 5 p.m. New Orleans at Memphis, 5 p.m. Washington at Chicago, 5 p.m. Oklahoma City at Houston, 5:30 p.m. Orlando at Milwaukee, 6 p.m. Sunday’s Games Portland at Dallas, 12 p.m. L.A. Lakers at Philadelphia, 12:30 p.m. Phoenix at Sacramento, 3 p.m. Orlando at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Miami at Golden State, 5:30 p.m. NHL EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic GP W L OT Pts GF GA Tampa Bay 54 39 11 4 82 207 150 Toronto 53 33 17 3 69 190 150 Montreal 55 31 18 6 68 169 158 Boston 54 29 17 8 66 155 140 Buffalo 53 26 20 7 59 158 166 Florida 52 22 22 8 52 161 180 Detroit 54 21 26 7 49 153 178 Ottawa 54 20 29 5 45 167 199 Metropolitan GP W L OT Pts GF GA N.Y. Islanders 53 31 16 6 68 154 129 Washington 54 30 18 6 66 182 171 Columbus 53 30 20 3 63 173 164 Pittsburgh 54 28 19 7 63 185 167 Carolina 54 27 21 6 60 158 160 Philadelphia 54 24 23 7 55 155 180 N.Y. Rangers 53 23 22 8 54 152 178 New Jersey 53 20 25 8 48 154 180 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central GP W L OT Winnipeg 54 34 17 3 Nashville 56 33 19 4 Dallas 54 28 21 5 Minnesota 54 26 23 5 St. Louis 52 25 22 5 Colorado 53 22 22 9 Chicago 55 22 24 9 Pacific GP W L OT Pts 71 70 61 57 55 53 53 Pts GF 189 174 140 151 147 176 177 GF GA 154 143 137 158 153 177 201 GA Calgary 54 34 15 5 73 199 157 San Jose 55 32 16 7 71 198 173 Vegas 56 31 21 4 66 167 153 Vancouver 55 24 24 7 55 158 171 Edmonton 54 24 25 5 53 157 179 Arizona 54 23 26 5 51 142 159 Anaheim 55 21 25 9 51 125 176 Los Angeles 54 23 27 4 50 128 160 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per confer- ence advance to playoffs. Wednesday’s Games Toronto 5, Ottawa 4 N.Y. Rangers 4, Boston 3, SO Thursday’s Games Los Angeles 3, Philadelphia 2, SO Florida 3, Pittsburgh 2, OT N.Y. Islanders 2, New Jersey 1, SO Washington 4, Colorado 3, OT Carolina 6, Buffalo 5, OT Ottawa 4, Anaheim 0 Montreal 5, Winnipeg 2 St. Louis 1, Tampa Bay 0, OT Vegas 4, Detroit 3 Edmonton 4, Minnesota 1 Nashville 3, Dallas 2, OT Chicago 4, Vancouver 3, OT Columbus 4, Arizona 2 San Jose 5, Calgary 2 Friday’s Games Carolina at N.Y. Rangers, 5 p.m. Saturday’s Games Anaheim at Philadelphia, 10 a.m. Minnesota at New Jersey, 10 a.m. Detroit at Buffalo, 10 a.m. Colorado at N.Y. Islanders, 10 a.m. Los Angeles at Boston, 10 a.m. Winnipeg at Ottawa, 11 a.m. Nashville at St. Louis, 11 a.m. Dallas at Arizona, 1 p.m. San Jose at Edmonton, 4 p.m. Florida at Washington, 4 p.m. Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay, 4 p.m. Toronto at Montreal, 4 p.m. Calgary at Vancouver, 7 p.m. Columbus at Vegas, 7 p.m. Sunday’s Games St. Louis at Nashville, 9:30 a.m. Carolina at New Jersey, 12 p.m. Colorado at Boston, 12 p.m. Winnipeg at Buffalo, 12 p.m. Detroit at Chicago, 12 p.m. Minnesota at N.Y. Islanders, 12 p.m. Tampa Bay at Florida, 3 p.m. Toronto at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m.