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B1
Tigers drop close game with Falcons
Stanfi eld takes
second place at
Columbia River
Clash after falling
to Faith Bible
By BRETT KANE
East Oregonian
UMATILLA — Last
year, the Stanfi eld girls
dropped all but one game at
Umatilla’s Columbia River
Clash basketball tourna-
ment. This year, they won
all but the championship
game.
On Saturday, the Tigers
walked away with a sec-
ond-place trophy after fall-
ing to Faith Bible 58-44 in
the Clash’s championship
game.
The Tigers tied the game
four times before the Fal-
cons tore away in the fourth
quarter, using a 10-point run
in the fi nal three minutes to
keep the game out of reach.
The 14-point loss was Stan-
fi eld’s fi rst of the season.
“They are a good team,”
Stanfi eld head coach Dan-
iel Sharp said of their Hills-
boro-based opponents. “Any
team that we play from the
other side of the state brings
a physicality that we don’t
see from teams over here.”
Stanfi eld senior Nyah
Tejeda and freshman Mag-
gie Sharp combined for
seven early points in the
opening quarter to give
the Tigers the fi rst of two
leads. The Falcons evened
the score with a 3 1/2-min-
ute scoring spree that tied
things at 7-7.
Stanfi eld
sophomore
Alexis Shelby notched a
basket in the fi nal minute
for a brief 9-7 advantage, but
Faith Bible sophomore Ash-
ley Lohman tied the game at
9-9 with just 11 seconds left
before the buzzer.
A seven-point streak in
the second quarter gave
the Falcons some distance
before Stanfi eld got things
going again with a trey from
freshman Zuri Reeser and a
basket from Kylee McClure
that brought the game to
18-15.
Tejeda scored a basket
and a shot at the line to pull
the Tigers within 21-20 with
1:08 left in the half, but the
Tigers missed four ensu-
ing free throws that would
have swung the game back
in their favor.
Falcons junior Izzy Steer-
man sunk a shot with just 12
seconds left for a 24-20 half-
time advantage.
“We did a good job of
See Tigers, Page B2
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Stanfi eld’s Maggie Sharp launches the ball toward the hoop
Saturday during the championship game of the Umatilla Co-
lumbia River Clash.
PREP ROUNDUP
MCC PREP BASKETBALL
BENAVIDEZ
LEADS LIONS
PAST DAWGS
Nixyaawii
triumphs
over
Umatilla
East Oregonian
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Hermiston’s Katelyn Heideman brings the ball
down the court during Saturday’s game against
the Kennewick Lions.
Slow start hurts
Hermiston in loss
to Kennewick
Fiander leads Lions with
24 points in 59-48 victory
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — Hermiston was hot from the
3-point line in the second half, but it was a lacklus-
ter fi rst half that put the Bulldogs behind the 8-ball
early.
Avery Fiander scored a career-high 24 points —
16 in the fi rst half — to lead the Lions to a 59-48
Mid-Columbia Conference victory Saturday night
at the Dawg House.
“We didn’t play the best team defense, that’s
what it came down to,” said Hermiston coach Mal-
loree Moss, whose team fell to 0-2 in MCC play.
“They hit their shots. They are a tough team, and
we knew that. They hit the boards hard and we
didn’t do what we needed to do.”
The Lions used their size to dominate the
boards, and took advantage of uncontested shots
in the paint.
See Girls Basketball, Page B2
KENNEWICK 16 18 11 14 — 59
HERMISTON 10 5 10 23 — 48
KENNEWICK — Fiander 24, Flores 6, Thornton
10, McBee 8, Gebers 11.
HERMISTON — Heideman 6, M.Young 15, Ray
2, Dowdy 1, Hernandez 7, Romero 11, Brown 2,
B.Young 4
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Hermiston’s Jaime Ramirez puts up a shot as Kennewick’s Ayoni Benavidez defends
during Saturday’s game at the Dawg House.
Rangel leads
Hermiston with 16
points in 72-59 loss
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
ERMISTON — For three
quarters, Hermiston played
basket for basket with Kenne-
wick, but a slow third quarter
did the Bulldogs in.
Ayoni Benavidez scored a career-high
33 points, and the Lions held the Bull-
dogs to just six points in the third quarter
as they cruised to a 72-59 Mid-Columbia
Conference victory Saturday night at the
Dawg House.
“The third quarter, we came out fl at,”
Hermiston coach Drew Preuninger said.
“We needed to play smarter offensively
H
KENNEWICK 20 19 16 17 — 72
HERMISTON 18 18 6 17 — 59
KENNEWICK — Benavidez 33, Moses 3,
Collier 9, Mayer 1, Mayovsky 10, Knapik
7, Childs 5, McElroy 4.
HERMISTON — Ruloph 13, Pitney 12,
Ramos-Barron 5, Rangel 16, Madrigal 9,
Jay.Ramirez 2, Jai.Ramirez 2.
Boys hoops
and defensively. I have been so proud
of these kids. They are proving people
wrong. They never give up.”
The game was the MCC opener for the
Lions.
“We came out with some renewed
focus,” Kennewick Braydn Leyde said
the third quarter. “We weren’t happy with
how we played in the fi rst half. Holding
See Boys Basketball, Page B2
County championships look to bring interest to wrestling
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
ECHO — It will be a full
house Wednesday at Echo High
School.
The second annual Oregon
Trail County Championships will
invade the gym, featuring wres-
tling teams from Umatilla and
Morrow counties. Action begins
at 1 p.m., with the fi nals sched-
uled for 6 p.m.
“It went well enough that
everyone is coming back,” Echo/
Stanfi eld coach Monte Toombs
said. “Last year, we had one or
two schools whose schedules
didn’t line up, but they are com-
ing this year.”
It should be a good lineup
across the board, from Irrigon’s
Asher Hall at 113 pounds, to Riv-
erside’s Fernando Ortega at 126,
UMATILLA — In his eight
years of coaching, Shane Rivera
has never had a team that could
beat Umatilla at the Columbia River
Clash basketball tournament.
On Saturday, that all changed.
In a championship matchup at
Umatilla High School, the Nixy-
aawii Golden Eagle boys handed
the Vikings a 58-42 loss to take fi rst
place in the tournament.
Nixyaawii had fallen to Umatilla
the previous three years, but this
year, they outscored the Vikings
11-6 in the second quarter and 15-8
in the third to seal the win.
“We have experience, and they
were a senior-heavy team last year,”
Rivera said. “Now, things are com-
ing into our favor.”
Mick Schimmel led the Golden
Eagles with 17 points, and Tya-
sin Burns followed with 15. Moses
Moses and freshman Shane Rivera
each scored 10 in the win.
Andrew Earl was the only
Viking to post double digits, pour-
ing in a team-high 15 points.
“As a team, we played good
defense,” coach Rivera said. “We
rebounded pretty well and scram-
bled for loose balls. I wouldn’t say
we shot the ball great, but we found
a way to get it done. The kids were
hungry for the win. Umatilla is a
really well-coached team. This was
good for the program, good for the
kids.”
The Golden Eagles (4-2) are
back on the road to compete in the
Toldeo Invitational that runs Fri-
day through Saturday. Umatilla
(5-1) hosts Stanfi eld on Tuesday at
7:30 p.m.
Mac-Hi’s Jesse Jones at 145,
Echo’s Isaiah Lemmon at 145, and
Pendleton’s Isaac Urbina at 182.
Hermiston, which has a
Mid-Columbia Conference dou-
ble dual Thursday, is sending it’s
junior varsity team.
Toombs also would like to fea-
ture a few girls matches.
“The whole purpose is to try
and build interest in wrestling in
our area,” Toombs said. “Some
teams are struggling with num-
bers. We just want to try and
highlight the sport in our area.”
The fi nals will feature spe-
cially designed singlets for the
competitors in red and blue with
an Oregon Trail theme.
In a move to increase inter-
est in the sport, Toombs said all
youth wrestlers with a current
Oregon wrestling card will get in
free.
STANFIELD 64, FAITH
BIBLE 39 — The Tigers (3-3)
recorded a season-high point total
over the winless Falcons to close out
the Columbia River Clash in Uma-
tilla on Saturday.
AJ Keeney led the way with 12
points, Rafael Orozco had 11, and
Mario Sanchez nine. Faith Bible’s
Jordan Tibbets had a game-high 16
points.
The Tigers will travel to Uma-
tilla on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
RIVERSIDE 54, GRANT
UNION 38 — The Pirates took
third place at the Columbia River
Clash, led by Johan Pena with 13
points and Juan Rena with 12.
Riverside (5-1) travels to Hep-
pner on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m.
tip-off.
IONE/ARLINGTON 67, THE
DALLES (JV) 38 — The Cardi-
nals (4-0) remained undefeated
following a blowout home win
over The Dalles’ JV squad at the
Arlington Snowball Tournament
See Prep roundup, Page B2