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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 2022)
E AST O REGONIAN THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2022 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS | FACEBOOK.COM/EOSPORTS A8 Former Division I player Emmit Taylor III set to join EOU basketball By DAVIS CARBAUGH The Observer LA GRANDE — Connections you make in sports can last a lifetime. For Emmit Taylor III, the Eastern Oregon University men’s basketball program is providing the opportu- nity to rekindle past connections and team up with former teammates — the transfer guard previously played with two of Eastern’s top returning players, Phillip Malatare and Ismael Valdez. The accom- plished shooting guard is leaving the Division I ranks to bring his perimeter shooting prowess to La Grande next season. Taylor “Chris (Kemp) has the team going in the right direc- tion. He just needed a little more pieces,” Taylor said. “I think I can really come into Eastern Oregon and have an impact right away.” The graduate transfer, who has one year of eligibility remaining, comes to Eastern after playing last season at Division I Idaho State. Taylor averaged five points per game, scoring in double fi gures off the bench in fi ve games. Prior to making the leap to the Division I ranks, Taylor was a stand- out at Northern Idaho College — he averaged 13.9 points per game in the 2018 season off 42.9% shooting from 3-point range. Taylor scored a career- high 46 points in a game that season, hitting 12 3-pointers. In his soph- omore year, he averaged 11 points per game and shot 36.6% from long range. North Idaho College, where East- ern head coach Chris Kemp was an assistant for the 2016-17 season, has several ties to Eastern that played a role in Taylor’s decision to transfer. The guard played two seasons with Malatare and Valdez, two key play- Curiosity leads to scholarship Hermiston’s Guerrero to play lacrosse at Adams State By ANNIE FOWLER East Oregonian H ERMISTON — When Andrew Guerrero and his family moved to Hermiston the summer before his fi fth grade year, they lived across the street from the Bradshaws, whose son Carson was the same age. One day, Guerrero saw Carson playing lacrosse and thought it looked fun. Seven years later, that curiosity turned into a scholarship for the Hermiston senior to play lacrosse at Adams State Univer- sity in Alamosa, Colorado. “In fifth grade, we had a really good coach who did play in college and he pushed us and told us we could do really good Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File Hermiston’s Andrew Guerrero passes to a teammate during a win over Han- ford on March 25, 2022, at Kennison Field, Hermiston. Guerrero will con- tinue his lacrosse career at Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado. things in this sport,” Guerrero said. “When I got to high school and I was playing with the older guys, I knew I could make it.” While Adams State quickly became Guerrero’s top choice, he did his due diligence in researching other schools — everything from enrollment numbers and tuition costs to their business programs and athletic programs. “I didn’t go visit any other schools, but I did look into them and the surrounding areas,” Guer- rero said. “I love the outdoors and there are a lot of things to do there. The price range is really good for a Div. II school. It ticked all the boxes. When I visited, it was cold and snowy, but the campus looked nice and the coach (Jerome Austin) was awesome.” The Grizzlies, who play in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Confer- ence, have several underclassmen on their roster this season, and are off to a 1-5 start. “Talking with the other fresh- men coming in, they are looking forward to playing and making changes,” Guerrero said. “They care about the sport. I’m super confi dent in the 2022 class. I think we have a lot of amazing athletes.” See Guerrero, Page A9 ers in last year’s rotation at Eastern — Malatare averaged 19.2 points per game and was named to the NAIA Honorable Mention All-American team. “I played with Ismael (Valdez) and Phillip (Malatare) at North Idaho and I knew Chris Kemp through my coaches,” Taylor said. “I’m comfort- able playing with those two, so we have a pretty good chemistry. I think See Taylor, Page A9 ON THE SLATE THURSDAY, APRIL 21 Prep softball Pendleton at The Dalles, 4:30 p.m. Track and fi eld Ione at Mt. Adams Invitational, Trout Lake, 3 p.m. Prep tennis Hermiston at Pasco, 3:30 p.m. Weston-McEwen at McLoughlin, 3:30 p.m. Sherman boys and girls at Pendleton, 3 p.m. Riverside at Stanfi eld/Echo, 4:30 p.m. FRIDAY, APRIL 22 Prep baseball Joseph at Irrigon (2), 1 p.m. Vale at Riverside (2), 1 p.m. Burns at Umatilla (2), 1 p.m. Hermiston at Hanford (2), 4 p.m. Prep softball Burns at Umatilla (2), 1 p.m. Enterprise at Irrigon (2), 1 p.m. Vale at Riverside (2), 1 p.m. Pilot Rock at Echo/Stanfi eld (2), 2 p.m. Union at Weston-McEwen (2), 2 p.m. Hermiston at Chiawana (2), 4 p.m. Boys soccer Richland at Hermiston, 7 p.m. Prep golf Heppner, Echo at Union Invite, Buff alo Peak Golf Club, 9 a.m. Prep lacrosse Kamiakin at Hermiston (AMMS), 7:30 p.m. Track and fi eld Hermiston at Oregon Relays, Hayward Field, Eugene, TBD Irrigon, Riverside at Wayne Invitational, Vale, 2 p.m.
