Polk County Sports
12A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 25, 2017
Central: Learns
Panthers pull away from Dragons from past losses
CENTRAL BASKETBALL
Itemizer-Observer staff report
INDEPENDENCE — Cen-
tral’s boys basketball team
was looking to make a state-
ment at home.
Mission accomplished.
The Panthers defeated
Lebanon 63-51 on Jan. 18
before earning a win over
Dallas 51-38 on Friday.
Peter Mendazona scored
18 points to lead the Panthers
against Lebanon. Peter
Mason added 14 points; Alec
Barba scored 12 points; and
Andrew Barry recorded 10
points.
All but six of Central’s
points against Dallas came
from three players. Menda-
zona scored a game-high 17
points — despite leaving in
the fourth quarter with an
ankle injury. Barba scored 16
points, and Mason scored
12.
“People can talk about
getting excited for rivalry
games,” coach Tim Kreta
said. “Unless you’ve experi-
enced it and gone through
it, it really doesn’t mean any-
thing. I think both commu-
nities came out and fully
supported their teams. It
was a great battle, and I
think our kids got a taste of
some very competitive bas-
ketball. Dallas always brings
everything.”
Against the Dragons, late
in quarters Central was con-
tent to wait until a Dallas de-
fender challenged them
when Central’s guard would
drive in and either dish it
out or drive to the hoop.
“That’s the way we want
to finish quarters and
Continued from Page 11A
Central still has work to
do. The Panthers, which
played Corvallis Tuesday
after press time, entered
the week tied for fifth place
in the conference with
Lebanon and South Albany
with a 2-3 mark in Mid-
Willamette Conference
play.
Each game becomes
more important to qualify
for the postseason, McDon-
ald said. Players hope the
win over Dallas helped
them turn an important
corner in their develop-
ment.
“We had faith in each
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Players watch a loose ball during Central’s 51-38 win over Dallas on Friday night.
halves,” Mendazona said.
“We let them come get us
and we drive to the middle.
It spreads the defense out.
We can get to the free-throw
line if they foul us. It’s a
tough offense to guard.”
It’s an offensive scheme
that gave Dallas trouble in
the second half.
“Peter (Mason) has ma-
tured as a point guard,”
Kreta said. “He knows what
his job is. If he gets by, he
only has one guy to beat.”
With strong offensive per-
formances from Mason,
Mendazona and Barba, the
team buckled down and
grabbed rebounds at a high
clip in the second half.
The Panthers (7-6 overall,
3-1 Mid-Willamette Confer-
ence) hope to continue
making a statement. Central
plays at Corvallis Wednes-
DALLAS ROUNDUP
Dragons defeat Silverton
Itemizer-Observer staff report
INDEPENDENCE — Dal-
las’ boys basketball team de-
feated Silverton 47-44 on
Jan. 18 before falling to Cen-
tral 51-38 on Friday.
The Dragons rallied from
an early 10-5 deficit against
Silverton to take a 26-17 lead
into halftime. Jason Richey
scored a team-high 17
points.
Jake Collins scored eight
points, and Evan Courtney
added seven points, includ-
ing five in the fourth quar-
ter.
Dallas kept it close with
Central, trailing 29-24 after
the second quarter, but
some cold shooting allowed
the Panthers to pull away in
the second half.
“I’m not too happy with
our composure in the third
q u a r t e r,” c o a c h Tr e n t
Schwartz said. “I think we
panicked a little bit and
started to not execute. We
got a little impatient in our
offense when we should
have waited for better shots,
and it snowballed on us a
little bit.”
The Dragons scored four
points in the third quarter.
Aaron White scored a
team-high nine points.
Dallas played Woodburn
Tuesday after press time.
The Dragons host South
Albany Fri-
day at 7
p.m. before
playing at
Lebanon
Tuesday at
7 p.m. Dal-
las entered
the week
with a 2-2
White
record in
Mid-Willamette Conference
play and 6-7 overall.
“This league is extremely
tough,” Schwartz said.
“ There’s a tremendous
amount of parity. When we
miss a shot, we have to go
get a stop on defense. If
you start thinking about
missing shots, it’s all men-
tal. You’ll miss your next
shot more than likely. You
have to get fired up on the
defensive end, get a stop
and go execute on offense
to get a better shot the next
time down.”
F O R D, D R E S S E L L E A D
SWIM TEAM: Dallas senior
swimmer Jolie-Rae Ford took
first in the girls 100-yard back-
stroke during the Dragons’
dual meet at Lebanon on Jan.
10. Ford finished with a time of
1 minute, 8.32 seconds. Ford
also won the
50 freestyle
in 26.94 sec-
onds.
Isaiah
Dressel won
the boys 200
individual
medley in
2:58.87.
Ford
R y a n
Kennedy took second in the
200 freestyle (2:10.82) and 50
freestyle (26.31).
“I am pleased with the
progress of our swimmers,”
coach David Morelli said. “The
swimmers are improving as we
move closer to districts.”
Lebanon’s boys and girls
teams defeated Dallas.
The Dragons hosted Central
Tuesday after press time. Dallas
travels to South Albany Tues-
day at 4 p.m. for the team’s final
meet before the district cham-
pionships Feb. 10-11 in Corval-
lis.
GIRLS BASKETBALL DROPS
TWO: Dallas’ girls basketball
team lost to Silverton 34-21 on
Jan. 17 and to Central 42-40 on
Friday. The losses snapped a
five-game win streak.
The Dragons (7-6 overall, 2-2
MWC) played Woodburn Tues-
day after press time. Dallas
plays at South Albany Friday at
7 p.m. before hosting Putnam
Monday at 7 p.m. and Lebanon
on Feb. 1 at 7 p.m.
Breaking through
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas sophomore Emma
Classen attempts to shoot
over Central sophomore
Meagan Mendazona on
Friday night. The Panthers
defeated the Dragons 42-
40. Dallas dropped to 7-6
overall and 2-2 in Mid-
Willamette Conference
play. The Dragons also lost
to Silverton 34-21 on Jan.
17.
Dallas played Woodburn
Tuesday after press time.
The Dragons play at South
Albany Friday at 7 p.m.
before hosting Putnam
Monday at 7 p.m. and
Lebanon on Feb. 1 at 7
p.m.
other and learned to trust
ourselves and our coaches,”
Hyre said. “We saw that we
can win these tough
games.”
The Panthers know they
can’t savor the victory for
too long. They must con-
tinue to learn and build to
keep pace in a difficult
league, McDonald said.
But all that could wait at
least for a night. On Friday,
Central enjoyed the thrill
of victory against a big
rival.
“It’s always a great time
when we play (Dallas),”
McDonald said. “I couldn’t
be more proud of the girls.”
day (today) at 7 p.m. The
Spartans enter the matchup
with a 4-1 mark in league
play. The Panthers play at
Woodburn Friday at 7 p.m.
before hosting Silverton
Tuesday at 7 p.m.
“Every game gets tougher
from here on out,” Kreta said.
“You enjoy a win for a night.
then you prepare for the next
game. We’re going to see
what we’re made.”
LUKAS EGGEN/ Itemizer-Observer
Central’s Elizabeth Chavez (12) drives to the basket
against Dallas on Friday night.
Feeling it
LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
Dallas’ Jason Richey goes up for a shot against Central on Friday. Richey scored
eight points against the Panthers. Richey scored a team-high 17 points during the
Dragons’ 47-44 win over Silverton on Jan. 18.
WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP
WOU holds on for
thrilling victory
Itemizer-Observer staff report
NAMPA, Idaho — Western
Oregon’s women’s basketball
team held on for a 78-75 vic-
tor y over Northwest
Nazarene on Saturday.
The Wolves rallied from a
14-point deficit in the fourth
quarter to earn the victory.
Sydney Azorr led WOU
with 17 points and 10 re-
bounds. Kennedy Corrigan
added 14 points; Savannah
Heugly recorded 12 points;
five assists and four re-
bounds; and Jasmine Miller
scored 10 points.
“I’m so proud of our focus
from start to finish,” coach
Holli Howard-Carpenter
said.
WOU opened the week
with a 77-63 loss to Central
Washington on Thursday.
Western Oregon hosts
Western Washington Thurs-
day at 7 p.m. and Simon
Fraser Saturday at 7 p.m.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
DOWNS ALASKA FAIRBANKS:
Western Oregon’s men’s basket-
ball team split its Alaska road
trip, falling to Alaska Anchor-
age 81-73 on Thursday before
defeating Alaska Fairbanks 83-
51 on Saturday.
Demetrius Trammell led
WOU with 17 points against
Alaska Anchorage, but WOU
couldn’t rally for the victory.
Against Alaska Fairbanks,
WOU rolled to an easy victory.
Bryan Berg scored a career-
high 22 points. Tanner Omlid
added 19 points and five re-
bounds. Trammell scored 15
points, and Akil Reese posted a
career-high 14 points. JJ Chirn-
side added seven rebounds
and four steals.
WOU plays Nor thwest
Nazarene Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
and Central Washington Satur-
day at 7:30 p.m.