Polk County Sports
14A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • December 6, 2017
Triano: Senior plays key role Men’s basketball
WESTERN OREGON ROUNDUP
Continued from Page 13A
Dustin saw firsthand the
travel schedules, the time
commitment and the dedi-
cation it took to play bas-
ketball at the highest level.
“Ever since I picked up a
basketball, I’ve wanted to
play for as long as I could,”
Dustin said. “I remember
wanting to play in the NBA
and keep going as far as I
could take it.”
Dustin has carved out his
own path. Prior to transfer-
ring to Western Oregon,
Dustin was at Gonzaga dur-
ing its run to the NCAA Men’s
Basketball National Champi-
onship game last season.
He was looking for a
chance to go to a program
where he could find more
playing time and a place
that had a winning tradition.
“It came down to when I
was at Gonzaga, we won a
lot while I was there,”
Dustin said. “When I met
with coach Shaw and met
the guys, I had the sense
that these guys wanted to
win and compete. That’s
what I like. I think basket-
ball is more fun while you’re
winning and competing
every day.”
Dustin has appeared in
all eight of Western’s games,
averaging 5.9 points and 1.9
rebounds per game in 17.9
minutes per game of action.
“Whether it’s on the
court, in the classroom, or
on campus, the first thing
that stands out about Dustin
is his maturity,” WOU coach
Jim Shaw said. “As a player,
in addition to being an elite-
level shooter, Dustin always
brings a great attitude and
understanding of the game
to any situation.”
Jay has suppor ted
Dustin’s decision to trans-
fer.
“I just want him to have
fun and enjoy the game,”
Jay said. “He’s been so fortu-
nate to be in a Sweet Six-
teen, Elite Eight and a Final
Four. Now he gets a chance
to play and contribute
while working on his mas-
ters. These are times he will
never forget.”
As Dustin works to carve
out his role with the Wolves,
he’s loving every moment.
“It’s just fun,” Dustin said.
“On game days, you just
want to compete and win.”
PERRYDALE ROUNDUP
Girls basketball splits opening games
Itemizer-Observer staff report
LOWELL — Perrydale’s
girls basketball team defeat-
ed Gilchrist 51-20 on Friday
before losing to North Dou-
glas 41-39 on Saturday.
“Against Gilchrist, we’re
one of those teams that if
you’re not real quick, we’re a
bad matchup,” coach Terry
Newton said. “Gilchrist was
in over their heads a little
bit.”
Against North Douglas
on Saturday, the Pirates lost
a close battle.
“The girls played a heck
of a game,” Newton said. “It
was physical. With 50 sec-
onds left, we had a four-
point lead, but had some
things go against us. We
know what we are and who
we are, but we still have to
learn the lessons. We have
to respect the process and
that’s what we’re doing.”
The Pirates host Yoncalla
Wednesday (today) at 5:30
p.m. and play at Living-
stone Adventist Tuesday at
5:30 p.m.
BOYS BASKETBALL DE-
FEATS GILCHRIST: Perrydale’s
boys basketball team defeated
Gilchrist 61-34 on Friday be-
fore falling to North Douglas
68-53 on Saturday.
“It’s a learning process,”
coach Brian Domes said. “They
showed some good things
and some things that have to
get better. … I think we saw
that we’re not the team we
were last year. We can’t just
show up and expect to win.
Everyone has to be together
and on the same page.”
One change will be a vari-
ety of defensive schemes will
be used.
“I can’t rely on man-to-man
all the time like I did last year,”
Domes said. “I have to look at
other ways to be more suc-
cessful.”
The Pirates played Delphian
Tuesday after press tie. Perry-
dale host Yoncalla Wednesday
(today) at 7 p.m. before play-
ing at Livingstone Adventist
Tuesday at 7 p.m.
FALLS CITY ROUNDUP
Boys basketball wins two
Itemizer-Observer staff report
FALLS CITY — Falls City’s
b oy s b a s k e t b a l l t e a m
opened its season with a
pair of victories.
The Mountaineers de-
feated McKenzie 57-25 on
Thursday and Southwest
Christian 54-28 on Friday.
Austin Burgess scored a
game-high 14 points and
grabbed seven rebounds
against McKenzie. J.R.
Lafayette added 11 points
and nine rebounds.
Against Southwest Chris-
tian, J.R.
Lafayette
scored a
team-high
13 points,
w h i l e
grabbing
15 re-
bounds.
Burgess
J a r e d
Lafayette recorded 12
points, and Burgess added
10 points and 11 rebounds.
“We played great team
defense and held their lead-
ing scorer to two points
through three quarters,”
coach Micke Kidd said.
Falls City played McKen-
zie Tuesday after press time.
The Mountaineers travel to
Triangle Lake Wednesday
(today) at 6 p.m. before
hosting Oregon School for
the Deaf Tuesday at 7 p.m.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
DROPS TWO: Falls City’s girls
b a s k e t b a l l te a m l o s t to
McKenzie 49-41 on Thursday
and Southwest Christian 40-19
on Friday.
Amara Houghtaling scored
23 points against McKenzie.
“With an 18-point second
quarter, we had a halftime
lead and stretched the lead
to eight early in the third,”
Kidd said. “But we fell down
by eight by the end of the
third and had trouble recov-
ering.”
The Mountaineers played
McKenzie Tuesday after press
time. Falls City faces Triangle
Lake Wednesday (today) at
5:30 p.m. and hosts Oregon
School for the Deaf Tuesday at
5:30 p.m.
drops first game
Itemizer-Observer staff report
BELLINGHAM, Wash. —
Western Oregon University’s
men’s basketball team lost
for the first time this season,
falling to Western Washing-
ton 85-58 on Saturday.
The Vikings went on an
18-3 run to gain separation
from the Wolves during the
first half. Western Oregon
trailed 46-30 at the break.
Ali Faruq-Bey led WOU
with 16 points.
The Wolves defeated
Simon Fraser 96-71 on
Thursday.
Darius Lubom scored a
team-high 19 points against
the Clan. J.J. Chirnside and
Demetrius Trammell each
scored 16 points.
Western Oregon (7-1 over-
all, 1-1 Great Northwest Ath-
letic Conference) hosts Port-
land Bible College Thursday
at 7 p.m. before playing at
Tarleton State Tuesday at 7
p.m.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
WIN STREAK SNAPPED: West-
e r n O r e g o n U n i v e r s i t y ’s
women’s basketball team de-
feated Saint Martin's 72-66 on
Thursday before losing to Seat-
tle Pacific 87-52 on Saturday.
Shelby Snook had 18 points
and nine rebounds to lead the
Wolves against the Clan. Syd-
ney Azorr and Savannah Heug-
ly each scored 10 points
against Seattle Pacific.
Western Oregon (5-1 overall,
1-1 GNAC) plays at Oregon
Tech Monday at 6 p.m. and at
Southern Oregon Tuesday at
5:30 p.m.
Lucy
Continued from Page 13A
“I think it’s hard (to ask
f o r h e l p ) i n g e n e r a l ,”
Wakem said. “They didn’t
want to put their burden on
someone else. But, this is a
three-year long process to
fight leukemia. I told them
as much as they wanted to
do it on their own, they re-
ally need the help.”
The Walkers agreed, and
the community responded.
The fundraising page’s
goal is $25,000. As of Mon-
day, more than $20,000 had
been raised.
“I’ve been amazing at
how the community has
come together,” Wakem
said. “I think it’s meant a lot
to the Walkers that they
have a whole community
behind them, that they
have other people in their
lives who support them.”
Whether it’s a gift card for
a coffee, money to help
cover medical costs or a let-
ter to express support,
Wakem said it all means a
lot to the Walkers.
“They are overwhelmed
with gratitude,” Wakem
said. “There’s not a word in
the dictionary that express-
es how truly grateful they
are.”
Griffin named Player of the Year
PERRYDALE — Perrydale senior Kieley Griffin was named the
3A/2A/1A Special District 3 Player of the Year. Griffin helped West-
ern Mennonite/Perrydale’s girls soccer team reach the first round
of the state playoffs.
Recycle this newspaper.