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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2020)
6A — BAKER CITY HERALD WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1, 2020 COLLEGE FOOTBALL BOWL SEASON Texas routs Utah in Alamo Bowl By Jim Vertuno AP Sports Writer SAN ANTONIO — Sam Ehlinger and the Texas Long- horns fi nally looked like the team everyone thought they could be when the season began. Ehlinger passed for three touchdowns, ran for another and the Longhorns took out a season of frustration on No. 12 Utah with a dominant 38- 10 Alamo Bowl win Tuesday night. After a 10-win season in 2018 and an impressive Sugar Bowl win over Georgia set up a Top 10 ranking for the Longhorns to start 2019, Texas (8-5) underwhelmed in a season they fell to the middle of the pack in the Big 12. As the pressure mounted on third-year coach Tom Herman, he replaced both his offensive and defensive coor- dinators and Texas entered the Alamo Bowl unranked with a fan base unnerved. The release came in a romping New Year’s Eve party in front of a “home” crowd dominated by Texas fans who made the one-hour drive from Austin. “Our talent can take us pretty far,” Ehlinger said. “When you add mistake-free football, watch out.” For Utah, it was a bitter end to a season that was so promising just a month ago when the Utes were on the verge of making the College Football Playoff. Utah (11-3) didn’t get there after it was swamped in the Pac-12 title game by Oregon and perhaps struggled to shake off the heartbreak of what could have been. Texas physically handled the Utes at the line of scrim- mage. Longhorns linebacker Joseph Ossai had three sacks of quarterback Tyler Huntley and six total tackles for a loss. “We knew that we were going to have to play with a greater passion and physical- ity than they would,” said Texas coach Tom Herman, who is 4-0 in bowls in his ca- reer with three wins in three seasons at Texas. Texas also pounded out 231 yards against the na- tion’s No. 1 rush defense, which had held 10 opponents under 70 yards. Texas’ big- gest run came on a 31-yard burst by Ehlinger on third down on the drive that led to his 6-yard touchdown that made it 24-3 late in the third quarter. Keaontay Ingram later added a 49-yard TD burst late in the fourth. “Very disappointing end to a very good season,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “We got outplayed, we got outcoached. It doesn’t diminish one iota what this senior class accomplished.” Ehlinger fi nished with 201 yards passing. His fi rst touchdown went to Collin Johnson, who missed six games this season with a nagging hamstring injury. His last was to Devin Duver- nay, who caught three passes for 92 yards. Trick play helps Navy nip Kansas State By Steve Megargee AP Sports Writer MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Navy built the biggest turnaround of any team in college football this season by relying on the nation’s most prolifi c rushing attack. So, naturally, the 21st- ranked Midshipmen won the Liberty Bowl on Tuesday by completing a fourth-down halfback option pass in the fi nal minute. CJ Williams’ 41-yard com- pletion to Chance Warren on fourth-and-3 gave Navy fi rst- and-goal from the 5-yard line. After quarterback Malcolm Perry spiked the ball, Bijan Nichols kicked a 23-yard fi eld goal with two seconds remain- ing to give Navy a 20-17 vic- tory over Kansas State. “Sometimes you just go with your gut,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “You have all this analytics stuff and all these sheets, but sometimes you’ve got to go with your gut and roll with it.” Perry was named the Liberty Bowl most valuable player after rushing for 213 yards and throwing a touch- down pass. Perry ran for 2,017 yards this year to set a Football Bowl Subdivision record by a quarterback. But the ball was only briefl y in Perry’s hands on the play that mattered most of all. Twenty-nine seconds remained when Navy (11-2) snapped the ball at the Kan- sas State 46. Perry pitched right to Williams, who found Warren racing wide open down the right side of the fi eld. Late touchdown lifts Kentucky over Hokies Belk Bowl. Bowden ran for two CHARLOTTE, N.C. — touchdowns before leading an Lynn Bowden Jr. outplayed 18-play, 85-yard game-winning Virginia Tech all day with his drive that took more than feet. eight minutes off the clock. It Then he closed them out ended with Ali getting open with his arm. down the middle of the end “Ya’ll said I couldn’t throw, so zone. over the top it goes,” Bowden Bowden, who took over as joked after the game. Kentucky’s quarterback after Bowden ran for 233 yards fi ve games because of injuries, on 34 carries, and then tossed passed for 73 yards on 12 at- a 13-yard touchdown pass to tempts. His rushing day was Josh Ali with 15 seconds left the biggest in a bowl game as Kentucky rallied behind its since Texas A&M’s Johnny remarkable receiver-turned- Manziel ran for 219 yards vs. quarterback to beat Virginia Oklahoma in 2013. Tech 37-30 on Tuesday in the Bowden said he never would By Eli Pacheco Associated Press have believed his fi nal play as a college player would be a touchdown pass to win a bowl game. But a pregame scuffl e with Virginia Tech players — in which TV footage showed Bowden apparently throwing a punch — could have written a very different story for the dynamic quarterback. For two programs that hadn’t met since 1987 — long before anyone on either roster was born — this one got testy before kickoff. Tussles broke out between players during pregame warmups, but of- fi cials didn’t levy penalties or warnings for the actions. S COREBOARD NFL PLAYOFFS Wild-card Playoffs Saturday, Jan. 4 All Times PST Buffalo at Houston, 1:35 p.m. (ABC/ESPN) Tennessee at New England, 5:15 p.m. (CBS) Sunday, Jan. 5 Minnesota at New Orleans, 10:05 a.m. (FOX) Seattle at Philadelphia, 1:40 p.m. (NBC) Divisional Playoffs Saturday, Jan. 11 Philadelphia, Seattle or Minnesota at San Francisco, 1:35 p.m. (NBC) Houston, Buffalo or Tennessee at Baltimore, 5:15 p.m (CBS) Sunday, Jan. 12 New England, Houston or Buffalo at Kansas City, 12:05 p.m. (CBS) New Orleans, Philadelphia or Seattle at Green Bay, 3:40 p.m. (FOX) NBA EASTERN CONFERENCE East Division W L Pct. Boston 23 8 .742 Toronto 23 11 .676 Philadelphia 23 13 .639 Brooklyn 16 16 .500 New York 9 24 .273 Southeast Division W L Pct Miami 24 9 .727 Orlando 14 19 .424 Charlotte 13 23 .361 Washington 10 22 .313 Atlanta 7 27 .206 Central Division W L Pct Milwaukee 30 5 .857 Indiana 22 12 .647 Chicago 13 21 .382 Detroit 12 22 .353 Cleveland 10 23 .303 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W L Pct Houston 23 11 .676 Dallas 21 12 .636 San Antonio 14 18 .438 Memphis 13 21 .382 New Orleans 11 23 .324 Northwest Division W L Pct Denver 23 10 .697 Utah 21 12 .636 Oklahoma City 18 15 .545 Portland 14 20 .412 Minnesota 12 20 .375 Pacifi c Division W L Pct L.A. Lakers 26 7 .788 L.A. Clippers 24 11 .686 Phoenix 13 20 .394 Sacramento 12 22 .353 Golden State 9 26 .257 Monday’s Games Atlanta 101, Orlando 93 GB — 1½ 2½ 7½ 15 GB — 10 12½ 13½ 17½ GB — 7½ 16½ 17½ 19 GB — 1½ 8 10 12 GB — 2 5 9½ 10½ GB — 3 13 14½ 18 Washington 123, Miami 105 Minnesota 122, Brooklyn 115, OT Milwaukee 123, Chicago 102 Utah 104, Detroit 81 Phoenix 122, Portland 116 Tuesday’s Games Boston 109, Charlotte 92 Indiana 115, Philadelphia 97 L.A. Clippers 105, Sacramento 87 Toronto 117, Cleveland 97 Houston 130, Denver 104 San Antonio 117, Golden State 113, OT Oklahoma City 106, Dallas 101 Today’s Games All Times PST Orlando at Washington, 3 p.m. Portland at New York, 4:30 p.m. Minnesota at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. Phoenix at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. Thursday’s Games Charlotte at Cleveland, 4 p.m. Denver at Indiana, 4 p.m. Toronto at Miami, 4:30 p.m. Golden State at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Utah at Chicago, 5 p.m. Brooklyn at Dallas, 5:30 p.m. Oklahoma City at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Memphis at Sacramento, 7 p.m. Detroit at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. Friday’s Games Atlanta at Boston, 4 p.m. Miami at Orlando, 4 p.m. Portland at Washington, 4 p.m. Philadelphia at Houston, 5 p.m. New York at Phoenix, 6 p.m. New Orleans at L.A. Lakers, 7:30 p.m. PREP BASKETBALL Monday’s Games BOYS Central Christian 65, Mohawk 42 Jefferson 83, Colton 51 Knappa 64, Warrenton 35 Lowell 70, Yoncalla 60 Mountainside 57, David Douglas 49 Nestucca 51, Taft 49 Newberg 65, Franklin 54 Perrydale 39, Country Christian 27 Powder Valley 67, Burns 61 Reedsport 56, North Douglas 46 Riddle 63, Crow 28 Salem Academy 61, Creswell 52 Sandy 61, Putnam 50 Weston-McEwen 70, Elgin 54 Cactus Jam Liberty 55, Mountain View, Wash. 25 Damien Classic Westview 57, King/Drew, Calif. 55 Les Schwab Invitational Clackamas 75, West Linn 60 Consolation Crater 64, Churchill 53 Fifth Place Bishop Gorman, Nev. 59, Central Catholic 46 Third Place Norcross, Ga. 69, Jefferson PDX 55 San Diego Surf n Slam Oregon City 67, King’s Way Christian School, Wash. 57 GIRLS Burns 40, Wallowa 32 Crane 72, Prairie City 33 Creswell 37, Salem Academy 19 Elgin 59, Weston-McEwen 18 Jefferson 38, Colton 33 Mohawk 41, Central Christian 26 North Douglas 47, Reedsport 15 Perrydale 50, Country Christian 30 Riddle 63, Crow 32 Taft 46, Nestucca 37 Warrenton 37, Knappa 25 Yoncalla 45, Lowell 28 Garden Grove Classic Hidden Valley 57, Garden Grove, Calif. 35 Nike Interstate Shootout Barlow 64, The Dalles 36 St. Mary’s Academy 41, Sherwood 25 West Albany 52, Jackson, Wash. 34 SoCal Prep Classic Gladstone 47, Mira Mesa, Calif. 36 West Coast Jamboree Canby 49, Valencia, Calif. 39 North Medford 46, San Domenico, Calif. 38 COLLEGE FOOTBALL Monday’s Games SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Western Kentucky 23, Western Michigan 20 Music City Bowl Louisville 38, Mississippi State 28 Redbox Bowl California 35, Illinois 20 Orange Bowl Florida 36, Virginia 28 Tuesday’s Games Belk Bowl Kentucky 37, Virginia Tech 30 Sun Bowl Arizona State 20, Florida State 14 Liberty Bowl Navy 20, Kansas State 17 Arizona Bowl Wyoming 38, Georgia State 17 Alamo Bowl Texas 38, Utah 10 Today’s Games All Times PST Citrus Bowl Michigan (9-3) vs. Alabama (10-2), 10 a.m. (ABC) Outback Bowl Minnesota (10-2) vs. Auburn (9-3), 10 a.m. (ESPN) Rose Bowl Oregon (11-2) vs. Wisconsin (10-3), 2 p.m. (ESPN) Sugar Bowl Georgia (11-2) vs. Baylor (11-2), 5:45 p.m. (ESPN) Thursday’s Games Birmingham (Ala.) Bowl Cincinnati (10-3) vs. Boston College (6-6), noon (ESPN) Gator Bowl Indiana (8-4) vs. Tennessee (7-5), 4 p.m. (ESPN) Friday’s Game Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Ohio (6-6) vs. Nevada (7-5), 12:30 p.m. (ESPN) Hendon Hooker threw for 110 yards and two touchdowns and Deshawn McClease ran for 126 yards and a score to lead the Hokies (8-5). Suns rally to beat Blazers By Erik García Gundersen Associated Press PORTLAND — In the fi rst half, the Phoenix Suns trailed by 19 points. By the fi nal seconds, Kelly Oubre Jr. was blowing goodbye kisses to the Portland Trail Blazers and their fans. Devin Booker scored 33 points, Oubre had 29 and Phoenix came back from way behind to beat Portland 122-116 on Monday night. A 3-pointer by Oubre gave the Suns a 120-114 lead with 43.8 seconds left. After the shot, he blew kisses to the crowd while jogging around the court as Portland called a timeout. “I think I feel like the fi rst two I blew ‘em some kisses, they booed me. And then after I hit ‘em, they just expected the kisses,” Oubre said. “It’s love all the way around the world.” Ricky Rubio added 18 points and 13 assists for the Suns, who won their second consecutive game and handed Portland its fourth straight defeat. “Terrible loss,” Blazers guard CJ McCollum said. Phoenix coach Monty Williams liked the fi ght his team showed in sticking to its plan. “If you’re a boxer, you box your way,” Williams said. “You don’t switch up and go southpaw in the middle of the fi ght. You have to fi ght your style and I think that’s how we have to be. We have to play our style of basket- ball, make adjustments as we go along. I thought we started the game in a bit of a laze.” Williams also was proud of the effort from Deandre Ayton, who had 12 points in 20 minutes off the bench in just his third game of the season. “I thought he gave us juice,” Williams said. “Guys had confi dence in him to not only plug the middle, but just having that size and athleticism. We haven’t had a hand above the rim in a long time.” Damian Lillard scored 33 points and McCollum added 25 for Portland. Hassan Whiteside had 16 points and 22 rebounds. “It hurt from the standpoint that we were winning the game, we came out extremely well,” Carmelo An- thony said after shooting 4 for 16. Lillard hit his fi rst fi ve 3s and scored 16 points in the opening period. Portland led by 19 multiple times, but Phoenix went on an 8-0 run to close the fi rst half down 64-55. The Blazers were up 89-83 after three. Oubre’s 3-pointer cut Portland’s advantage to 108-107 with 3:31 left, and a tip-in by Ayton with 2:48 remaining gave Phoenix its fi rst lead since the opening quarter.
