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BAKER CITY HERALD — 7A TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2020 Lillard sets 3-pointer record as Baker tops La Grande, 53-47, forges tie atop GOL standings Blazers win BAKER BOYS BASKETBALL ■ Bulldogs avenge Jan. 10 loss at La Grande and improve to 3-1 in league play By Jayson Jacoby jjacoby@bakercityherald.com If you wanted to gauge the intensity of Friday night’s boys basketball game be- tween Baker and La Grande in the Baker gym, all you had to do was listen. Or perhaps hold a hand to a bleacher seat, the way a person grips a steel rail to detect the thrum of an ap- proaching train. With the game in the bal- ance for much of the fourth quarter, Bulldog and Tiger fans exchanged a series of thunderous roars that echoed through the gym and vibrated the plastic seats. None was louder than when La Grande’s Zach Wiggins was called for an in- tentional foul after he collided with Baker’s Caden Long as Long fl ew in for a layin attempt with 3:19 left and Baker leading 44-40. Tiger fans were displeased with this ruling. And the sequence was important. Long made 1 of 2 free throws and Baker retained possession due to the inten- tional foul. Riley Flanagan then drew a foul and made both free throws to push Baker’s lead to 47-40 with 3:10 left. The Bulldogs forced stops on two straight La Grande possessions, and Gabe Gambleton hit a jumper in the lane to give Baker its big- gest lead at 49-40 with 2:10 remaining. The Tigers didn’t get closer than 6 points after that. By avenging its 56-52 loss at La Grande on Jan. 10, Baker is now tied with the Tigers atop the GOL stand- ings at 3-1. The battle between the Greater Oregon League’s top two teams was frequently rough and intense, with two technical fouls in addition to Wiggins’ intentional foul. Flanagan drew a technical late in the third quarter, and La Grande’s Lukas Schelin was whistled for one in the fourth period. “It was a great, hard-fought rivalry game,” Baker coach Jebron Jones said. “We were fortunate to come out on the winning side this time. Being 40 minutes away, a lot of these kids grew up playing against each other.” “It was kind of a grinder of a game,” La Grande head coach Mark Carollo said. “Neither team shot the ball very well. “I was happy with the way we battled in a hostile envi- ronment. It was a tough one for us tonight.” Jones and Carollo are well- acquainted. Jones was on By Anne M. Peterson AP Sports Writer Kathy Orr / Baker City Herald Baker’s Jamisun Rigueiro, left, and Spencer Shirtcliff, center, battle for a loose ball with La Grande’s Zach Wiggins Friday in the Baker gym. Baker’s Spencer Smith is at the far right. the coaching staff at Eastern Oregon University when Carollo, from Hermiston, was an all-American player for the Mountaineers in the mid 2000s. Carollo holds many individual records for EOU. After La Grande took a 4-2 lead early, Baker scored 9 straight points and led 11-6 after one quarter. La Grande answered with a 7-0 run early in the second quarter, punctuated by Sche- lin’s rebound basket that tied the score at 13 with 5:42 left in the fi rst half. After a 5-0 Baker run, Schelin’s three-pointer trimmed the Bulldogs’ lead to 18-16. But Justin Jenner picked up his fourth foul with 3 min- utes left in the half and Baker went on an 8-2 run. Kaleb Myer’s three-pointer in the fi nal minute cut the Bulldogs’ halftime lead to 28-21. Baker extended its lead to 37-27 in the third quarter on consecutive layins by Flana- gan and Gambleton. But La Grande ended the quarter with a 7-0 run, capped by Cristian Mendoza’s three- pointer that trimmed Baker’s lead to 37-34. The Tigers got as close as 42-40 on Schelin’s inside basket with 5:30 left, but he then drew the technical foul and Gambleton made both free throws. Baker had one of its best defensive rebounding games of the season. The Tigers’ only rebound basket was by Wiggins in the fi nal minute of the game. “We did a great job on the boards,” Jones said. “We try to limit teams to one shot.” Rebounding is “all about heart,” Gambleton said. “Coach always tells us that whoever gets the most rebounds is going to win. I thought we came out with a lot of intensity.” “Baker defi nitely out- hustled us on rebounds and 50-50 balls,” Carollo said. “We took a lot of rushed shots and when you do that, guys aren’t Djokovic wins Australian Open This is Djokovic’s 276th week leading the AP Tennis Writer ATP, the third-most in the history of the MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak computerized rankings, which began in the Djokovic returned to No. 1 in the ATP 1970s. Roger Federer holds the record of 310, rankings Monday after winning his eighth followed by Pete Sampras with 286. Australian Open title, while Sofi a Kenin’s The 21-year-old Kenin, who lives in Florida, fi rst Grand Slam trophy boosted her to a became the youngest woman to win the career-high No. 7 — and made her the leading Australian Open since Maria Sharapova in American — on the WTA list. 2008 by coming back to beat two-time major Djokovic’s 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over champion Garbiñe Muguruza 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 in Dominic Thiem in the fi nal at Melbourne Saturday’s fi nal. Park on Sunday allowed the 32-year-old from Kenin rose eight spots and is the youngest Serbia to rise one spot and move back ahead American to make her debut in the top 10 of Rafael Nadal. since Serena Williams in 1999. Nadal had overtaken Djokovic in Novem- With Williams staying at No. 9 after her ber and, at age 33, became the oldest year- third-round loss in Australia, Kenin moved end No. 1. But Nadal lost ranking points by past a player she considers an idol. getting eliminated in the Australian Open “It hasn’t sunk in yet. Everything is just quarterfi nals, by Thiem, one year after being still a blur for me. I just can’t believe what the runner-up to Djokovic. happened.” By Howard Fendrich ■ Star sets NBA record with sixth straight game with at least six three- pointers in Portland’s win over Utah always in ideal rebounding position.” Baker had a major advan- tage at the free throw line, making 22 of 33 compared with La Grande’s 11 of 18. The Tigers had only one player in double fi gures — Myer with 11. Baker, 13-9 overall, had three players in double fi g- ures, led by Long’s game-high 15 (including 9 free throws), Flanagan with 13 and Gambleton with 11. Jamisun Rigueiro added 6 points. The Bulldogs have two more regular season games, Saturday at Mac-Hi and Feb. 14 at home against Ontario at 7:30 p.m. LA GRANDE (47) Myer 4 2-3 11, Jenner 0 2-2 2, DuVernay 2 3-5 7, Schelin 4 0-0 9, Wiggins 1 2-4 4, Mendoza 2 2-4 7, Bell 1 0-0 2, Hutchins 2 0-0 5. Totals 16 11-18 47. BAKER (53) Gambleton 4 3-4 11, Flanagan 4 5-7 13, Robb 0 0-0 0, Riguerio 2 1-4 6, Wright 0 0-0 0, Shirtcliff 0 0-0 0, Long 3 9-12 15, Van Arsdall 0 2-2 2, Smith 2 2-4 6. Totals 15 22-33 53. La Grande 6 15 13 13 — 47 Baker 11 17 9 16 — 53 Three-point baskets — Myer, Schelin, Men- doza, Hutchins, Rigueiro. Total fouls — La Grande 24, Baker 19. Technical foul — Schelin, Flanagan. The weather is changing... Watch for slick areas & drive safe! PORTLAND — Damian Lillard says the secret to his hot streak is sticking to what works. Lillard had 51 points, including nine 3-pointers, and 12 assists as the Portland Trail Blazers handed the Utah Jazz their season-high fourth straight loss with a 124-107 victory Saturday night. It was Lillard’s NBA-record sixth straight game with at least six 3-pointers. “I’m just sticking to my routine,” he said. “I don’t think people understand how easy it is — once the sea- son gets going and you start wearing down and getting tired, traveling, personal stuff you’ve got to deal with, it’s easy to get sidetracked from your routine.” For Lillard, that means a nightly 25-minute shooting workout, making 100 free throws, 15 minutes of ball- handling drills. Cold tubs in the morning. Eating and sleeping right. Clearly, it’s working. Lillard has scored 40 or more points in fi ve of his last six games, averaging 48.8 points over the span. It was his fourth straight double-double, a career best. He’s had three 50-plus games in his last six. When Lillard went to the line to shoot a free throw that gave him 50 points, the crowd at Moda Center chanted “MVP! MVP!” He then sank his second free throw before heading to the bench with 2:15 left. Hassan Whiteside added 17 points and 21 rebounds for the Blazers, who won their fourth straight to match their season high. Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz with 25 points. “No need to panic but we’ve got to fi gure it out,” Mitchell said. “We’ve got to have a good practice to get it back. It’s a complete 180 to where we were about a week ago so we’ve got to lock in and fi x it, otherwise it’s going to be a (bad) All-Star break.” Portland was coming off an emotional 127-119 vic- tory at the Los Angeles Lakers the night before. It was the Lakers’ fi rst game at home following the death of Kobe Bryant last Sunday. Lillard had 48 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds against the Lakers, becoming the fi rst league player since the 1983-84 season with at least 35 points, fi ve re- bounds and fi ve assists in fi ve straight games. He had 40 3-pointers over that span, also a fi rst in the league. Lillard is the reigning Western Conference player of the week after averaging 52.7 points last week, includ- ing a franchise-record 61 points on Jan. 20 against the Golden State Warriors. “He’s in the MVP conversation in my opinion,” Mitchell said. “He understood where the team was in the playoff situation obviously with guys hurt, and he’s taken it upon himself to go out there and do it. He’s on a hell of a run.” As are the Blazers, who have won seven of 10. “I think it’s just coming together. I think that’s the best way to describe it,” Lillard said. “We’re getting healthier, we’re starting to fi gure out what works for us.” Baker 7th-grade girls win 1 of 3 The Baker Middle School seventh-grade girls basket- ball team won 1 of its 3 home games last week. On Jan. 30, Baker lost 42-27 to Pendleton. Kaydence Thomas scored a team-high 11 points for Baker. Tiyana Stevens added 6 points. On Jan. 31, the Dawgs played host to Burns and Milton-Freewater. Baker lost 38-22 to Burns. Thomas was Baker’s lead- ing scorer with 8 points. Jersey Hester had 5 points, and Jayden Whitford had 2 points and 10 rebounds. Baker beat Milton-Freewater 30-13. Ashlyn Dalton led Baker with 9 points. Alexis Rupel and Thomas both had 7 points. 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