6A — BAKER CITY HERALD
THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021
NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
BAKER VOLLEYBALL
Perfect Zags on to Final 4
Bulldogs push
Tigers to 5 sets
By John Marshall
AP Basketball Writer
INDIANAPOLIS — Gon-
zaga’s countdown to perfec-
tion has ticked to two.
The Bulldogs are back in
the Final Four, two wins from
becoming the fi rst unde-
feated team since the 1976
Indiana Hoosiers.
And, after all those upsets,
the March Madness apex in
the Hoosier State will be a
high-seeded affair.
Gonzaga is a No. 1 seed.
So is Baylor. Houston, a 2.
UCLA is an 11, but it’s also
the all-time leader in na-
tional championships.
There also will be a trip
down Southwest Conference
memory lane.
But the Zags will be the
team to beat.
Gonzaga (30-0) has been
an offensive juggernaut rare-
ly seen in college basketball.
Fast moving and free fl owing,
the ultra-effi cient Zags have
steamrolled everyone in
their way, winning a Division
I-record 27 straight games by
double digits.
An 85-56 dismantling of
Southern California in the
Elite Eight stretched their
win streak to 34 games over
two seasons and put them
back in the Final Four for the
second time in the past four
NCAA Tournaments. Gon-
zaga came up short in a loss
to North Carolina in the 2017
national title game, but has
its sights set on fi nishing it
off this time — and grabbing
a piece of history.
“Everyone wants us to
keep moving forward, but
that’s not how we roll,”
Gonzaga coach Mark Few
By Corey Kirk
ckirk@bakercityherald.com
Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images-TNS
Drew Timme (2) of the Gonzaga Bulldogs competes for the ball with Chevez Goodwin
(1) of the USC Trojans in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Tuesday, March 30.
them go from the First Four
to the Final Four after losing
Men’s Final 4
their last four games entering
HOUSTON VS. BAYLOR
the NCAA Tournament.
• Saturday, April 3, 3:14 p.m. (TV on CBS)
UCLA (22-9) has grinded
out fi ve wins in the NCAA
GONZAGA VS. UCLA
tourney, including No. 2 seed
• Saturday, April 3, 5:34 p.m. (TV on CBS)
Alabama and a 51-49 take-
down of top-seeded Michigan
in the Elite Eight. The Bruins
Women’s Final 4
are in the Final Four for the
SOUTH CAROLINA VS. STANFORD
fi rst time since 2008 and play
• Friday, April 2, 3 p.m. (TV on ESPN)
the kind of game that might
be able to slow the Gonzaga
ARIZONA VS. UCONN
machine.
• Friday, April 2, 6:30 p.m. (TV on ESPN)
The Texas half of the draw
will have a Southwest feel.
Baylor and Houston were
said. “This is a heck of an ac- Mick Cronin will make sure both members of the South-
complishment. We’re going to of that.
west Conference, which
take it and savor it for what
The former Cincinnati
splintered in 1996. The Bears
it is. That doesn’t lessen our coach has returned UCLA to were there when the league
desire to win this game, the
relevance after a couple of me- started, circa 1914. The
next game or win two more
diocre seasons. In two years at Cougars made the move from
games.”
Westwood, he’s added a level independent to SWC status
The next one won’t be easy. of toughness that’s helped
in 1975.
OREGON STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL
Beavers’ rally falls short
we fought to get back in the game and how we
squandered it.
INDIANAPOLIS — Oregon State hardly
“But I’m thankful for the staff and people
looked like a No. 12 seed the fi rst two weeks of around me that boosted us back up,” Tinkle
the NCAA Tournament.
added, “and I’m proud of the effort of this
For a while Monday night, the Beavers sure group. We showed amazing heart, fi ght, and
did.
we got every ounce out of this group that we
Yet facing a 17-point second-half hole, the
could.”
plucky Pac-12 upstarts showed the kind of
Picked to fi nish last in the Pac-12, the Bea-
ferocious defense and determination against
vers beat fi ve AP Top 25 teams, the most since
No. 2 seed Houston that brought them to their their 1975-76 team won the same number.
fi rst Elite Eight in nearly three decades. They They won their fi rst game in the Big Dance
came all the way back with a frantic rally, only since 1982, tied the 1963 Final Four team for
to watch the Cougars hang on for a 67-61 vic- the most tourney wins in school history with
tory and a spot in the Final Four.
three, and matched Missouri in 2002 as the
The heartbreaking loss ended a charmed
worst-seeded team to reach the Elite Eight.
late-season run for Oregon State (20-13), which
The Final Four? It was just 3 1/2 minutes
was making just its second trip to the NCAA
out of reach.
Tournament since 1990 and was part of a big
All-Pac 12 guard Ethan Thompson, who
showing by its often-overlooked conference.
ushered the bubble-dwelling Beavers into the
“It was a hell of a run,” Oregon State coach
tourney with a stunning conference tourna-
Wayne Tinkle said from his hotel room, after
ment title, struggled all night before coming
the NCAA’s technical diffi culties for postgame alive down the stretch. He had 11 points and
interviews gave him more than an hour to
seven boards, and was the catalyst during a
digest the loss. “The guys were down. There
17-3 run midway through the second half that
were tears. I think they understood how hard gave Oregon State a chance.
By Dave Skretta
AP Basketball Writer
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Baker’s volleyball team didn’t quite come away with
a win Tuesday evening, March 30, at La Grande.
But the Bulldogs did push the Tigers to the limit.
After losing the fi rst two sets, Baker (3-6 on the
season) rallied to win the next two and force a decisive
fi fth set.
It was the fi rst time La Grande (7-3) had needed fi ve
sets to win a match.
The Tigers held off Baker 15-11 in the fi nal set.
“I’m beyond proud of their efforts,” Baker coach Ali
Abrego said on Wednesday, March 31. “Last night was
a good growth moment for us, navigating through
tough situations and overcoming defi cits to fi nish a
hard match out strong. You can’t ask for anything more
out of your girls.”
La Grande started off strong on its home court, win-
ning the fi rst two sets, 25-13 and 25-19.
But Baker, which lost to La Grande in four sets on
March 8 in the Baker gym, responded, winning the
third set 25-17 and the fourth 27-25.
La Grande took an early lead in the fi fth set.
Baker came back, narrowing the Tigers’ led to two
points.
But La Grande closed out the match to remain
unbeaten (3-0) against Greater Oregon League rivals
in this pandemic-shortened season.
Abrego said she encouraged her players to learn
from the competitive match.
“Teaching kids to compete is something they have
to do for themselves with their team,” she said. “I can
give them the tools they need, but they need to put it
together, and they did that.”
La Grande also won the JV match Tuesday, beating
Baker in four sets.
The Baker varsity continued its busy fi nal week of
the season Wednesday evening by playing host to Pow-
der Valley (the match was played after press time).
The Bulldogs play their fi nal home match Friday,
April 2, against Vale at 6 p.m. Baker concludes its
season by traveling to Burns on Monday, April 5, for a
5 p.m. match against the Hilanders.
Burns is 9-1, with its only loss coming to unbeaten
Powder Valley in fi ve sets on March 15. Burns beat
Baker in fi ve sets on March 2, the season-opening
match for both teams.
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