INSIDE: COMICS, OPINIONS & CLASSIFIEDS
B
S PORTS
THE BULLETIN • SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2021
MEN’S COLLEGE
BASKETBALL
COVID derails
tourney teams
A year to the day af-
ter COVID-19 brought
the college basketball
postseason to a halt, the
pandemic continues to
disrupt the sport, with
three premier programs
forced to abandon their
conference tournaments
because of positive coro-
navirus tests.
No. 16 Virginia — the
most recent national
champion — and No. 11
Kansas were forced out
of the semifinals of their
tournaments on Friday,
a day after Duke also
dropped out, ending a
disappointing season for
coach Mike Krzyzewski’s
storied program.
There’s no guarantee
that Kansas or Virginia
will be back for the NCAA
Tournament, potentially
depriving the sport’s an-
nual showcase of two title
contenders .
The Atlantic Coast
Conference and Big 12
tournaments continued
without the virus-affected
schools.
The NCAA Tournament
will be held entirely in the
state of Indiana to create
what NCAA senior vice
president of basketball
Dan Gavitt has called a
“controlled environment”
instead of a bubble.
The tournament pro-
tocols include requiring
each member of a team’s
travel party to complete
seven negative COVID-19
tests before leaving for
Indianapolis. Gavitt has
said a team can continue
to play if it has five players
available through those
safety protocols.
If a team is placed in
the field but then cannot
participate before the
tournament begins on
March 18, it will be re-
placed by a team among
the first four out. There
will be no re-seeding.
— Associated Press
MLB
2 players test
positive for COVID
NEW YORK — Two
tests were positive for
COVID-19, both among
players, during 14,704
samples collected in the
past week under Major
League Baseball’s moni-
toring program.
That comes to a posi-
tive rate of 0.01%.
Cincinnati first base-
man Joey Votto had
tested positive, the Reds
said Wednesday.
There have been 12
positive tests — nine for
players, three for staff,
among 43,928 monitor-
ing tests during spring
training, a rate of 0.3%,
the commissioner’s office
said Friday. The positive
tests were among nine of
the 30 teams.
Including intake test-
ing upon arrival at spring
training, there have
been 27 positive tests
— 21 players, six staff
— among 49,281 tests,
a positive rate of 0.5%.
The positive tests were
among 17 teams.
All players on 40-
man rosters and play-
ers with minor league
contracts invited to big
league training camp
are screened. Also tested
are all other on-field per-
sonnel such as manag-
ers, coaches and athletic
trainers, strength and
conditioning staff and
physicians.
In the final figures re-
leased last year, MLB said
it had collected 172,740
samples and that 91 had
been positive, or 0.05%.
Fifty-seven of 91 positives
were players.
— Associated Press
bendbulletin.com/sports
MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL | PAC-12 TOURNAMENT
Beavers headed to title game
Oregon State beats top-seeded Oregon 75-64 in semifinals
BY JOHN MARSHALL
AP Basketball Writer
LAS VEGAS — Ethan
Thompson scored 16 points,
Rodrigue Andela added 13
and Oregon State withstood
a late rally to beat top-seeded
Oregon 75-64 in the Pac-12
Tournament semifinals Friday
night.
The fifth-seeded Beavers
(16-12) reached the conference
semifinals for the first time
since 2012 and dominated
early, building a 19-point lead
by the midpoint of the second
half.
The Ducks (20-6) stormed
back, going on a 15-3 run to
pull within 61-56 with 4½
minutes left. Oregon State’s
Jarod Lucas hit a 3-pointer to
stop the run and the Beavers
quickly pushed the lead back
to 12.
Picked to finish last in the
Pac-12, Oregon State will play
in its first Pac-12 title game
since 1988. The Beavers will
face the winner between Colo-
rado and No. 23 Southern Cal-
ifornia — who played later on
Friday — in Saturday’s champi-
onship game.
Oregon had a hard time
with Oregon State’s pressure
early and struggled from the
perimeter all night, going 6 for
25 from the arc after making
15 3-pointers in a win over the
Beavers on Sunday.
Chris Duarte, LJ Figueroa
and Eugene Omoruyi had 14
points each for the Ducks.
The rivals split the season
series, with the Ducks beating
the Beavers by 13 in the regu-
lar-season finale to win their
second straight Pac-12 title.
Oregon beat Arizona State
by 18 to get to the tournament
semifinals and Oregon State
outlasted No. 4 seed UCLA by
four.
The rivals traded runs
throughout the first half of the
third go-round.
The Beavers had the early
advantage Friday night, hold-
ing the Ducks without a field
Courtesy Pac-12
Oregon’s Eugene Omoruyi (2) defends Oregon State’s Ethan Thomp-
son (5) during the Pac-12 Conference tournament semifinals on Friday
night in Las Vegas. Thompson had a game-high 16 points.
goal for 5½ minutes to build a
seven-point lead.
Oregon scored 10 straight
points, then Oregon State went
on a 12-3 run to go up 38-26.
The Beavers led 38-28 at
halftime and kept building
from there.
Up next
Oregon State will play the
Colorado-USC winner in Sat-
urday’s championship game.
Oregon should be in good
shape to make the NCAA
Tournament on Selection Sun-
day.
PREP BOYS SOCCER
Outlaws stun Cougars, fans return
Aidan Eckert’s last-minute
goal gives Sisters a 2-1
win over Mountain View
BY BRIAN RATHBONE
The Bulletin
SISTERS —
A
idan Eckert found
himself at the top of the
goalie box when the pass
from Gavin Christian put him
face to face with the goal with
only the goalkeeper to beat.
With his left foot, the sophomore
Eckert kept his composure and drove
the ball into the left corner of the net
to give Sisters a 2-1 win over Moun-
tain View in a nonleague boys soccer
match Thursday night at Sisters High
School.
With fans finally back in the stands,
the excitement was palpable.
“It felt perfect, I thought it was go-
ing to go in and it did,” said Eckert,
whose game-winning goal was his
first varsity goal. “There was so much
excitement. Everyone was so hyped, I
was very hyped. It felt great after the
game, everyone was giving me hugs, it
just felt great.”
The goal in the game’s closing min-
utes against Class 6A Mountain View
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin
Sisters’ Aidan Eckert kicks the ball down field during the second half against Mountain View on Thursday night.
“It felt perfect, I thought it was going to go in and it did. There was so
much excitement. Everyone was so hyped, I was very hyped. It felt great
after the game, everyone was giving me hugs, it just felt great.”
— Aidan Eckert, Sisters soccer player
gave the Class 4A Outlaws their third
win in as many games. Three games
into its eight-game schedule, Sisters
has already eclipsed its win total from
a season ago when it won just two
matches.
“Watching us warm up I was a little
nervous, we seemed a little lackluster,”
said Sisters coach Jeff Husmann. “But
boy, that first half we came out with
the gas pedal on and just brought en-
ergy.”
In the game’s 30th minute, Richard
Huffman intercepted a clear attempt
from Mountain View’s goalkeeper
then snuck it by him to break the
scoreless tie.
“That is how a lot of (Huffman’s)
goals are, just hound, hound and press
as the high striker just challenging ev-
ery ball,” Husmann said.
See Soccer / B2
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Ducks, Beavs renew rivalry at Oregon State
BY JAMES CREPEA
The Oregonian
EUGENE — It was nearly a
year between baseball games
for Oregon and every other
team in the country. But it’s
been nearly twice as long be-
tween games against Oregon
State.
Six hundred and seventy
days have elapsed since the ri-
vals last met on May 12, 2019,
a 3-2 Oregon win at PK Park.
That changed Friday night
when the Ducks (6-2) opened
a three-game set against the
Beavers (10-1) at Goss Stadium
(the game ended after The Bul-
letin’s press deadline).
“I haven’t played Oregon
State since my sophomore year
personally,” Ducks designated
hitter Kenyon Yovan said. “So
I’ve had it marked on my cal-
endar for a while, especially
going to Goss, going to Corval-
lis. It’s something that I’ve been
fired up to play a series against
them. We get them six times
this year so that’s six times I get
to prove a point and have two
years of passion behind it.
“We’re going to be coming
out with a lot of fire, especially
not being able to play them this
last year. Everyone wants to be
able to go out there and beat
their rival. Everyone on our
team takes it a little bit more
personal when it comes to Or-
egon State. Everyone’s ready.”
Yovan, the Pac-12 and na-
tional player of the week,
opened his season with a
mammoth weekend and led
the Ducks to a four-game
sweep of UC Santa Barbara.
Oregon’s hitters did well
in the series and most of the
pitching staff did as well, in-
cluding Robert Ahlstrom, who
also made his season debut last
weekend. The left-hander, who
was UO’s ace in 2019, is back
to the top of the rotation this
weekend and started the series
opener.
“There’s a little added incen-
tive I guess you could say,” said
Ahlstrom, a Eugene native. “I
think it’s going to be an awe-
some series; both teams I feel
are trending in the right direc-
tion. We’re coming off a really
good series and Oregon State’s
playing really good baseball.”
Oregon also respects that
Oregon State’s lineup and rota-
tion are going to be the best it
Chase Allgood/For The Oregonian/TNS file
Oregon’s Kenyon Yovan rounds the bases against Oregon State in May
2018 in Eugene. Yovan and the Ducks have been looking forward to re-
igniting their rivalry with the Beavers.
has seen to date. Six OSU start-
ers are hitting over .300 and
Kevin Abel (1-1, 0.57 ERA)
already has 26 strikeouts in
15.2 innings.
See Baseball / B2