SPORTS
A11 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAy, JANuARy 16, 2019
BOYS HOOPS
Dawgs go 2-1 in busy week of MCC action
Lions led 36-31.
Ramirez added 15 points
for the Bulldogs, while Ortiz
chipped in 11 and James eight.
Hermiston
rallies past
Kennewick
64-63 for key
league win
Hermiston at Chiawana
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
The Hermiston boys bas-
ketball team likes to keep its
fans on the edge of their seats.
Friday night was no dif-
ferent as the Bulldogs trailed
most of the game and needed
a last-second shot by Ryne
Andreason to slip past Ken-
newick 64-63 in Mid-Colum-
bia Conference action at the
Dawg House.
“I wouldn’t mind a game
where we came out, estab-
lished a lead and I could get
some other guys in,” Hermis-
ton coach Casey Arstein said.
“A win is a win. You have
to protect your house. This
league is tough.”
The victory gave the Bull-
dogs (10-3, 6-3 MCC) two
wins over the Lions (7-6, 3-6)
this season, which is key for
seeding to the 3A regionals.
Hermiston has one game left
against Southridge and Kami-
akin. Both are must-wins if
the Bulldogs hope to secure
the top seed.
Hermiston trailed 51-50
heading into the fourth quar-
ter, but a basket and two free
throws by Andreason gave the
Bulldogs their first lead of the
game at 58-55.
The Lions would come
back to tie the score at 58-58,
and led 63-60 on a 3-pointer
by Blaine Chavez and a bas-
ket by Kobe Simmons-Dumo
with 41 seconds remaining.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
Cesar Ortiz (3), of Hermiston, battles for a rebound during Tuesday’s game against Walla Walla
at the Dawg House.
Andreason scored to pull
his team within 63-62, and the
Lions had a chance to extend
their lead with 13 seconds left
as Ayoni Benavides went to
the free-throw line for a one-
and-one opportunity.
Benavidez missed the
front end, and the Bulldogs
got the rebound.
With less than 10 sec-
onds on the clock, Hermis-
ton brought the ball down
the court and passed the ball
around. Anderson ended up
with the ball, and he drove
into the key.
He looked for an open
teammate, but when he found
no one open, he used an
underhand scoop and put the
ball in the basket with 1.6 sec-
onds remaining.
The Lions were able to
inbound the ball, but could
not get off a shot.
“I got lucky,” said Andrea-
son, who finished with 20
points. “These conference
games, we have to make
sure we win these ones. They
punched us in the mouth the
first two quarters and we beat
them in the third. It was a
good second half for us.”
With time running out,
Arstein said there was no use
calling a timeout to set up a
play.
“He did a good job not
throwing the ball away,”
Arstein said of Andreason.
“He is a very smart kid. These
guys trust each other, and that
goes a long way.”
Lions coach Bradyn Leyde
gave credit to the Bulldogs.
“It definitely was com-
ing down to who had the ball
at the end,” he said. “Ryne
Andreason is a good player
and he hit a tough shot in traf-
fic. Credit to him. This was a
good high school basketball
game.”
The Lions came out in the
first quarter and took a 19-12
lead. Benavidez scored eight
of his 13 points in the first,
and Chavez added seven of
his game-high 22.
Kennewick extended its
lead to 26-15 in the second
quarter before the Bulldogs
staged a comeback.
Jordan Ramirez nailed a
3-pointer; Andrew James hit
a pair of free throws; Cesar
Ortiz added one free throw;
and Ramirez stole the ball and
laid it off the glass to pull the
Bulldogs within 26-23.
Chavez would hit a pair
of 3s, and the teams traded
baskets before the half as the
Hermiston held Chiawa-
na’s 6-foot-8 Matthew Kro-
ner to just six points and
three rebounds, but the rest
of the Riverhawks picked up
the slack Saturday night in a
68-56 Mid-Columbia Confer-
ence win over the Bulldogs in
Pasco.
“We did a good job on Kro-
ner, but forgot about everyone
else,” Hermiston coach Casey
Arstein said. “Blake (Davis)
and Adrian (Mendez) did a
good job on Kroner, but we
didn’t defend the perimeter.
We let guys set up shots and
beat us off the dribble. It was
a lackluster effort.”
In a game that featured
three ties and six lead changes,
the Bulldogs (10-4 overall,
6-4 MCC) led 16-15 after the
first quarter, but went into a
shooting slump in the second
as the Riverhawks (10-3, 7-2)
went on a 19-9 run to take a
34-25 lead at the half.
Hermiston made a run of
its own in the third to make
the score 43-40 heading into
the fourth.
Chiawana exploded for 25
points in the final quarter to
hold on for the win.
Cesar Ortiz was a bright
spot for the Bulldogs, scor-
ing a game-high 19 points,
including a 5-for-6 perfor-
mance from the 3-point line.
Ryne Andreason added
15 points and grabbed 10
rebounds, while Jordan
Ramirez chipped in 11 points
with six rebounds.
Taylor Perez and Jayden
Martinez each had 16 points
for Chiawana.
Hermiston vs.
Walla Walla
Cesar Ortiz has struggled
shooting the deep ball the
past few games, but Tuesday
night the Hermiston senior
was back on target.
Ortiz scored a game-high
25 points, including five
3-pointers, as the Bulldogs
posted a 71-57 Mid-Colum-
bia Conference victory over
Walla Walla at the Dawg
House.
“He did a good job of
picking his shots,” said
Hermiston coach Casey
Arstein, whose team ended
a two-game skid. “He was
passing the ball, but when
he was open guys found him
and he knocked down his
shots. Everyone is going to
have their night.”
Hermiston jumped out to
a 25-13 lead after the first
quarter, getting eight points
from Ortiz and six from
Andrew James.
The Bulldogs extended
their lead to 37-24 at the half,
then had a lull in the third
quarter, getting outscored
18-13 as the Blue Devils
pulled within 50-42.
“In the first half, we had
energy,” Arstein said. “In the
third, they made a run and
got within one, but we stayed
calm and executed. It took
us a bit in the fourth to get
going.”
With 5:37 to play in the
game, Hermiston’s lead was
52-47, but a 19-10 burst to
end the game sealed the win.
James added 15 points
for the Bulldogs, includ-
ing seven in the fourth quar-
ter. Ryne Andreason, Jordan
Ramirez and Adrian Mendez
all chipped in nine points.
Taylor Hamada led the
Blue Devils with 18 points.
GIRLS HOOPS
Hermiston pushes top teams, but falls short
Bulldogs drop
games to
Kennewick and
Chiawana, beat
Walla Walla
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
The final score might not
show it, but Hermiston made
Kennewick earn its win Fri-
day night.
The Bulldogs were within
seven points of the Lions
three times in the fourth quar-
ter, but Kennewick scored
the final 12 points of the
game for a 58-39 Mid-Co-
lumbia Conference win at the
Dawg House.
“My frustration all sea-
son, was I was waiting for
that energy and excitement
to play,” Hermiston coach
Juan Rodriguez said of his
team. “That atmosphere in
that stretch is why you play
high school basketball. I
was happy with that aspect.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney/East Oregonian
Sydney Stefani (12), of Hermiston, goes up for a shot during
the Jan. 8 game against Walla Walla at the Dawg House.
We need to make sure we
are playing 32 minutes that
way.”
The Lions (10-3 over-
all), who got a game-high 18
points from 6-foot-2 fresh-
man Alexis Stein, improved
to 7-2 in league play with the
win.
After Hermiston’s Jayden
Ray opened the game with
a basket, Kennewick’s Mei-
Lani McBee hit back-to-back
3-pointers, and Reilyn Davis
added another as the Lions
led 9-2 less than 3 minutes
into the game.
The Bulldogs (5-8, 3-6)
got a basket and two free
throws from Mati Byrd to
pull within 15-11, only to
have Maya Thornton drain a
3 from the right baseline to
extend the lead to 18-11 at
the end of the quarter.
The Lions held the Bull-
dogs to six points in the sec-
ond quarter, as they enjoyed
a 29-17 lead at the half.
Kennewick’s lead bal-
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looned to 16 points in the
third quarter, but the Bulldogs
scored the final six points of
the quarter — including five
by Kendall Dowdy — to pull
within 41-31 with one quarter
to play.
Hermiston had cut the
deficit to under 10 points
with 5:12 to play, but point
guard Jazlyn Romero fouled
out. She was soon followed
by 6-4 post player Jordan
Thomas.
The Lions scored eight
of their final points from the
free-throw line, and Stein put
an exclamation point on the
win with a basket with 14
seconds left on the clock.
Romero and Sydney Ste-
fani led the Bulldogs with
seven points each.
Hermiston vs. Chiawana
Hermiston played an even
game against Chiawana on
Saturday, except for the first
quarter.
The Riverhawks outscored
the Bulldogs 11-4 in the open-
ing quarter, and then held on
for a 50-41 Mid-Columbia
Conference win in Pasco.
Each team scored 26
points in the second half, but
the first quarter haunted the
Bulldogs all game.
The Riverhawks also
scored 20 points off turn-
overs, and scored 27 points
from the 3-point line.
Hermiston (5-9 overall,
3-7 MCC) got 17 points from
Jordan Thomas, and 10 points
and 15 rebounds from Jazlyn
Romero. Hermiston outre-
bounded Chiawana 43-28.
Chiawana (10-4, 9-1) was
led by Macey Morales with
15 points, while Alyssa Agun-
dis added 11 points.
Hermiston vs. Walla
Walla
After dropping its past
three games, Hermiston got
back on the winning track last
Tuesday night.
Jordan Thomas scored a
game-high 18 points, and Jaz-
lyn Romero added 11 as the
Bulldogs cruised past Walla
Walla 41-28 in Mid-Colum-
bia Conference action at the
Dawg House.
“We are right in the middle
of the season and any win is
an accomplishment,” Herm-
iston coach Juan Rodriguez
said. “I thought the mentality
was there to finish the game.
When they made a run, we
handled it and got a basket
when we need it.”
Romero hit a pair of
3-pointers as the Bulldogs
(5-7 overall, 3-5 MCC) took
a 13-4 lead.
The Blue Devils (3-8, 3-5),
who have lost six games in a
row, slowed Hermiston down
in the second quarter, allow-
ing just seven points. The
Blue Devils then took off on
a 14-11 run in the third quar-
ter, keyed by a five points by
Monica Miller and four by
Mia Huxoll.
“They were undersized
and we struggled to get the
ball to Jordan at times, and
that hurt us,” Rodriguez said.
Hermiston
outscored
Wa-Hi 10-5 in the fourth to
seal the win.
The Bulldogs did struggle
at the free-throw line, mak-
ing just 6 of 16 attempts (38
percent).
Peyton Bergevin led the
Blue Devils with 10 points.