A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2019
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TEAM
CHEMISTRY 101
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Hermiston seniors Ryne Andreason, Adrian Mendez, Andrew James, Jordan Ramirez, Cole Smith and Cesar Ortiz have been playing basketball together on
the same team for the past six years.
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
T
he Hermiston boys bas-
ketball team likely has
never heard of the late Don
Meyer, but it is practicing
what he preached.
The six seniors on the
Hermiston roster have grown up playing
basketball together — three of them since
the second grade.
They are brothers in a sense. They argue,
tease, disagree over the silliest things and
drive their coach crazy, but that’s what
makes them who they are.
“They stick together when times are
tough,” Hermiston coach Casey Arstein
said. “They know each other’s role. They
know who the shooters are, who the scorers
are and they have good chemistry on and off
the court. They drive me crazy at times, but
”TO BE A TEAM, YOU
MUST BE A FAMILY.”
all bring something different to the game.
That is a good thing. When times get tough,
they know how to turn it on.”
— DON MEYER,
Northern State basketball coach
Andreason and James started playing
basketball together through the Hermiston
Parks and Rec Department in the fi rst grade.
In the second grade, they joined an AAU
team coached by current Hermiston athletic
director Larry Usher. It’s on that team they
met Smith.
Fast forward to the sixth grade, that’s
when Mendez joined the team.
“I got in trouble in the sixth grade and had
to see Mr. Usher,” Mendez said. “He asked
if I wanted to play. I had never played bas-
ketball before.”
But he was tall (at the time), something
the team had lacked from the onset.
I love them all.”
The group of Ryne Andreason, Andrew
James, Cole Smith, Cesar Ortiz, Adrian
Mendez and Jordan Ramirez have helped
the Bulldogs (14-6) secure the No. 1 seed
in the 3A portion of the MCC/GSL District
8 tournament. They will host Kennewick at
7 p.m. Friday.
“They have spent a lot of time in the
game,” Arstein said. “They have a high bas-
ketball IQ, and that time on the court helps
when you play teams bigger than you. They
GIRLS HOOPS
The Hermiston girls basketball team saw
a fi ve-point lead melt away in the fourth
quarter, then fell short last Tuesday night
in their 3A District 8 opener against North
Central in Spokane.
Quincy McDeid hit a 3-pointer at the
buzzer in overtime to lead the Indians to a
51-48 victory over the Bulldogs.
“It was really heartbreaking,” Hermis-
ton coach Juan Rodriguez said. “We were
up in the fourth quarter and didn’t exe-
cute properly. They came down and hit two
free throws with a second left to send it to
overtime.”
The Bulldogs (8-14) are off until Thurs-
day, when they will play the loser of
Wednesday’s Mt. Spokane-Kennewick
game.
Mt. Spokane, the GSL’s No. 1 seed, had
a fi rst-round bye, while Kennewick beat
visiting Shadle Park 90-29.
See Chemistry, Page A9
BOYS HOOPS
North Central tops Hermiston in overtime
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
In the beginning
In overtime, the Indians (12-9) quickly
went up by fi ve, but the Bulldogs clawed
their way back into the game and tied
the score at 48-48 before McDeid hit the
game-winning shot.
“It really just comes down to not mak-
ing mistakes at the end of the game,” Rodri-
guez said.
Hermiston trailed 20-15 at the half, but
went on a 10-6 run in the third to pull within
26-25 entering the fourth quarter.
Jordan Thomas, the Bulldogs’ 6-foot-4
post, fi nished with 14 points, but did not
score in the fi rst half. Jazlyn Romero
chipped in 13 points, and Paige Palzinski
came off the bench to score six.
McDeid led the Indians with 17 points,
while Adria Blocker added 11.
Hermiston 5 10 10 13 10 — 48
North Central 5 15 6 12 13 — 51
HERMISTON — Ray 4, Bryd 2, Stefani 4, Palzinski 6, Dowdy 2, Her-
nandez 3, Romero 14, Thomas 14.
NORTH CENTRAL — Blocker 11, Crockett 8, Chastain 6, McDeid
17, Sayers 6.
Inclement weather strikes again
Third times a charm: Kennewick at
Hermiston scheduled for today, 7 p.m.
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
Blame Mother Nature or Old Man
Winter.
Either way, the Hermiston-Kennewick
boys 3A District 8 tournament basketball
game has been moved once again.
The teams will play at 7 p.m. Wednes-
day at Hermiston High School.
The Bulldogs originally were sched-
uled to host Kennewick on Friday night,
but poor weather conditions pushed the
game to Tuesday.
“As it is now, there will be games
played Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and
Saturday to see who goes to Tacoma,”
Hermiston athletic director Larry Usher
said. “We cancel any more games, we
might have to petition the WIAA to play
two games a day.”
The Bulldogs (14-6) earned the
Mid-Columbia Conference’s top seed to
the tournament, and had a bye the open-
ing round.
Kennewick (11-10) beat North Central
61-50 in the fi rst round to stay in the win-
ner’s half of the bracket.
It will be the third meeting between the
Bulldogs and Lions this season.
Hermiston won the fi rst meeting 72-64,
and the second 64-63.
Admission prices, set by the WIAA, are
$7 for adults and $5 for students.
Usher said Hermiston Athletics will
cover the admission cost for students who
want to attend the game.
With Tuesday’s games being pushed
to Wednesday, the Hermiston girls game,
which was scheduled for Wednesday, was
moved to Thursday.
The Bulldogs will play at the loser of
Wednesday’s Kennewick-Mt. Spokane
game.