A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2019
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Benavidez leads Lions past Dawgs
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
For three quarters, Herm-
iston played basket for bas-
ket with Kennewick, but a
slow third quarter did the
Bulldogs in.
Ayoni Benavidez scored
a career-high 33 points, and
the Lions held the Bulldogs
to just six points in the third
quarter as they cruised to a
72-59 Mid-Columbia Con-
ference victory Saturday
night at the Dawg House.
“The third quarter, we
came out flat,” Hermis-
ton coach Drew Preuninger
said. “We needed to play
smarter offensively and
defensively. I have been so
proud of these kids. They
are proving people wrong.
They never give up.”
The game was the MCC
opener for the Lions.
“We came out with some
renewed focus,” Kenne-
wick Braydn Leyde said the
third quarter. “We weren’t
happy with how we played
in the first half. Holding
them to six points was the
turning point.”
Hermiston, which won
its MCC opener Friday at
Pasco, trailed 20-18 after
the first quarter.
The Bulldogs took a
13-10 lead with 3:12 left
in the first with a 3-pointer
by Jaiden Ruloph, and Ivan
Rangel stretched the lead to
18-12 with a 3 from the left
wing.
Benavidez, who was
held to just three points
the first 6:35 of the game,
scored the final eight points
of the quarter for the 20-18
lead.
The Kennewick senior
continued his scoring spree
in the second, pouring in
15 points at the Lions led
39-36 at the half.
“He is really shifty and
he is very smooth,” Leyde
said of Benavidez, who had
six 3-pointers on the night.
“He can play inside and
outside.”
The Lions went on a
16-6 run in the third quarter
to take a 55-42 lead. Myles
Mayovsky had eight of his
10 points in the quarter,
and Kennewick got quality
minutes off the bench by
Jagger Childs.
“Jagger is just coming
back from football, and
so is Baylor (McElroy),”
Leyde said. “They are start-
ing to get their basketball
legs, and their height (Jag-
ger is 6-4, and McElroy is
6-5) helps out.”
The Bulldogs rallied the
troops and played even ball
with the Lions in the fourth.
Hermiston trailed 67-47
with 3:29 to play, but the
Bulldogs would close out
the game with a 12-5 run.
“Tonight, we competed
with the Kennewick, and
proved to people we can
compete with them,” Pre-
uninger said. “Even though
we lost, everyone in the
gym is surprised with how
well we played.”
Rangel led the Bulldogs
with 16 points, and Ruloph
added 13 and Trent Pitney
12.
“We know we can com-
pete with a lot of teams in
the league,” Rangel said.
“They had us on size the
whole game, but we were
quicker. We failed to use
that to our advantage. We
just need to finish what we
start.”
Bulldogs beat Pasco
Preuninger got his first
taste of the Mid-Columbia
Conference on Friday, and
his team came away with a
57-53 road win over Pasco.
“We talked about this
game all week,” Preuninger
said.
“We were the only ones
playing tonight, and if we
won we’d be leading the
league — for at least a day.”
Hermiston led 23-14
midway through the sec-
ond quarter, and 34-22 at the
half.
Pasco cut the deficit
to 45-34 after three quar-
ters, but could not catch the
Dawgs down the stretch.
“We are very inexperi-
enced,” Preuninger said.
“We hadn’t been in that sit-
uation before (holding onto
a lead late). We turned the
ball over and took too quick
of shots, and we weren’t
making them. It was a super
fun game for our kids to
go through this early in the
season.”
Jaiden Rudolph led
Hermiston (2-2, 1-0 MCC)
with 12 points, while Trent
Pitney added 11 points and
eight rebounds. Sergio Mad-
rigal had 11 points and four
rebounds.
Ethan Legard led Pasco
with a game-high 16 points.
Nick Gutierrez added 11
points.
Staff photos by Kathy Aney
Above, Hermiston’s Jaime Ramirez puts up a shot as
Kennewick’s Ayoni Benavidez defends during Saturday’s
game at the Dawg House.
At left, Hermiston’s A.J. Ramos-Barron brings the ball down
the court during Saturday’s game against the Kennewick
Lions.
BOXS SCORE
KENNEWICK
20 19 16 17 — 72
HERMISTON
18 18 6 17 — 59
KENNEWICK — Benavidez 33, Moses 3,
Collier 9, Mayer 1, Mayovsky 10, Knapik 7,
Childs 5, McElroy 4.
HERMISTON — Ruloph 13, Pitney 12,
Ramos-Barron 5, Rangel 16, Madrigal 9,
Jay.Ramirez 2, Jai.Ramirez 2.
Riverhawks soar past Dawgs in MCC matchup
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
Chiawana is every bit as
good as its No. 1 ranking.
The Riverhawks won
12 of 14 matches Thursday
night in handing Hermiston
a 66-8 Mid-Columbia Con-
ference loss at the Dawg
House.
“We wrestled them like
they are the 4A state cham-
pions,” Hermiston coach
Kyle Larson said. “We
were timid. A number of
the matches, they were bet-
ter than us, but not like the
score shows. We have to
move on.”
It was the first MCC dual
of the season for Chiawana,
and coach Jack Anderson
liked what he saw from his
team.
“I’m excited for this
team,” Anderson said.
“They have been working
their tails off. They love the
sport, and they love to com-
pete. It’s fun for us to come
down and compete against a
storied program like Herm-
iston. They have a great
community.”
The Bulldogs (1-1 MCC)
were a little short-handed
Thursday with Zayne Helfer
not making weight, and Jor-
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Trevor Wagner of Hermiston wrestles Chaiwana’s Riley Cissne
in the 170-pound weight class during Thursday’s dual meet at
the Dawg House.
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Sam Cadenas of Hermiston exults after defeating Chaiwana’s Cayetano Talavera in the
220-pound weight class during Thursday’s dual meet.
dan Franklin injured, but
they had a full lineup with a
couple of young wrestlers in
the mix.
Lance Stover got things
rolling for the Riverhawks
with a second-round pin of
Cesar Barraza at 145 pounds.
Robby Vaughn (152) fol-
lowed with a first-round pin
of Hermiston’s Ethan Teel,
and Darian Johnson gave
Chiawana an 18-0 lead with
a second-round pin of Gavin
Tarvin at 160.
In the marquee match
of the night at 170, Herm-
iston’s Trevor Wagner
took on Riley Cissne. Both
placed fourth at state last
year in their divisions,
and their match did not
disappoint.
Wagner had a 6-3 lead
after the first round, but Cis-
sne turned the tables in the
second with a takedown
and 2-point near fall to tie
the score at 7-7. An escape
by Wagner gave him an 8-7
lead heading into the third
round.
Cissne again tied the
match with an escape, but
Wagner took Cissne down
with 31 seconds left in the
match, then added a 2-point
near fall for a 12-8 victory.
“I knew he was good,”
Wagner said. “I fell to him
the final seconds last year. I
came out a little flat footed,
but once I got into a groove,
I started wrestling my match.
When you can beat one of
the top guys in the state, it
feels good.”
Anderson had nothing
but praise for Wagner.
“That kid is dangerous,”
he said. “He is fun to watch
wrestle, just not against my
guys. It was an awesome
match. Riley knows what he
needs to work on and will
come back and be better
next time.”
Pins by defending state
champions Tyson Stover
(182) and Isaiah Anderson
(195) gave Chiawana a 30-3
lead, putting the match out
of reach.
Hermiston got back in the
win column at 220, as soph-
omore Sam Cadenas earned
a 17-1 technical fall over
Cayetano Talavera.
“I underestimated his
speed and strength,” Cade-
nas said of leading just 4-0
after the first round. “I knew
if I could get a leg I could
take him down. I had to
block some shots or I would
have gone down.”
The Riverhawks ran the
table from 106 to 138, get-
ting four pins in the final six
matches.
“We weren’t consis-
tent or disciplined,” Larson
said. “We have to be more
disciplined as a team in all
aspects of life.”