Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/20785
Friday Boys Hoops — Corning at Pierce Tournament Boys Hoops — Los Molinos vs. TBD, 4:30 p.m. Boys Hoops — Mercy vs. TBD at Los Molinos, 7:30 p.m. Boys Hoops — Red Bluff at Argonaut Tournament Girls Hoops — Corning at Live Oak Tournament Girls Hoops — Red Bluff at Pleasant Valley Tournament Sports 2B Friday December 3, 2010 Mercy tops Bulldogs Tehama Tracker WRESTLING Orland 49 Corning 15 A highly-regarded Orland Trojans team beat Corning 49- 15, Wednesday, in a dual meet. Arulfo Garcia, Erik Miranda and Martin Solano picked up wins for the Cardinals. Garcia (145) defeated Dylan Hall by fall in 1:15. Miranda (215) had a fall victory at 3:43 over Beau Chan- dler. Solano edged Hugo Punzo 7-6 for an impressive win at 112 pounds. “Overall we were pleased with the way we wrestled.,” Corning coach Cort Mitchell said. “We are a very young team and a very inexperienced one. We came in looking at this match as a way of measuring where we are so far and came away happy with the way we competed against the number 2 team in the section.” In one of the more anticipated matches of the night, Orland’s Bret Schumann scored a 6-2 victory over Calvin Meister at 171 pounds. Corning’s Dakota Henry (130) had a tough match against Hermilio Esquivel and was pinned in 1:48. One of the section’s best 152-pounders, Orland’s Christ- ian Wathen, had a major decision 14-0 win over Dominic Azevedo. At 119 pounds Taylor Enck pinned Nathan Fultz at 1:36. Austin Sawyaer scored a 20-3 technical fall over David Edson at 125 pounds. Jimmy Gamboa (140) pinned Ramon Lopez at 1:21. Jacob Mertz (160) earned a fall victory over Kenny Kelly at 2:21. At 189, Casey Gingerich earned a 13-0 major decision over Jonathon Farias. In the heavyweight division, Fernando Infante defeated Noah Hall 7-3. Daily News photo by Rich Greene Mercy’s Mitchell Lopez falls in the middle of the Los Molinos defense,Thursday night. BOYS HOOPS Mercy 47 Los Molinos 44 By RICHGREENE DN Sports Editor LOS MOLINOS — Mitchell Lopez poured in 22 points and the Mercy Warriors used a fourth quarter energy boost from a hobbled Jeremie Jones to win 47-44, Thursday evening, in the opening round of the Block LM Tournament over the host Bulldogs. The Warriors play tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the semifinals, while Los Moli- nos heads to the consolation bracket and a 4:30 p.m. tip. Sean Conrad had 15 points for the Bulldogs and Eric Blanchard had a double-double, 10 points and 11 rebounds, as Los Molinos used their speed to take advantage of a depleted Warriors team to hold the lead through- out most of the game. With three players nursing injuries, Mercy coach Steve Shellabarger tread- Miami 118 Cleveland 90 ed water with his lineup, using all five starters until just 1:32 left in the third quarter when Michael Wang picked up his fourth foul. A tired Warriors group trailed 37-34 entering the final period. Lopez kept Mercy afloat with five 3-pointers and Steven Rodriguez chipped in with eight points. With 7:19 remaining in the game, Jones entered the game for the first time and the tempo picked up on both sides. A Reggie Points 3-pointer gave Los Molinos a six-point lead with five min- utes to play. Jones responded with a three of his own and the Warriors started one of their second half comebacks they per- fected a season ago. Wang pulled the Warriors within one point when Jones found him post- ed up under the basket. The Mercy center finished with eight points and 11 rebounds. The Warriors then took the lead on their next possession when Lopez con- verted a circus shot layup as he was falling down inside the paint. With 24 seconds left, Jones jumped a high post entry pass to Blanchard to give Mercy back the ball. After a Bulldogs’ foul, Lopez coo- ley converted a pair of free throws to make it 47-44. A pair of Los Molinos 3-point attempts in the 11 seconds both clanged off the rim. Ryan Mekech picked up 13 boards and scored six points for Los Molinos. Blanchard was effective throughout the night, but missed nine minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls in the first four minutes of the game. Mercy will play the winner of Thursday night’s Champion Christian- University Prep game. The Bulldogs get the loser. Hamilton knocked off Sutter 65-46 in Wednesday’s first round action and Liberty Christian battered Williams 80-35. The Block LMTournament contin- ues through Saturday. LeBron brings his talents back to Cleveland CLEVELAND (AP) — He tuned out the boos. He smiled at the derisive chants. He embraced all the negativ- ity Cleveland could muster. LeBron James wasn’t fazed by anything. He brought his talents back home and reminded everyone — even the haters — why he’s missed. Returning as a villain to his native state and the city he scorned this summer, James scored 38 points — 24 in a virtuoso third-quarter performance — to lead the Miami Heat to a 118-90 win on Thursday night, turning his hostile homecoming into another embarrassing moment for the Cavaliers. By halftime, James was the one having fun. By the fourth quarter, he was watching from the bench as Cavs fans headed into the cold for a disappointing drive home. This wasn’t the payback they waited five months to inflict. James simply wouldn’t allow it. As he did so many times during seven seasons for the Cavs, the two-time league MVP did anything he want- ed on the floor. In the third quarter, he made 10-of-12 shots, jumpers from every angle and taunted Cleve- land’s bench after draining a seemingly impossible base- line jumper. ‘‘I know this court. I’ve made a lot of shots on this court,’’ he said. ‘‘Just want- ed to be aggressive, just try MCT photo Cleveland fans show their displeasure with LeBron James,Thursday. to keep them out of the game. I knew they were going to try to make a run in the third quarter, but we were able to get stops and we were able to get some shots.’’ With security guards forming a human barricade to line his entrance, James came hopping out of the tunnel and into the electri- cally charged atmosphere inside Quicken Loans Arena, as more than 20,000 fans, the same ones who once adored him, turned their fury on James. It was rowdy, but thank- fully, not violent. There were a few minor incidents in the stands. Just in case, Moondog, the Cavs’ fuzzy mascot, wore a bulletproof vest. Booed every time he touched the ball, James scored 14 points in the first half as the Heat opened a 59-40 lead, and threatened to turn the highly anticipated game into a blowout. James quickly made certain of one. Miami outscored Cleve- land 36-25 in the third to open a 95-65 lead, prompt- ing Heat coach Erik Spoel- stra to pull his superstar. James spent the final 12 minutes as a spectator, glancing at the scoreboard and into the stands at so many familiar faces. James remained defiant afterward, saying he didn’t regret his decision to leave Cleveland. ‘‘I don’t want to apolo- gize,’’ he said. ‘‘I think my intentions were not to hurt anyone. My intentions were solely on kids during that whole process. I always say, decisions I make, I live with them. There’s always ways you can correct them or ways you can do them bet- ter. At the end of the day, I live with them. I’m satisfied and happy right now.’’ Las Vegas placed odds on whether James would perform his pregame pow- der toss ritual at the scorer’s table. He went through with it, leaving a cloud of dust above his head — a gesture fans here used to embrace but can’t stomach any longer. Security was super tight. One fan was immedi- ately ejected after he pointed at James and screamed in the superstar’s face before tip-off. The Cavaliers promised to safeguard James, who crushed them summer when he decided to leave as a free agent and join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. As the Akron native took pregame layups, Cleveland fans vented, some holding up signs that read ‘‘Akron Hates You Too,’’ ‘‘Merry Quitness,’’ and ‘‘Remember Game 5,’’ a reference to his final home game with the Cavs, when he went just 3 of 14 and scored 15 in a lop- sided loss to Boston in last season’s Eastern Confer- ence semifinals. James was the first play- er introduced, and as he lined up for the national anthem, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert was shown on the arena’s giant scoreboard, drawing a raucous ovation. James looked up and noticed the ovation was for Gilbert. He shook his head, tapped his feet and turned to his new teammates. Nathan Monck won at 135 by forfeit and both teams for- feit at 103 pounds. Corning joins Red Bluff in traveling to the Doc Peterson Tournament in Orland on Saturday. Giants announce deal with Tejada San Francisco Giants SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Miguel Tejada watched from the visiting side when the San Francisco Giants cele- brated their NL West title after knocking out his San Diego Padres on the final day of the regular season. That’s one reason why Tejada jumped at the opportunity to join the World Series champions when they came calling in free agency. ‘‘A team like San Francisco, you don’t say no,’’ Tejada said. ‘‘They already won it. That’s what I have in my mind. I’m going to be walking in here, playing and wearing the same uniform as the champions.’’ The Giants formally announced their $6.5 million, one- year deal with Tejada after he passed his physical Thursday. Tejada will replace World Series MVP Edgar Renteria and Juan Uribe as San Francisco’s regular shortstop next season. General manager Brian Sabean said he has admired Teja- da for years, back to his days starring across the bay for the Oakland Athletics. He looked into trading for Tejada early last season and then saw quite a bit of him down the stretch as the Padres and Giants battled for the division title. After watching Tejada so closely last season, Sabean has no concerns about how the 36-year-old Tejada will handle the crucial defensive responsibilities at shortstop — espe- cially with a pitching staff as talented as San Francisco’s. ‘‘The pitching staff is a flyball popup and strikeout pitch- ing staff,’’ Sabean said ‘‘That’s one of our strengths. We gave him high marks, or certainly passing marks, as a shortstop or we never would have put ourselves in this position.’’ Tejada played 156 games last season with Baltimore and San Diego, batting .269 with 15 homers, 26 doubles and 71 RBIs between his two clubs. He had an on-base percentage of .312 and slugged .381. The Padres declined to offer Tejada salary arbitration last week. Tejada spent the first seven of his 14 major league seasons as a fan favorite with the Athletics, winning the 2002 AL MVP award in his second-to-last year with the A’s. His expe- rience in Oakland made him want to return to the Bay Area when he had the chance. He also is excited that he no longer has to face the Giants’ stellar starting staff with Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Jonathan Sanchez. ‘‘They are really tough pitchers to hit,’’ he said. ‘‘To come here will be nice for me because now I don’t have to face those guys.’’ Tejada left for the Baltimore Orioles after the 2003 sea- son and also has played for Houston. In 14 career seasons, Tejada has a .287 batting average with 300 homers, 1,256 RBIs and 2,285 hits. ‘‘He has a knack for driving in runs,’’ Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. ‘‘He’s dangerous up there. I didn’t like it See GIANTS, page 3B Vick, Eagles handle Texans Houston 24 Philadelphia 34 PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Michael Vick threw for 302 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, rallying the Philadelphia Eagles to a 34-24 victory over the Houston Tex- ans on Thursday night. Vick was hurried, harassed and battered throughout the game. But he never stayed down despite taking a bunch of hard shots, and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 2-yard run. It was the first time Vick led the Eagles (8-4) back from a fourth-quarter deficit. They led 14-3 in the first half. Matt Schaub had 337 yards passing and two scores for the Texans (5-7). Andre Johnson had 149 yards receiving — four days after his hockey-like fight with Tennessee’s Cort- land Finnegan.