Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/764022
ByChipThompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com @editorchip on Twitter RED BLUFF The Red Bluff Spar- tans boys basketball team won a heart-stopper to open the Holi- day Classic Thursday night over U Prep with a game winner as time ran out from Tye Clement, 49-48. The teams were even for most of the night but the Panthers went ahead late. The Spartans were able to go up by 1 with 15 seconds to play but a foul gave the Pan- thers two free throws. Both went in and the Panther led 48-47 with 10 seconds to go. Brayden Hutch- ins brought it down the court but had a shot blocked under the rim. Clement picked it up and sank the game-winning shot with 1 second on the clock. The first period ended tied at 10 and the Panthers went to the half up 25-24, but a big third period put the Spartans in front 38-34. The Spartans shots stopped drop- ping in the fourth and the Pan- thers pulled ahead before the last second heroics. Derek Gordon led the Spartans with 24 points, Hutchins had 10, Clement had 6, Payton Edwards had 4, Dawson Voth had 3 and Eric Spencer had 2. The Spartans will face the win- ner of the late game Thursday be- tween the Franklin Wildcats of Elk Grove and the Enterprise Hor- nets of Redding. In earlier games, the Edison HOLIDAY CLASSIC CLEMENT HITS BIG, SPARTANS GET WIN RedBlufftofacewinneroflategamebetweenFranklinandEnterprise PHOTOSBYCHIPTHOMPSON—DAILYNEWS Red Bluff's Derek Gordon (23) puts up a 3-pointer Thursday night against the U-Prep Panthers. Red Bluff's Tye Clement works his way around defenders Thursday night against U-Prep. By Chip Thompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com @editorchip on Twitter WEED The Los Molinos Bull- dogs and Lady Bulldogs teams came away with wins on the road Wednesday night, but the Mercy Warriors and Lady Warriors came up short. After an evenly matched first period, the Bulldogs boys went to the half up by three points be- fore coming out strong in the sec- ond half to beat the Weed Cou- gars 56-45. Sophomore Aaron Hardy led the Bulldogs with 20 points, in- cluding a trio of 3-pointers, Alex Russell had 14 points, Kyle Wood had nine, freshman Ty Isaksen put up eight and freshman Devin Henderson had five. The Bulldogs go to 7-2 with the win and were scheduled to travel to Paradise on Thursday night to fact the Paradise Adventist Acad- emy Cougars (1-3). LadyBulldogs55,Weed42 The Los Molinos Lady Bulldogs got off to a slow start in first pe- riod Wednesday night against the Weed Lady Cougars and went into the half down by two points. In a strong second half, Los Molinos outscored the Cougars 30-14 to take a 55-42 win on the road. Rachel Rogers led the Bulldogs with 27 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, Henna Acevedo had 10 points, Genesis Acevedo had six and Valeria Garnica and Regan Shannon each had five. The Lady Bulldogs are 6-1 on the year and were scheduled to face Paradise Adventist Academy (2-2) on Thursday evening. Maxwell 45, Warriors 22 MAXWELL Despite a double- double performance from Mar- cus Kuechle, the Mercy Warriors fell on the road Wednesday night to the Maxwell Panthers, 45-22. Kuechle had 12 points and 15 rebounds on the night and Dart Kingwell had six points and six rebounds. T.J. Frase and Nick Ke- ane each had two points. The Warriors drop to 1-4 on the season and resume action af- ter the holiday break hosting the Dunsmuir Tigers (1-1) at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 5. Maxwell 28, Lady Warriors 13 The Mercy Lady Warriors played tough through the first half Wednesday night against the host Maxwell Panthers, but were overwhelmed in the second half and lost 28-13. As of 12:30 p.m. Thursday no stats had been posted for the game. The Lady Warriors are still looking for their first win at 0-5 and resume action in tournament play Friday. BASKETBALL BulldogswinasWarriorsfall Los Molinos boys, girls beat Weed on road; Mercy teams fall short on road in Maxwell By Tim Booth The Associated Press SEATTLE Russell Wilson threw three touchdown passes, Tyler Lockett had 130 yards receiv- ing and a score, and the Seattle Seahawks won the NFC West ti- tle with a 24-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night. Seattle claimed its third NFC West title in four seasons, assur- ing itself of at least one home game in the playoffs and keep- ing the pressure on Detroit in the competition for the No. 2 seed in the NFC and a first- round bye. Seattle also snapped a three-game losing streak to the Rams. It wasn't an impressive dis- play by Seattle (9-4-1), but was far better than Sunday when the Seahawks were blown out by Green Bay with Wilson throw- ing five interceptions. Wilson was good enough against the listless Rams. After slogging through the first half, Wilson threw a 1-yard touch- down pass to Doug Baldwin late in the third quarter for a 17-3 lead, then put the game away on a 57-yard touchdown strike to Lockett on the second play of the fourth quarter. Wilson finished 19 of 26 for 229 yards, but also threw a care- less interception at the goal line midway through the fourth quarter. Seven of those passes went to Lockett, whose previous career high was 104 yards. Luke Willson also had an 8-yard TD catch in the first half. Another mostly forgettable Thursday night game was made at least somewhat more enter- taining by the Seahawks and their highlighter green uni- forms that drew wild opinions all over social media. The "Ac- tion Green" uniforms had very little action in the first half, be- fore a second-half effort that as- sured another banner would be raised at CenturyLink Field. A tumultuous few days for the Rams (4-10) after the firing of Jeff Fisher as head coach culmi- nated in their fifth straight loss and first under interim coach NFL Seahawks beat Rams to claim NFC West title By Michael Wagaman The Associated Press SACRAMENTO As he prepares for the final fight of his career, UFC bantamweight Urijah Faber is still wrestling with his emotions. On one hand, he's fully pre- pared to step away from the sport that has made him wealthy and a household name in the MMA world. On the other, the 37-year-old Faber is unflinchingly confident that he can still get it done inside the octagon that has been his home away from home for more than two decades. "I know for sure when I walk out to the cage it's going to be a different type of feeling," Fa- ber told The Associated Press this week. "I really believe that, because of everything that's go- ing on, in my hometown, my last fight. It is going to be a little bit- tersweet because I know I can still compete at the highest level and I'm still all there." By all there, Faber means he is physically fine after 43 profes- sional matches in the now-de- funct World Extreme Cagefight- ing and UFC. Along the way, Faber became highly popular with fans for his grit, charming smile, playful per- sonality and a willingness to fight whoever was put in front of him. That he never won a UFC title is merely a blip on Faber's other- wise stellar career. "This is a very rough way to make a living," Faber said. "It goes MMA Faber has last UFC bout, set to retire The Associated Press Craig Sager, the longtime NBA sideline reporter famous for his flashy suits and probing ques- tions, has died after a battle with cancer, Turner Sports announced Thursday. He was 65. "Craig Sager was a beloved member of the Turner family for more than three decades and he has been a true inspiration to all of us," Turner President David Levy said in a statement. "There will never be another Craig Sager. His incredible talent, tireless work ethic and commitment to his craft took him all over the world cover- ing sports." Levy's statement did not say when or where Sager died. He had had a third bone marrow transplant at the end of August in Houston to fight an aggressive form of leukemia. "We packed a lifetime and then some into these 28 years together," Sager's son, Craig II, wrote on Twitter. Sager, who worked basketball games for TNT for nearly a quar- ter-century, revealed in March NBA NOTEBOOK Sager, NBA legend, dies of leukemia FABER PAGE 2 NBA PAGE 2 CLASSIC PAGE 2 NFL PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Friday, December 16, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1