Newspaper Page Text
2B Thursday, December 6, 2018
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
SPORTS
NBA
Hawks fall to
Wizards 131-117
Bradley Beal scored a sea
son-high 36 points, Otto Por
ter Jr. had 20 points and 11
rebounds, and the Washing
ton Wizards won their third
straight game with a 131-
117 victory over the Atlanta
Hawks on Wednesday night.
Wizards star guard John
Wall missed the game for
personal reasons, but Wash
ington still finished with a
season-high 35 assists.
Beal, with nine assists
and nine rebounds, was a
matchup nightmare for the
Hawks, who began the night
with the NBA’s third-worst
record and lost their fourth
straight. John Collins fin
ished with 14 rebounds and
a career-high 26 points, and
Kent Bazemore added 22
points for Atlanta.
Rookie guard Kevin
Huerter was the first Hawks
player assigned to guard
Beal, and he was replaced
early. Atlanta coach Lloyd
Pierce tried several combi
nations but nothing worked
for long.
Beal drew Collins, a 6-foot-
10 forward, out to guard him
in the third quarter and
quickly cut past him. Rookie
point guard Trae Young
closed in the lane too late as
Beal drove for a layup and a
19-point lead.
Beal took the ball to the
rim often enough to get to
the foul line and hit 10 of 13
free throws. The Wizards
finished 27 for 32 at the line.
The Hawks used a 45-point
third, their highest-scoring
quarter of the season, to pull
within seven in the first min
ute of the fourth on Baze-
more’s jumper.
Associated Press
WOODALL
■ Continued from 1B
the area most glaring for
Atlanta. Ryan is getting hit
and pressured constantly,
and he’s been sacked 36
times in 12 games — one
less than his entire 2016
total.
The run game has sput
tered as of late with 71,
80,26 and 34 yards over
the last four games. For
an offense that builds its
momentum off the playac-
tion and passes over 66 per
cent of the time, that is not
good. Without a decent run
game, you can’t manipulate
defenses as easily. You
can’t create those openings
in the middle of the field.
And with little pass pro
tection, plays can’t fully
develop downfield. And
even with all the weapons
the Falcons have at their
disposal, all of that falls by
the wayside if your quarter
back can’t stay upright.
Against Baltimore, the
line was blown up con
stantly (as pointed out by
Falcons color commentator
Dave Archer). The offense
was stifled to its lowest
yardage total in nearly two
decades with 131 yards. It
was also obvious that no one
could pick up their assign
ments in pass protection as
Ryan was dragged down
three times from inside the
pocket, including a strip
sack in the second half.
The Ravens recorded five
stops for a loss in that game,
the most imposing coming
when Atlanta attempted
to run the ball on a fourth-
and-1 at midfield and Ito
Smith was gang-tackled for
a 1-yard loss.
Even rookie quarterback
Lamar Jackson — whose
escapability and athleticism
carried him through col
lege — was too comfortable
inside the pocket and the
Ravens held the ball 19 min
utes longer than the Falcons
on Sunday.
But back to the offensive
line. Alex Mack at center
has been solid and previ
ously was a huge part of
Atlanta’s Super Bowl run
in 2016, but at 33, he isn’t
getting any younger. Right
tackle has been a disaster,
as Ryan Schraeder’s play
continues to plummet and
it was revealed via Twitter
that Ty Sambrailo saw reps
at right tackle with the first
team on Wednesday.
Ben Garland, Wes Sch
weitzer and Zane Beadles
have been splitting reps
at guard too, but let’s face
it, that combo hasn’t been
promising either.
It was made clear within
the last two weeks that
Quinn has been reshuffling
the deck, hitting refresh in
certain areas — the offen
sive line especially — and
giving younger guys some
opportunities. But line-of-
scrimmage play doesn’t
look like it’s gonna get any
better for the rest of the
season.
If the Falcons want a shot
at another Super Bowl run
as early as next season, the
offensive line has to be the
focal point in the draft and /
or in free agency. For now,
the most this offensive line
can do is take as much — if
not more — responsibility
for this latest slump.
Sarah Woodall is a sports
writer for The Times. She can
be reached at swoodall@
gainesvilletimes.com or @
woodall8sarah on Twitter.
MARTINEZ
■ Continued from 1B
MVPs — retired baseball
stars Chipper Jones, Dale
Murphy and Terry Pendle
ton of the Braves, as well as
quarterback Matt Ryan of
the NFL Falcons.
Martinez credited his
teammates for giving him
plenty of scoring chances,
including fellow MVP final
ist Miguel Almiron.
“I wish I could cut this tro
phy up and give them each
a part of it,” Martinez said,
speaking after the ceremony
through a translator.
The other finalists for the
Landon Donovan trophy
were Zlatan Ibrahimovic
of the Los Angeles Gal
axy, Wayne Rooney of D.C.
United and Carlos Vela of
Los Angeles FC, all of whom
joined MLS this season with
glittering resumes.
Martinez, on the other
hand, failed to make much
of an impact after getting his
first big chance with Torino
in Italy’s Serie A, scoring
just seven goals in 58 league
appearances.
But when Eales was build
ing United’s roster, he got
a good recommendation
on Martinez from a Torino
teammate, English goal
keeper Joe Hart.
Eales read some of the
texts he got from Hart dur
ing the MVP ceremony,
which was held at the opu
lent offices of Atlanta United
owner Arthur Blank.
“Martinez is a really good
guy,” Hart wrote. “Big,
friendly personality on and
off the pitch. Dangerous
player with energy. Heads
the ball well for a small guy.
He would be a good signing. ”
While Martinez has scored
plenty of goals with both
feet, his ability in the air is
what makes him special.
It’s even more impressive
given his size.
“His aerial ability is
incredible for such a small
chap,” Eales said.
Football/NFL
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
East
W L
T
Pet
PF
PA
New England
9 3
0
.750
331
259
Miami
6 6
0
.500
244
300
Buffalo
4 8
0
.333
178
293
N.Y. Jets
3 9
South
0
.250
243
307
W L
T
Pet
PF
PA
Houston
9 3
0
.750
302
235
Indianapolis
6 6
0
.500
325
279
Tennessee
6 6
0
.500
221
245
Jacksonville
4 8
North
0
.333
203
243
W L
T
Pet
PF
PA
Pittsburgh
7 4
1
.625
346
282
Baltimore
7 5
0
.583
297
214
Cincinnati
5 7
0
.417
286
371
Cleveland
4 7
West
1
.375
266
312
W L
T
Pet
PF
PA
Kansas City
10 2
0
.833
444
327
L.A. Chargers
9 3
0
.750
340
249
Denver
6 6
0
.500
276
262
Oakland
2 10
0
.167
220
367
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
East
W L
T
Pet
PF
PA
Dallas
7 5
0
.583
247
223
Philadelphia
6 6
0
.500
258
266
Washington
6 6
0
.500
233
257
N.Y. Giants
4 8
South
0
.333
267
315
W L
T
Pet
PF
PA
New Orleans
10 2
0
.833
419
269
Carolina
6 6
0
.500
304
306
Tampa Bay
5 7
0
.417
318
355
Atlanta
4 8
North
0
.333
296
333
W L
T
Pet
PF
PA
Chicago
8 4
0
.667
344
241
Minnesota
6 5
1
.542
275
270
Green Bay
4 7
1
.375
281
287
Detroit
4 8
West
0
.333
254
316
W L
T
Pet
PF
PA
y-L.A. Rams
11 1
0
.917
419
298
Seattle
7 5
0
.583
319
259
Arizona
3 9
0
.250
175
310
San Francisco
y-clinched division
2 10
0
.167
255
336
Monday’s Games
Philadelphia 28, Washington 13
Today’s game
Jacksonville at Tennessee, 8:20 p.m.
Sunday’s games
New Orleans at Tampa Bay, 1 p.m.
N.Y. Giants at Washington, 1 p.m.
Atlanta at Green Bay, 1 p.m.
Indianapolis at Houston, 1 p.m.
N.Y. Jets at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Carolina at Cleveland, 1 p.m.
New England at Miami, 1 p.m.
Baltimore at Kansas City, 1 p.m.
Cincinnati at L.A. Chargers, 4:05 p.m.
Denver at San Francisco, 4:05 p.m.
Detroit at Arizona, 4:25 p.m.
Philadelphia at Dallas, 4:25 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Oakland, 4:25 p.m.
L.A. Rams at Chicago, 8:20 p.m.
Football/college
FCS playoffs schedule
Quarterfinals
Friday’s games
Maine (9-3) vs. Weber State (10-2), 8 p.m.
Saturday’s games
Colgate (10-1) at North Dakota State (12-0),
Noon
South Dakota State (9-2) at Kennesaw State
(11-1), 2 p.m.
UC Davis (10-2) at Eastern Washington (10-2),
4 p.m.
Transactions
BASEBALL
American League
DETROIT TIGERS — Agreed to terms with RHP
Louis Coleman, Cs Kade Scivicque and Bobby
Wilson and INF Kody Eaves on minor league
contracts.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Signed INF-OF Chris
Owings to a one-year contract.
National League
MIAMI MARLINS — Named Mel Stottlemyre
Jr. pitching coach, Trey Hillman first base and
infield coach and Jeff Livesey assistant hitting
coach. Promoted Kevin Barr to strength and
conditioning coach.
FOOTBALL
National Football League
ARIZONA CARDINALS — Placed 0L D.J.
Humphries on injured reserve. Signed 0L Joe
Barksdale. Signed 0L Rees Odhiambo from the
Indianapolis practice squad.
CAROLINA PANTHERS — Placed TE Greg Olsen
on injured reserve. Signed WR Mose Frazier
from the practice squad.
CINCINNATI BENGALS — Placed WR A.J. Green
on injured reserve. Activated CB Davontae
Harris from injured reserve.
CLEVELAND BROWNS — Signed OL Mason
Gentry and WR Daniel Williams to the practice
squad. Promoted 0L Kyle Kalis from the
practice squad. Placed DL Daniel Ekuale the
reserve/suspended by commissioner list.
DETROIT LIONS — Placed LB Jalen Reeves-
Maybin on injured reserve. Promoted DE Eric
Lee from the practice squad.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Signed 0T De’Ondre
Wesley to the practice squad.
OAKLAND RAIDERS — Signed RB C.J. Anderson,
CB Bene Benwikere and DE Kony Ealy. Placed
WR Martavis Bryant, LB Shilique Calhoun and S
Reggie Nelson on injured reserve.
WASHINGTON REDSKINS — Placed CB Quinton
Dunbar, WR Trey Quinn and G Jonathan Cooper
on injured reserve. Signed QB Josh Johnson, G
Zac Kerin, C Demetrius Rhaney and DE Marcus
Smith.
COLLEGE
NCAA — Placed Oregon on two years probation
for violating rules related to the men’s and
women’s basketball teams and the track and
field program and suspended women’s basket
ball coach Kelly Graves two games. Fined the
school $5,000 plus 1 percent of the men’s and
women’s basketball budgets.
COLORADO — Named Mel Tucker football
coach.
Basketball/college
Top 25 results
Wednesday’s games
1. Gonzaga (8-0) vs. Washington. Next: vs. No. 7
Tennessee, Sunday.
2. Kansas (7-0) did not play. Next: vs. New
Mexico State, Saturday.
3. Duke (8-1) beat Hartford 84-54. Next: vs.
Yale, Saturday.
4. Virginia (8-0) did not play. Next: vs. VCU,
Sunday.
5. Michigan (9-0) did not play. Next: vs. South
Carolina, Saturday.
6. Nevada (8-0) did not play. Next: vs. No. 20
Arizona State, Friday.
7. Tennessee (6-1) did not play. Next: vs. No. 1
Gonzaga, Sunday.
8. Auburn (7-1) did not play. Next: vs. Dayton,
Saturday.
9. Kentucky (7-1) did not play. Next: vs. Seton
Hall, Saturday.
10. Michigan State (7-2) did not play. Next: at
Florida, Saturday.
11. Florida State (7-1) did not play. Next: vs.
UConn, Saturday.
12. Wisconsin (8-1) did not play. Next: at
Marquette, Saturday.
13. Texas Tech (7-0) vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Next: vs. Northwestern State, Wednesday.
14. North Carolina (6-2) vs. UNC Wilmington.
Next: vs. No. 1 Gonzaga, Saturday, Dec. 15.
15. Virginia Tech (7-1) beatVMI 89-68. Next: vs.
S.C. State, Sunday.
16. Kansas State (6-1) did not play. Next: at
Tulsa, Saturday.
17. Buffalo (8-0) beat Le Moyne 89-55. Next: at
St. Bonaventure, Saturday.
18. Iowa (6-2) did not play. Next: vs. Iowa State,
Thursday.
19. Ohio State (8-1) beat Illinois 77-67. Next:
vs. Bucknell, Saturday, Dec. 15.
20. Arizona State (7-0) did not play. Next: vs.
No. 6 Nevada, Friday.
21. Villanova (6-2) vs. Temple. Next: vs. Saint
Joseph’s, Saturday.
22. Mississippi State (7-1) did not play. Next:
vs. Clemson, Saturday.
23. Maryland (7-1) did not play. Next: at Purdue,
Thursday.
24. Nebraska (7-1) at Minnesota. Next: vs.
Creighton, Saturday.
25. Furman (9-0) did not play. Next: at South
Carolina Upstate, Saturday.
Women’s scores
EAST
Army 62, Fairleigh Dickinson 40
Cal St.-Fullerton 61, Columbia 58
Colgate 61, Mass.-Lowell 52
Dartmouth 64, Boston U. 44
Duquesne 64, Penn St. 58
Florida Gulf Coast 83, St. Francis (Pa.) 69
Holy Cross 72, Hofstra 66
Penn 65, La Salle 34
Pittsburgh 65, Fordham 62
Syracuse 96, Md.-Eastern Shore 51
SOUTH
Campbell 65, William Peace 36
Coastal Carolina 128, Meredith 39
E. Kentucky 90, Kentucky Christian 35
Florida St. 57, Mercer 56
Georgia Tech 69, Alabama St. 42
TODAY ON TV
BASKETBALL FOOTBALL
■ Texas A&M women at Houston, 7 p.m., ESPN2 ■ Jaguars at
■ Iowa State at Iowa, 8 p.m., FS1 Titans, 8 p.m.,
■ NBA: Knicks at Celtics, 8 p.m., TNT FOX
■ High School: San Joaquin Memorial at Pinnacle, 9 p.m.,
ESPN2
■ NBA: Rockets at Jazz, 10:30 p.m., TNT
COLLEGE FOOTBALL I Heisman Trophy
Strong closing statement
JAY LAPRETE I Associated Press
Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins throws a pass against Indiana during the first half
of the game Oct. 6 in Columbus, Ohio.
Haskins threw five TDs in Big Ten title game
Associated Press
It was subtle, but that
definitely was the Heisman
Trophy pose that Dwayne
Haskins Jr. struck in the end
zone after throwing his fifth
touchdown pass of the Big
Ten championship game last
weekend.
It wasn’t quite the hey-
look-at-me, Desmond How
ard version, but it was an
unmistakable Heisman stiff-
arm, high-leg stance, even if
just for a second.
“I wasn’t planning it,”
the Ohio State quarterback
said. “I felt it was the right
moment for me to do that.
I tried to be low key with
it, but that didn’t work. It
wasn’t a full-on Heisman
pose, but it’s a cool picture to
have one day.”
Why not? The supremely
confident Haskins put up
Heisman-worthy numbers,
broke records and led his
team to a 12-1 mark in a
tumultuous season that will
end with a trip to the Rose
Bowl — two spots outside
the College Football Playoff.
The other two finalists, quar
terbacks Tua Tagovailoa of
Alabama and Kyler Mur
ray of Oklahoma, led their
teams to playoff berths.
The prize will be awarded
Saturday night.
Haskins finished with
4,580 passing yards and 47
touchdowns, both of which
led the nation. He broke 11
Big Ten and Ohio State sin
gle-season records. He’s tied
for 10th all-time for passing
touchdowns in a single sea
son in NCAA history. He was
Big Ten offensive player of
the year and MVP of the
conference championship
game.
After starting 12 games as
a college quarterback, he’ll
likely enter the NFL draft,
where he could be a first-
round pick.
He remade the Ohio State
offense in his own image,
turning the Buckeyes into
a pass-first team after four
years of J.T. Barrett running
for first downs. Then, late in
the season, Haskins showed
he could put his head down
and run the ball effectively
when he had to.
“The quarterback’s
dream is to sit back and pick
a defense apart,” Haskins
said. “I gave coach (Urban)
Meyer the confidence to do
that. I gave coach (Ryan)
Day and coach (Kevin)
Wilson an opportunity to
call great plays for me and
execute them. We just had
a whole bunch of fun this
year.”
The 21-year-old New Jer
sey native who played high
school ball in Potomac,
Maryland, is one of the
best throwers ever to wear
an Ohio State uniform. In
the last two games of the
season, against rival Michi
gan in the season finale
and Northwestern in the
conference championship
game, Haskins threw for a
combined 895 yards and 11
touchdowns.
“That’s one of the best
performances in the last two
weeks in college football his
tory,” Meyer declared.
Just as important to
Meyer — who will retire
after his team plays in the
Rose Bowl Jan. 1 — is the
willingness Haskins showed
to tuck the ball and run
for tough yards down the
stretch, which didn’t come
naturally to the pro-style
quarterback.
“How do you measure a
Heisman
Ceremony
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
TV: ESPN
quarterback? Obviously,
wins. But can he get and
will he get the first down
for you?” said Meyer, who
had promised to fly Haskins
to New York himself if his
quarterback wasn’t chosen
as a finalist.
Like Barrett, his prede
cessor, Haskins showed
poise beyond his years
whether the offense was
clicking or not.
“I think the biggest thing
about Dwayne is he never
gets too high and he never
gets too low,” senior wide
receiver Parris Campbell
said. “He’s always poised.”
Haskins said he knows
Tagovailoa and Murray
well from prep quarterback
circles and considers them
friends.
“Quarterbacks, we all are
the alpha males, and we all
compete against each other
at all the camps, and we all
know about one another,”
he said. “Kyler coming out
of high school was the best
quarterback in the country.
Tua was like a god. And to be
able to be in the same con
versation with them makes
me feel like I put the work
in to be considered the best
quarterback in the country. I
have much respect for those
guys.”
Haskins said he first heard
of the Heisman Trophy play
ing the NCAA Football video
game as a kid. He’d always
choose to be No. 7, the Ohio
State quarterback, and he’d
win the bronze statuette
every time.
“We’ll see how realistic
that is this week,” he said.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL I Mens top 25
Barrett’s big night paces
No. 3 Duke in 84-54 win
Associated Press
Freshman RJ Barrett had
27 points and a season-best
15 rebounds, and No. 3 Duke
pulled away to rout Hartford
84-54 on Wednesday night.
Zion Williamson added
18 points and 12 rebounds,
and Tre Jones and Javin
Delaurier finished with 10
points apiece to help the
Blue Devils (8-1) win their
third straight. Duke shot 62
percent in the second half
to more than make up for
hitting just five 3-pointers —
matching a season low.
J.R. Lynch scored 13
points and Jason Dunne
added 12 for Hartford (3-7),
a 38-point underdog that
hung around well into the
second half before fad
ing. Dunne’s long 3-pointer
pulled the Hawks within
eight points with just over 12
minutes left.
Williamson then hit two
free throws, Jack White fol
lowed with a steal and dunk
and Cameron Reddish —
who had missed all six of
his 3-pointers to that point
— buried a 3 in transition
to give the Blue Devils their
largest lead to that point at
54-39.
Duke rolled from there
for its fifth blowout in five
home games.
No. 15 VIRGINIA TECH
89, VMI68: Justin Robinson
scored 18 points and No. 15
Virginia Tech cruised past
the Virginia Military Insti
tute on Wednesday night.
Robinson hit a trio of
3-pointers for the Hokies
(7-1), who won their 21st
straight regular-season non
conference game at home.
Virginia Tech topped VMI
(5-5) for the seventh consec
utive time.
Virginia Tech often
beats opponents with torrid
long-range shooting, rank
ing fourth in the country in
3-point shooting percent
age (44.9) and seventh in 3s
per game (11.9). The Hok
ies turned up the defense
against the Keydets, using
their length against a
smaller team to limit them
to eight field goals in the first
half.
Virginia Tech broke
open a close game midway
through the first half when
it went on a 13-0 run. P.J.
Horne and Nickeil Alex-
ander-Walker scored four
points each in that span, and
then Jonathan Kabongo fin
ished the run with a corner 3
that gave the Hokies a 30-13
lead with 8:11 left in the
half. The Hokies led 42-21
at halftime and never were
threatened.
The Hokies led by as
many as 37 in the second.
Alexander-Walker fin
ished with 15 points, and
the Hokies shot 51.7 percent
from the floor (30 of 58) and
made 11 3-pointers. Tech
also got a solid game from
Horne, who made just his
second start of the season
and scored 12 points, hitting
all six of his shots.
No. 17 BUFFALO 89, LE
MOYNE 55: CJ Massinburg
had 13 points, 12 rebounds
and 10 assists, and No. 17
Buffalo used a big second-
half run to beat Division II
Le Moyne on Wednesday
night.
Dontay Caruthers scored
20 points and reserve Nick
Perkins had 18, helping Buf
falo (8-0) continue its best
start since the 1930-31 sea
son. Jeremy Harris finished
with 16 points.
Massinburg went 6 for 10
from the field while becom
ing the second player in
program history to record a
triple-double.
Zay Jennings scored 16
points for Le Moyne.
No. 19 OHIO STATE 77,
ILLINOIS 67: Keyshawn
Woods scored 12 of his 18
points in the second half,
Kaleb Wesson added 13 and
No. 19 Ohio State rallied in
the second half for a victory
over Illinois on Wednesday
night.
Musa Jallow had 11 points
and nine rebounds as Ohio
State (8-1) improved to 2-0 in
the Big Ten.
Trent Frazier and Kipper
Nichols scored 18 apiece as
Illinois (2-7, 0-2) dropped its
third straight.
The Buckeyes were 12 of
21 (57.1 percent) in the sec
ond half to flip the game.
The Illini went 9 for 33 (27.3
percent) after halftime.