About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 2018)
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.
