2B Saturday, December 8, 2018
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
SPORTS
FALCONS
■ Continued from 1B
Ashley Scott and then
Wysocki. Then, Locke
blocked a pair of shots in
the same possession on the
other end of the court that
led to a Morgan Aguilar
layup, which pushed Flow
ery Branch’s lead to 13.
“She’s huge for us,” New-
ton-Gonzalez said of Locke.
“She played big minutes for
us as a freshman, so now (in)
her second year, just being
consistent and having to put
big numbers up for us has
been big.”
Wysocki got a pass out to
Shaina Kriews in the corner,
who drilled a 3 before the
second-quarter buzzer, giv
ing the Lady Falcons a 31-13
advantage at the break. And
Flowery Branch didn’t slow
down from there.
Flowery Branch played
their best defensive quar
ter of the night in the third
frame, holding the War
Eagles to just five points
in the eight-minute period,
and Wysocki continued to
stay in rhythm. After grab
bing a steal early in the
quarter, she crossed over a
couple Chestatee defenders
in transition before dish
ing to Woodroffe, who sunk
the left-handed layup while
drawing a foul.
“I’ve been playing with
Ashley (Woodroffe) since
eighth grade,” Wysocki
said. “We know each other
and how we play. We’re just
there for whenever the ball
comes.”
Flowery Branch kept
things rolling through the
rest of the game, starting off
the fourth quarter on a 15-3
run and quickly putting the
game out of reach. Easter-
wood’s team-leading four
fourth-quarter points were
all Chestatee could manage
as the Lady Falcons pulled
away.
CHESTATEE BOYS
72, FLOWERY BRANCH
51: Chestatee’s Cameron
Gwyn hit a school record
10 3-pointers, according
to Chestatee coach Kevin
Strickland, on a historic
shooting night for the War
Eagles, who made 15 total 3s
in the win.
“It’s a beautiful thing,”
Strickland said of his team’s
shooting performance.
“This has been a fun group
to coach. They’ve put in the
work to be able to shoot it
that well, and they have.”
Gwyn led all scorers with
34 points, while Jonah Bull
contributed six points with
12 assists for Chestatee (7-2,
1-1).
Flowery Branch (0-5, 0-1)
was paced by Mario Brown
and Johnathan Gunter, who
scored 14 apiece in the loss.
The teams played close in
the first quarter before the
War Eagles opened things
up offensively in the second
frame.
Chestatee poured in four
3s over the final four min
utes of the period to take a
15-point lead at halftime.
The War Eagles kept their
foot on the gas, knocking
down five more 3s in the
third quarter and another
four in the fourth. With
nearly everything falling for
the visiting team, Flowery
Branch struggled to keep up.
NORTH
■ Continued from 1B
Morgan Holt was the
only Fannin County starter
to score in double figures
with 10 points as the Lady
Rebels dropped their fourth-
straight game.
Gillespie assisted three
North Hall baskets that
included a kickout pass
to Grace Hollifield, who
knocked down a 3 to give
the Lady Trojans a 7-0 lead
early. That success never
carried over in the next
frame, with North Hall only
mustering a single field goal
in the second period, while
Fannin County’s Abby Led
ford (nine points) and Holt
tag-teamed a Lady Rebels
rally. The pair combined to
score all 10 of Fannin’s sec
ond-quarter points to twice
cut the margin to two inside
the final two-minutes of the
first half.
Back-to-back layups from
Ledford and Holt, respec
tively, made it a one-pos
session game, though North
Hall would still cling to a
24-22 lead at the break.
In the third period, a
3-pointer by Maleah Stepp
(eight points) briefly gave
Fannin County its only lead
at 29-27. But on the ensuing
possession, the second of
Hollifield’s three treys in the
contest put North Hall back
out front for good at 30-29.
Both North Hall teams
break from region play for
a matchup with 7A Forsyth
Central at 3 p.m. today in
Cumming.
NORTH HALL BOYS
47, FANNIN COUNTY 40:
Despite a 50 percent (19
of 38) mark from the free-
throw line and an inconsis
tent night from the floor,
the Trojans (3-3,1-1 Region
7-3A) still held on for their
first region win of the young
season Friday.
Trailing 33-27 entering the
final period, Fannin Coun
ty’s Brady Martin (eight
points) notched a layup, and
seconds later, Jalen Ingram
drew contact inside before
sinking 1 of 2 free-throw
attempts to make it a three-
point game with 7:23 left.
The hosts answered sec
onds later with a Luke Voile
layup in traffic, and Luke
Gunter later drove for back-
to-back baskets inside the
paint for well-timed scores
that aided North Hall’s final
trips to the line. The Trojans
were 7 of 14 from the stripe
to close out the game.
The Trojans had no one
reach double figures as Mat
thew Gunter led with eight
points, followed by Voile
and Josh Cook with seven.
Drew Faulkner was another
to produce with six points.
Kaeden Twiggs scored a
game-high 10 points for Fan
nin County (1-5,0-2).
Football/NFL
Transactions
Basketball/NBA
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 0
South
.250
243
307
W
L
T
Pet
PF
PA
Houston
9
3
0
.750
302
235
Tennessee
7
6
0
.538
251
254
Indianapolis
6
6
0
.500
325
279
Jacksonville
4
9 0
North
.308
212
273
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 1
West
.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 0
South
.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 0
North
.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
Wesl
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 2
y-clinched division
10
0
.167
255
336
Thursday’s Games
Tennessee 30, Jacksonville 9
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.
Monday’s Games
Minnesota at Seattle, 8:15 p.m.
BASEBALL
American League
BOSTON RED SOX — Named Billy McMillon
manager of Pawtucket (IL).
CHICAGO WHITE SOX — Named Mike Reinold
senior medical adviser. Promoted Brian Ball
to athletic trainer, Brett Walker to physical
therapist/assistant athletic trainer and James
Kruk to assistant athletic trainer.
National League
WASHINGTON NATIONALS — Agreed to terms
with LHP Patrick Corbin on a six-year contract.
FOOTBALL
National Football League
NFL — Suspended New York Jets LB Darron
Lee four games for violating its substance
abuse policy.
CAROLINA PANTHERS — Signed K Chandler
Catanzaro. Placed G Amini Silatolu on injured
reserve.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Promoted WR Daurice
Fountain from the practice squad. Waived TE
Clive Walford. Signed QB Phillip Walker to the
practice squad.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS — Signed WR Kelvin
Benjamin to a one-year contract. Released DE
Jarvis Jenkins.
Canadian Football League
EDMONTON ESKIMOS —Announced assistant
head coach and defensive coordinator Mike
Benevides will not return for the 2019 season.
HOCKEY
National Hockey League
NHL — Suspended Calgary F Ryan Lomberg
one a game for instigating in the final five min
utes of a Dec. 6 game with Minnesota. Fined
Calgary coach Bill Peters $10,000 as a result of
Lomberg’s automatic suspension.
LOS ANGELES KINGS — Assigned F Austin
Wagner to Ontario (AHL).
American Hockey League
AHL — Suspended Iowa F Kyle Rau two games
for an elbowing incident in a Dec. 5 game
against Chicago.
SAN DIEGO GULLS — Signed RW Matt Berry to
a professional tryout.
MOTORSPORTS
ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY — Promoted Kyle
Nelson to director of events.
SOCCER
Majpor League Soccer
MINNESOTA UNITED — Announced an affilia
tion agreement with Forward Madison FC (USL).
United Soccer League
OTTAWA FURY FC—Announced the resignation
of goalkeeper coach Youssef Dahha to pursue
an opportunity with Vancouver (MLS).
COLLEGE
BARTON — Named Treiston Burnette defensive
coordinator.
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN — Announced thew
resignation of football coach Mark Tucker.
DUKE — Announced redshirt senior DT
Edgar Cerenord was granted an extra year of
eligibility by the NCAA and will be eligible to
play in 2019.
FLORIDA GULF COAST — Promoted Matt Ring
to director of advancement. Named Katie
Manns assistant director of development and
Eagles Club coordinator.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
W
L
Pet
GB
Toronto
21
6
.778
—
Philadelphia
18
9
.667
3
Boston
14
10
.583
5 1 /z
Brooklyn
9
18
.333
12
New York
8
18
.308
12 1 /2
Southeast Division
W
L
Pet
GB
Charlotte
12
13
.480
—
Orlando
12
14
.462
1 /2
Washington
11
14
.440
1
Miami
9
14
.391
2
Atlanta
5
20
.200
7
Central Division
W
L
Pet
GB
Milwaukee
16
7
.696
—
Indiana
15
10
.600
2
Detroit
13
10
.565
3
Chicago
6
20
.231
11 1 / 2
Cleveland
5
20
.200
12
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Southwest Division
W
L
Pet
GB
Memphis
15
9
.625
—
Dallas
12
11
.522
2 1 / 2
New Orleans
13
14
.481
3 1 / 2
Houston
11
13
.458
4
San Antonio
11
14
.440
4 1 / 2
Northwest Division
W
L
Pet
GB
Denver
17
8
.680
—
Oklahoma City
16
8
.667
1 / 2
Portland
14
11
.560
3
Minnesota
13
12
.520
4
Utah
13
13
.500
4 1 / 2
Pacific Division
W
L
Pet
GB
L.A. Clippers
16
8
.667
—
Golden State
17
9
.654
—
L.A. Lakers
15
9
.625
1
Sacramento
13
11
.542
3
Phoenix
4
21
.160
12 1 / 2
Thursday’s Games
Boston 128, New York 100
Portland 108, Phoenix 86
Utah 118, Houston 91
Friday’s Games
Charlotte 113, Denver 107
Indiana 112, Orlando 90
Philadelphia 117, Detroit 111
Brooklyn 106, Toronto 105, OT
Sacramento 129, Cleveland 110
Chicago 114, Oklahoma City 112
Memphis 107, New Orleans 103
L.A. Lakers at San Antonio, late
Miami at Phoenix, late
Golden State at Milwaukee, late
Today’s Games
Houston at Dallas, 6 p.m.
Sacramento at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Brooklyn at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Denver at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Washington at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
Boston at Chicago, 8 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Minnesota at Portland, 10 p.m.
Miami at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
TODAY ON TV
BASKETBALL
■ Michigan State at
Florida, noon, CBS
■ Kentucky vs. Seton Hall,
noon, FOX
■ Colgate at North Dakota
State, noon, ESPN
■ Pittsburgh at West
Virginia, noon, ESPN2
■ Wichita State vs.
Oklahoma, noon, ESPNU
■ South Carolina at
Michigan, noon, FS1
■ Xavier at Cincinnati,
2 p.m., ESPN2
■ BYU vs. Utah, 2 p.m.,
ESPNU
■ Joseph’s at Villanova,
2 p.m., FS1
■ Louisville at Indiana,
2:30 p.m., FOX
■ Georgetown at
Syracuse, 3:30 p.m., ESPN
■ Clemson vs. Mississippi
State, 4 p.m., ESPN2
■ Northern Illinois at Butler,
4:30 p.m., FS1
■ Wisconsin at Marquette,
5 p.m., FOX
■ Yale at Duke, 5:30 p.m.,
ESPN
■ Florida State vs.
Connecticut, 6:30 p.m.,
ESPN2
■ Nuggets at Hawks,
7:30 p.m., FSSE
■ New Mexico at Kansas,
8:30 p.m., ESPN2
■ Notre Dame at UCLA,
10:30 p.m., ESPN2
GOLF
■ European Tour: South African Open,
4:30 am, GOLF
■ PGA Tour: QBE Shootout, 1:30 p.m.,
GOLF
■ PGA Tour: QBE Shootout, 2:30 p.m.,
NBC
FOOTBALL
■ Army vs. Navy, 3 p.m., CBS
■ Heisman Trophy ceremony, 8 p.m.,
ESPN
MLS CUP FINAL
Atlanta seeking title
CURTIS COMPTON I The Associated Press
Atlanta United players Miguel Almiron (from left), Josef Martinez, and Greg Garza start the
celebration after Martinez scored a goal against the New York Red Bulls during the first half
in their Eastern Conference finals on Nov. 25 in Atlanta.
City’s last championship was Braves in 1995
Associated Press
A city that has known
plenty of sporting heart
break is one win from a
championship.
It sure has been a while.
Atlanta hasn’t won a
major professional title
since the Braves captured
the 1995 World Series . A
2-year-old soccer team has
a chance to end the drought
when Atlanta United hosts
the Portland Timbers in
the MLS Cup final Saturday
night before an expected
crowd of 73,000 at Mer
cedes-Benz Stadium.
“I was texting the mayor
the other evening,” United
owner Arthur Blank said.
“She’s already planned on
a parade, so she’s ahead of
me. We haven’t a parade
in Atlanta, a sports-related
parade, since 1995. God will
ing and play willing, we’ll be
in position to do that again
next week.”
The Braves are recog
nized by many as Atlanta’s
only true sports champions
— and even their accom
plishment came with a giant
caveat. The team won an
unprecedented 14 straight
division titles, but became
known mostly for its post
season failures, los
ing four times in the
World Series and
every other year but
one in the earlier
playoff rounds.
Blank was on
hand for perhaps
the city’s biggest
disappointment.
He also owns the
NFL Falcons, who
reached the Super Bowl for
just the second time in fran
chise history in 2016, only
to squander a 25-point lead
late in the third quarter.
The New England Patriots
rallied for a 34-28 victory in
overtime.
“I’m as excited about this
as I was about the Super
Bowl,” Blank insisted,
before quickly adding, “I
don’t want to end up with
the same feeling we had
several years ago.”
Since big-league sports
arrived in Atlanta more
than five decades ago, the
only other team that can
claim a major title is, in an
interesting twist, a soccer
club.
The Atlanta Chiefs won
the championship in the
North American Soccer
League’s very first season
in 1968 , but that event is
remembered by only the
most devoted fans. The
Chiefs lasted a total of 10 sea
sons over two incarnations,
but both times went out of
business for lack of support.
The entire league expired
after the 1984 season.
Enter United, which has
quickly built a fan base in
Major League Soccer that
would fit right in with the
Premier League or La Liga.
Atlanta has broken essen
tially every MLS attendance
record during its short exis
tence, averaging more than
53,000 per game this season.
Seattle posted the next-best
attendance figure at just
under 41,000; no other team
in the 23-team league aver
aged as much as
27,000.
“We’ve set a
new bar for per
formance in Major
League Soccer, both
on the pitch and off
the pitch,” Blank
said. “You are what
you dream about.
You have to be able
to visualize it to be
able to execute it. We’ve
been able to do that to the
highest possible level.”
United’s opponent in the
title game is a surprise.
After finishing fifth in
the Western Conference,
the Timbers have had
three huge road victories
in the playoffs. First, they
Atlanta United vs.
Portland Timbers
When: 8 p.m. tonight
Where: Mercedes -Benz
Stadium, Atlanta
TV: Fox
eliminated Dallas 2-1 in the
knockout round. Then, they
won on penalty kicks in sec
ond leg at Seattle. Finally,
after drawing at home in the
first leg of the conference
final, they rallied for a 3-2
victory at top-seeded Sport
ing Kansas City.
“We’ve been absolutely
lights out on the road,” coach
Giovanni Savarese said.
“They continue to count this
team out. But the good news
is the players decide the out
come of the game.”
Timbers Army sold out its
allotment of 1,300 tickets in
just four minutes, assuring
Portland of at least some
fan support in Atlanta. Sava
rese complained about the
arrangement, saying it was
far below the 5 percent
standard that FIFA recom
mends for road teams.
“I’m not trying to stir the
pot,” Savarese said before
Friday’s final training ses
sion. “You’ll still hear (Port
land’s fans). They’ll bring
it and bring it hard. I just
wish we had more of them.
They’ve always traveled
well, and will continue to
travel well. But we need to
look at that rule going for
ward and, frankly, that’s
something we should’ve
anticipated as a league.”
Atlanta features the most
prolific scorer in MLS his
tory. Josef Martinez shat
tered the record with 31
goals , earning both the
Golden Boot and the MVP
award. The 25-year-old Ven
ezuelan has kept up the pace
in the playoffs, adding three
more goals in United’s victo
ries over New York City and
Supporters’ Shield winner
New York Red Bulls.
Blank
MLB
Two Latin American players
die in Venezuela car crash
Associated Press
Former major league
players Luis Valbuena and
Jose Castillo were killed in
a car crash caused
by highway bandits
who then robbed
them, officials said
Friday.
The 33-year-
old Valbuena and
37-year-old Castillo
died late Thursday
when their SUV
crashed as it tried
to veer around an
object placed in the road,
Yaracuy state Gov. Julio
Leon Heredia said on his
Twitter account.
He said four people have
been detained after being
found with property of the
athletes.
Valbuena and Castillo
were teammates on the
Cardenales de Lara team
in the Venezuelan winter
league and were returning
from a game in the capital
when the crash occurred
en route to the city of
Barquisimeto.
Third baseman Carlos
Rivero was in the car and
survived, according to the
website beisbolplay.
Valbuena, an 11-year
major league veteran, hit
.199 with nine homers and
33 RBIs in 96 games this
year for the Los Angeles
Angels, who released him on
Aug. 7.
“I will miss Luis’
banter, smile, gen
uine love for his
teammates, and,
of course, the bat
flips,” Astros man
ager AJ Hinch said
in a statement.
“He was a beloved
person whether he
was on our team or
across the field.”
Valbuena hit .226 with
114 home runs over 11
big league seasons with
the Angels, Seattle, Cleve
land, the Chicago Cubs and
Houston.
“Luis was always smiling
and was one of the happiest
players in baseball,” Astros
general manager Jeff Luh-
now said in a statement. “He
provided joy to his team
mates and our fans.
He helped our franchise
turn a corner in 2015 and
provided many cherished
memories.”
Castillo played five sea
sons with Pittsburgh, San
Francisco and Houston. He
had a .254 average with 39
home runs.
Venezuelan President
Nicolas Maduro said in
a tweet that “I join in the
mourning that has over
whelmed the Venezuelan
baseball family and all of its
fans.”
Baseball Commissioner
Rob Manfred issued a state
ment calling it “a very sad
day for our sport.”
“It is clear by all the sto
ries today that they loved
baseball and made an
impact on their teammates
and the Clubs they repre
sented,” he said, expressing
“my deepest condolences to
their families, friends and
fans, particularly those in
their native Venezuela.”
The Venezuelan Profes
sional Baseball League
announced that all three
scheduled games Friday
were cancelled and it said
flags will fly at half-staff in
all stadiums for three days.
League president Juan
Jose Avila told Union Radio
that he was evaluating the
possibility of forbidding
players to travel in pri
vate cars to move between
games, saying if the players
had been on the team bus,
“nothing would have hap
pened to them.”
Valbuena
