Daily Newspaper and Tourism Guide for Reeves County Trans Pecos, Big Bend of West Texas

Use "FIND" option on toolbar to search for a specific word or string.

Sports

Wednesday, November 19, 1997

Eagles' 3-point shots bomb out Loboes

By JON FULBRIGHT
Sports Editor
PECOS, Nov. 19 -- It's been a while since 3-point shooting
has been a major strong point for the Pecos Eagles. In fact,
it's been since their last District 4-4A title in 1990.

But with few openings inside Tuesday night against the
Monahans Loboes, the Eagles bombed away from the outside in
the second half and wound up outscoring the Loboes from
behind the 3-point line, 24-0, in a season-opening 58-52
victory.

Jacob Chavez hit a 3-pointer early to give Pecos a 6-2
lead, but then picked up three quick fouls at the end of the
first quarter, and was whistled for No. 4 just 31 seconds
into the second period. That left Omar Hinojos as the
Eagles' only offensive threat for the remainder of the first
half, which ended with the Loboes leading by two.

But in the second half Chavez stayed foul-free while
connecting five times from 3-point range, while Jeremy
Herrera came off the bench and added a pair of 3s after
Oscar Luna picked up his fourth foul early in the third
period.

"We had to be able to hit from the outside. As backed-up as
they were inside and as well coached as they are, e had to
be able to hit to open things up inside," said Eagles' coach
Mike Sadler. "Omar is a good post-up guy, but with them
packed in and playing a zone it was going to be tough to go
to the hole."

Hinojos wound up with 21 points while Chavez finished with
22 for the Eagles, capped off by his final 3-pointer with
2:01 to play, after the Loboes had cut a 10-point Eagle lead
to 51-48. A pair of foul shots by Monahans' Micha Turltorn
cut the lead to four with 1:19 to play, but with 49 seconds
left Chavez was able to grab a pass inside from Fernando
Navarrette that was deflected by Turltorn and score, and
after the Loboes missed a 3-pointer Hector Garcia fed
Hinojos for a game-clinching lay-up with 27 seconds to play.

Both teams were shorthanded going into the game, and were
even more so after a foul-filled first half, which included
one stretch in which five fouls were called and nine free
throws shot during a 15 second span of the second period.

Monahans' coach John Curry was missing one starter and five
other players still with the Loboes' football team, while
Sadler had half as many players, but twice as many starters
out, in seniors Fabien Adame (eye) and Jason Abila (wrist).

Chavez' 3-pointer and a basket and free throw by Hinojos
gave Pecos an early 6-2 lead, but the Eagles would go
scoreless the rest of the period and came out trailing 8-6
after a pair of lay-ups by Cody Avery, who finished with 22
points. Monahans would maintain their lead for most of the
second period behind Avery, and had chances twice late in
the half to take as much as a six-point lead. But Avery and
Corey Hawkins both missed a pair of free throws, and Garcia
drove the length of the court to score as time ran out,
cutting the margin to 21-19.

A turn-around jumper by Avery made it 23-19 as the second
half began, before the Eagles began their outside assault.
After a Navarrette lay-up Chavez hit a pair of 3s, Hinojos
followed with a lay-up and Herrera connected from outside,
and the Eagles suddenly were ahead 32-23. The Loboes finally
got their offense going after that and cut the lead back to
four, before Hinojos ended the quarter with a rebound basket
and Chavez opened the fourth with another 3-pointer to raise
the margin back to nine, at 42-33.

Herrera's other 3-pointer gave the Eagles their largest
lead, at 45-35, before Avery and Brian Morris led one final
comeback with a couple of lay-ups off floor-length drives.
The Eagles were also hurt in the backcourt when Luna fouled
out with 4:36 to play, but Garcia and Herrera were able to
keep things under control in the closing minutes.

"Those fouls were early-season fouls, that have got to be
corrected later in the year, and I expect they will be,"
Sadler said.

Navarrette and Herrera each had six for Pecos, while
Turltorn's seven was next behind Avery for Monahans. The
Loboes did win Tuesday's season-opening junior varsity and
freshman games, taking the JV contest 35-32 and the ninth
grade matchup, 50-28. Ian Dominguez had 10 to lead the JV
and Saul Garcia led the freshmen with nine.

Football playoffs have affected the Eagles' next two games,
Sadler said. Friday's home opener against Stanton has been
canceled due to the Buffaloes' playoff game that night,
while their game next Tuesday at Iraan has been replaced
with a road game in Kermit. Sadler said he was still trying
to get a replacement game for Friday.

PECOS (58)
Garcia 1 0-0 2; Luna 0 0-0 0; Navarrette 1 4-4 6; Hinojos 8
5-8 21; Chavez 8 0-0 22; Herrera 2 0-0 6; Perea 0 0-0 0;
Marquez 0 1-2 1. Totals 20 10-14 58.

MONAHANS (52)
Stockton 1 3-3 5; Williams 3 0-1 6; Turltorn 3 3-4 7;
Merrick 0 0-0 0; Avery 11 0-4 22; Morris 3 0-0 6; Hawkins 0
0-2 0; Adams 2 2-2 6. Totals 22 8-16 52.

Pecos 6 13 20 19 --58
Monahans 8 13 12 19 --52
Three-point goals: Pecos 8 (Chavez 6, Herrera 2). Fouled
out: Pecos, Luna. Monahans, Avery. Total fouls: Pecos 21,
Monahans 17.

Pecos girls shot down by OHS in opener

PECOS, Nov. 19 -- The shots not only didn't go down for the
Pecos Eagles in the first half of their season-opener
Tuesday in Odessa, they didn't even go up.

Turnovers, fouls and a reluctance to shoot combined to do
in Pecos' girls against Odessa High, as they were outscored
39-7 in the first half on the way to a 69-30 loss to the
Bronchos.

"When you only shoot the ball three times in the first
quarter and five times in the second, you're not giving
yourself a chance to win," said Eagles' coach Brian
Williams, who dropped his first game as varsity head coach.

"We got off to a very slow start. I wasn't expecting us to
come out tight, but we didn't loosen up until the second
half," he said.

Nobody scored in the first 2½ minutes of play, but OHS
loosened up after Lori Marquez picked up her second foul
early in the game. That opened the door for freshman post
Lindsey Casey, who scored 16 of her game-high 26 points
while the Eagles' post was on the bench.

"We gave them four or five shots to our one. We've got to
learn to put a body on people and go after the ball instead
of just standing around," Williams said.

Not all of Odessa's points were on second or third
attempts. Some came as the result of 16 first half turnovers
by Pecos. "We didn't stay disciplined in the press breaks,"
Williams said. "You've got to rotate the ball at least once
against the press and that's what we didn't do."

Things improved in the second half, although the game was
out of reach. The Eagles attempted 24 shots in the final two
quarters, 19 inside the 3-point line. "We shot 53 percent in
the second half and only had five turnovers, so we did a lot
better then," Williams said.

Penny Armstrong took all of her shots and had all 13 of her
points in the final two periods, while Annette Marquez added
eight for the Eagles. Sophomore guard Chanie Sutherland was
the other Broncho in double figures with 15 points.

OHS also jumped out early on Pecos' junior varsity in a
56-26 victory. Pecos' freshmen didn't play Tuesday and will
also be idle Saturday, Williams said, when the Eagles play
their home opener against Stanton. The Buffaloes had to
cancel the ninth grade game due to a lack of players.

Trade winds blowing hard following draft

By RONALD BLUM
AP Sports Writer

PHOENIX -- General managers' heads were spinning. No one
could keep track of what was going on.

In a frenzy perhaps unprecedented in baseball history, 31
players switched teams Tuesday night in 13 simultaneous
trades following the expansion draft.

Pedro Martinez went to Boston, Fred McGriff to Tampa Bay,
Robb Nen to San Francisco, and Travis Fryman and Devon White
to Arizona.

``It was a great moment for baseball,'' said Joe Garagiola
Jr., general manager of the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks.
``We can once again kind of claim center stage in our
offseason. `This is the kind of activity we used to have at
the old winter meetings that the fans love,''

In all, 36 players were affected by deals or signings. After
seven tedious hours in which expansion teams shunned stars
for no-names, teams rushed the podium to announce their
deals, sort of like a bargain-basement closeout.

``It was a thrill to be involved in the situation tonight,''
Devil Rays general manager Chuck LaMar said. ``We had some
scenario with every team during the week, or almost every
team. And then it's just a matter of trying to activate
those trades.''

Closer Roberto Hernandez got a $22.5 million, four-year
contract with the other expansion team, the Tampa Bay Devil
Rays, and three other free agents re-signed. Tony Clark,
Detroit's 25-year-old first baseman, came away with a $12
million, four-year contract.

``One of my feelings was to be somewhere where I would be
part of something new,'' Hernandez said.

Martinez and McGriff, who is leaving a perennial contender,
might not be so happy with their new surroundings. Montreal
became only the second team to trade a Cy Young Award winner
when it sent Martinez to the Red Sox for top pitching
prospect Carl Pavano and a player to be named.

``This is the kind of trade when you go to bed at night as a
general manager you dream about making,'' Boston general
manager Dan Duquette said.

Martinez, 26, went 17-8 with a major-league best 1.90 ERA
and 305 strikeouts last season and made $3,615,000.
Martinez, eligible for free agency after next season,
doesn't intend to sign a multiyear deal with Boston.
Duquette refused to address that.

``The good news is we got a good pitcher,'' Duquette said.
``We'll go back to Boston and talk about extending our
relationship.''

McGriff, born in Tampa and still a resident, is coming off
his worst season in a decade, hitting .277 with 27 homers
and 97 RBIs while battling injuries was dealt by Atlanta for
a player to be named. His contract status -- $5 million in
each of the next two years -- was a drawback to the
expansion teams, who did not draft him.

``We have great respect for Fred McGriff as a player and as
a man,'' Braves GM John Schuerholz said. ``One of the
reasons we sought out Tampa Bay was in deference to him and
his family.''

While the new teams built up, the World Series champion
Florida Marlins continued to strip down. The Marlins, who
last week traded Moises Alou and his $25 million contract to
Houston, sent Nen (35 saves last year) to San Francisco and
White to Arizona for prospects.

Florida also tried to ship Kevin Brown to St. Louis, but
that trade came apart when the Cardinals refused to send a
second prospect. The Marlins talked about trading Gary
Sheffield to the Mets, but balked at New York's demand that
they pay about half of his $61 million, six-year contract.

``We're going back and we're going to regroup in Florida,''
Marlins general manager Dave Dombrowski said. ``There are
still some moves to be made.''

Montreal was another team downsizing. In addition to getting
rid of Martinez, the Expos traded second baseman Mike
Lansing to the Colorado Rockies for right-handers Jake
Westbrook and John Nicholson and outfielder Mark Hamlin.
Lansing made $2.7 million last season and is likely to make
$3.5 million or more in arbitration.

``Obviously both of my trades were dictated by the economics
of the times,'' Expos general manager Jim Beattie said. ``We
do not intend to win next year. We intend to build to have a
championship club when we move into our stadium in 2001.''

Also:

-- The Diamondbacks acquired their third baseman in Fryman,
sending newly drafted Joe Randa to Detroit in a four-player
deal.

-- San Diego got pitcher Brian Boehringer and shortstop Andy
Sheets from the Devil Rays for catcher John Flaherty.

-- Tampa Bay drafted first baseman Dmitri Young from
Cincinnati, then sent him back to the Reds. Arizona picked
pitcher Scott Winchester from the Reds, then sent him back
to Cincinnati.

-- The Chicago Cubs got pitcher Kurt Miller from Florida for
a player to be named.

-- The New York Yankees, as expected, received third baseman
Scott Brosius from Oakland as the player to be named in a
recent deal for pitcher Kenny Rogers.

In free agent re-signings, Seattle kept second baseman Joey
Cora ($1.65 million), Milwaukee kept reliever Doug Jones ($3
million) and Colorado re-signed catcher Jeff Reed ($2.6
million for two years).

Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.