Basketball team snaps losing streak

The Sisters boys basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak when they defeated Molalla 77-52 on Tuesday, February 7.

Guy Mount scored a season-high 28 points in the game. Mount hit six three-point shots and scored 20 of his 28 points in the first half.

Sisters shot the ball very well, which was evident in the final score.

“We’ve been accelerating the pace of the game as the season’s progressed,” said Coach Rand Runco. “We know that with our size we have to control the tempo and we did that tonight for the entire game. We controlled the tempo with our press, which was high risk/high game, and it worked. Molalla turned the ball over a lot trying to keep up with our pressure.

“We’ve struggled the last three games and in this league the season’s so short you can’t stay in a slump for long. But, the neat thing is the kids have been working hard and we’ve been improving individually. It’s been exhilarating and tonight it just came together.”

Andy Burke, who’s been out due to an ankle injury, was back on the court for part of the game and added some height to the Outlaws.

The win was a team effort.

Carter Davenport kicked the Outlaws off to a great start, scoring 13 of his 15 points in the first quarter and also had seven assists for the night.

Jeff Fitter controlled the tempo of the game. Fitter contributed nine points, seven assists and five rebounds.

“Jeff is becoming a really good point guard and his decision-making is getter better and better,” said Runco.

Brian Knotts and James Mohl did an excellent job in the paint setting screens, rebounding and getting the ball to the shooters. Knotts had 12 rebounds and Mohl added five.

“Brian and James are sort of the unsung heroes,” said Runco. “They do a lot of very unselfish things that don’t show up in the stats.”

Chris Ashley played a great all-around game and was three for five from the three point arc. Ashley pulled down five boards and had five assists.

The Outlaws made another great showing just three days later with a huge 73-49 win at home over the visiting Sweet Home Huskies.

During the first half Sisters executed a fast-paced offense, had a lot of great, accurate passes and screens that created open shots both underneath the basket and outside the three-point line.

Sisters had a big 47-20 lead at the half. Both the Outlaws and the Huskies scored 13 points in the third quarter to bring the score to a 60-33 advantage for Sisters.

The game was brought to an abrupt halt with three and a half minutes remaining in the game when a fire alarm went off inside the school. The entire building had to be evacuated until it was deemed safe to return.

Once the game resumed the Outlaws let the clock take its course and notched another win in the scorebook as the buzzer sounded.

Coach Rand Runco said, “We played very precise and fundamental basketball the first half. We ran to our spots and everyone did their job.”

The Outlaws feel like they’ve achieved the goal they set for themselves earlier in the season.

“We’ve accelerated and changed gears. It’s been our goal all season to increase the press and transition and both were there tonight. Once we were up by 30 I took the press off. That was enough. We worked on our half court defense and our execution the remainder of the game,” said Runco. “Right now our team chemistry is excellent. For the first time all season all 12 of our players were on the court. We’re rolling right now.”

Guy Mount led the scoring for the Outlaws with 15 points. Mount had nine of his points in the first quarter and made five ‘threes’ in the game. Nate Jackson scored 14 points, including four ‘threes’, and pulled down five offensive boards. Jeff Fitter contributed 12 points and nine assists and Carter Davenport added 11 points for the night.

Sisters is in third place in the Capital Conference standings and the wins over Molalla and Sweet Home solidified a playoff position.

“I’ve never seen such balance in the teams in the league,” said Runco. “If you don’t bring it every night you’re gonna get beat.”

Sisters will play their last league game at Cascade on Friday, February 17.