Boys' basketball team hits slump

The boys' basketball team had a rough time this past week after flying high the week before. The Outlaws lost 55-72 at home to Pleasant Hill on Tuesday, January 16 and then 46-81 three days later at Marist.

The previous week the Outlaws' high energy and up tempo play led them to a 103-84 home victory over Elmira on Wednesday, January 3 and a 66-44 victory over 3A Burns two days later on Friday, January 5.

The Outlaws' win over Elmira in their first league game of the season was due to the steady improvement the team made over the previous two weeks.

Coach Rand Runco said, "The key to the win was that we got 44 percent of our offensive boards."

Posts Jeff Sampson, Zach Lange, Cody Tadlock, Michael Reeve and Taylor Davenport did a great job on the boards and got the transition started for the Outlaws. Michael Reeve finished the night with eight rebounds. Jarred Hasskamp had seven boards, and both Sampson and Nate Jackson had five.

Point guards Daniel Ketchum and Tanner Hodges did an excellent job of keeping the offensive pressure on Elmira and got the ball quickly up the court to the Outlaws' wings. Slater Smith and Cory McCaffrey led the pressure defense, and five players finished in double figures.

Hasskamp led the scoring with 28 points, including five three pointers. Dan Ketchum had 18, and Hodges had 15 points. Nate Jackson put up 14 points for the Outlaws, and Jeff Sampson added 10. Ketchum and Hodges each contributed four assists.

Two days later the Outlaws' constant pressure and platooning of players led to their 68-44 victory at Burns.

Burns proved to be a scrappy team at home on their small court, and the Highlanders were able to slow down the Outlaws early. Nothing came easy for Sisters in the first half.

Poor shooting and early foul trouble forced the Outlaws to change line-ups and hindered Sisters from running their up tempo offense.

"Whenever a foul was called it stopped the clock and that stops us from running and throws our rhythm off," said Coach Runco. "The key is to keep the clock running and platoon our players so we can keep the whole game a track meet."

At the half Sisters trailed the Highlanders 30-28.

The entire Outlaws team stepped up their intensity in the second half, and the defense turned up the press and created more turnovers which allowed Sisters to get up to pace.

The Outlaws outscored Burns 40-14 in the second half to secure the non-league victory.

"The win was such a team effort," said Runco. "We played 13 guys, and 10 of the 13 scored. I'm so pleased. Our young team is improving each game, but we've still got a long way to go. The system we're running is so extreme, and we have to believe in the outcome of the game. It's hard to give up easy buckets, but keeping the correct pace is what causes fatigue in the other team and really allows us to come on in the second half."

The following week the Outlaws seemed to hit a brick wall. Sisters had a hard time keeping up their high tempo game and couldn't seem to find the net, which resulted in losses to both Pleasant Hill and Marist.

Sisters fell hard in their 55-72 loss to Pleasant Hill (PH) at home. The Outlaws didn't have their normal snap and energy and mentally and physically weren't there.

"They (PH) absolutely handled our pressure," said Runco, "and we just couldn't adjust during the game. It was rough. We're in the tough part of the season, and the kind of ball we're playing is a hard style to play when you're in a slump because so much of what we're doing depends on our energy level."

Three days later didn't prove to be any different as the Outlaws lost 46-81 at Marist.

The Outlaws changed their strategy a bit and didn't platoon their players for the first quarter.

"We tried to force a half-court game," said Runco. "We tried to get back on defense, take less risks and be more conservative offensively. We just couldn't hit a shot.

"The bottom line is that we're not getting dribble penetration into the key and we're not making our opponents collapse," said Runco. "And, we're shooting too many contested shots.

"Frankly, it's been tough the last two games," added Runco. "We went from flying high and scoring high to not scoring in our last two games. We need to readjust defensively, try and shoot higher percentage shots and get our momentum and confidence back. We are truly getting better, and we're going to come around. We just need to hang in there. We've got the right kids, and they're working very hard."

The Outlaws will play at Elmira on Friday, January 26.