Basketball team brings home trophy

The boys basketball team took first place at the Central Invitational Tournament held on Friday and Saturday, December 21-22. The Outlaws defeated Estacada 77-41 on Friday and on Saturday earned an 81-61 victory over Central for the championship.

Sisters' defensive pressure in the first half of the game against Estacada was the key to the Outlaws quick start and early lead. Several huge three-point shots pushed Sisters to a 33-25 lead at the half. Sisters held the Rangers to just six points in the third quarter and 10 points in the fourth quarter to defeat Estacada by 36 points.

The Outlaws had just played Estacada three days earlier at home in Sisters and only managed to win the game by one point. The 36-point turnaround was a huge confidence-builder for the Outlaws.

Nate Jackson was the key to the Outlaws victory. Jackson finished the game with 29 points, including six three's and played outstanding on defense. In the second half Jackson went 6-6 from the field and 5-5 from the three-point line.

Jarred Hasskamp had 17 points, and Daniel Ketchum added 15 points.

Ketchum and Tanner Hodges both had excellent performances at point guard and combined for nine assists.

The Outlaws lost Zach Lange due to an injury early in the game. Lange caught his elbow over an Estacada player, and his arm was wrenched. Lange was taken to the hospital, and Coach Rand Runco said they still don't know the extent of the injury.

"Zach's been our leading rebounder and one of our leading scorers," said Coach Rand Runco. "It was nice to see the whole team step up and fill in for Zach. Drew (Harrison) played almost the entire game and did a great job on defense. He was really a workhorse."

The win over the Estacada put the Outlaws in the championship game against Central on Saturday. Sisters easily won the contest with a final score of 81-61.

Sisters outscored the Panthers by 11 in the first quarter and then by 13 in the second quarter to take a 47-23 lead. The second half was a different story, and the Outlaws were outscored by two in both the third and fourth quarters. The huge first half lead was enough to secure an Outlaw victory.

Runco told The Nugget that the Outlaws let up defensively in the second half.

"Our defense let up in the second half, and we didn't have the defensive snap that we had in the first half. Our goal was to hold them to 40, and we weren't able to do that," said Runco.

On a positive note Runco said that the Outlaws played great ball on offense and defense in the first half.

Ketchum led all scorers with 24 points and seven assists, and Hasskamp contributed 22 points.

Tyler Miller was a big key to the Outlaw win. Miller pulled down five offensive boards, scored 10 points and was a force at the block.

Ten different Outlaw players contributed points. The win over Central was the fourth consecutive win for the Outlaws this year.