Outlaws win two of three at tournament

The Outlaws' strong defensive effort led to a 62-42 win over Estacada in their first game of the Sisters Annual Holiday Tournament on Tuesday, December 28. One day later the Outlaws lost 52-48 in overtime in an exciting matchup against Crook County, and then went on to beat Taft 42-22 in their final game of the tourney.

The Outlaws pressure wore down the Estacada Rangers in Sisters' opening game of the tournament. The Outlaws forced turnovers that led to easy baskets which stretched Sisters' lead at the end of the game.

John Erickson led the Outlaws with 22 points, five assists, five rebounds and five steals. Coach Rand Runco told The Nugget he believes this was Erickson's best all-around game ever.

"He really let the game come to him and was an excellent team leader," said Runco.

Eli Harrison had 14 points and nine rebounds on the night.

"Eli had a great game in the trenches and got some tough points in a game where shooting was a bit off," stated Runco.

Jalen Miller, Jordan Hodges, Zech Mickel and Sebastian Boehm's outstanding defense helped separate the Outlaws from the Rangers in the fourth quarter.

Sisters downed 17 points at the free throw line while Estacada only managed to post three.

On Wednesday, both the Outlaws and Crook County played hard in what proved to be an excellent high school basketball game. It was a tough battle that went into overtime but resulted in a loss for Sisters.

Sisters took the lead at the half with another fine defensive effort right before the horn sounded. John Erickson got a breakaway dunk after a steal just before the half, which gave the Outlaws a 25-21 advantage.

It was a very close third quarter and Sisters outscored the Cowboys by just one point.

Runco told The Nugget his team was stymied for a couple of minutes in the fourth quarter when the Cowboys showed a 1-3-1 high trapping zone that rattled the Outlaws.

Sisters was able to hold onto the lead with some key stops at big buckets. The Outlaws continued to defend well and took a three-point lead with approximately 30 seconds left in regulation. With six seconds left on the clock, one of Crook County's best posts stepped out and hit a three to tie the game.

The Outlaws missed their final shot and the game went into overtime. Crook County jumped out quick in overtime and took an eight-point lead. Harrison hit two huge crunch-time threes that brought the game to within two points and a chance to tie. Sisters took possession but turned the ball over and lost the contest by four.

"It was a good game, but we need to get better at the end against good teams," said Runco.

Erickson finished with a double double for the night with 16 points and 17 rebounds. Harrison posted 18 points and pulled down six boards. Miller dished out six assists and did a superb job defending the Cowboys' talented guard.

Two hours after the Crook County game the Outlaws beat Taft 42-22.

"It was a good tournament and the kids really worked hard to improve as a team," said Runco. "Our focus for the pre-season is creating a tough defensive philosophy so we can control teams with our defense. This is difficult with a young team like this, and we have been really working on it. We don't quite have every player buying into that tough defensive mindset, but we are improving and close to our goals."

Sisters is 6-4 on the season. They were to host Stayton on Tuesday, January 4.