Outlaws clinch league title

The Outlaws sailed to easy wins against Elmira and La Pine to clinch the Sky-Em league title. Sisters defeated the Falcons 72-39 at Elmira on Tuesday, February 14, and three days later beat La Pine at home in a final score of 58-39. The two wins pushed the Outlaws to a perfect 10-0 league record and also marked their 14th consecutive victory.

Sisters came out strong and focused in their game against the Falcons on Tuesday. The Outlaws racked up 21 points in the first quarter and held the Falcons to 11. At the half Sisters had pulled to a 40-22 advantage.

The Outlaws had some trouble stopping the Falcons' post, junior Mikah Reed. Reed scored eight points early in the game but Sisters made some adjustments and held him to just three points for the remainder of the game.

Sisters continued to control the pace of the game and outscored the Falcons 32-17 in the second half.

Coach Rand Runco said, "Elmira tried a type of a 'Triangle and 2' on John (Erickson) and Eli (Harrison), but we were moving the ball too well and were able to find Eli open for multiple shots."

Harrison finished the game with very impressive stats. Eli racked up 27 points in the first half alone, and ended with 38 points on the night. Harrison went 14-20 from the field and 8/8 from the line in the fourth quarter.

Erickson scored nine points, Sebastian Boehm contributed six, and Jalen Miller recorded six points and eight assists. Chase Goff pitched in for five points.

"We really came to play and our defense was outstanding holding the Falcons to 39 total points," stated Runco. "The senior leadership and defensive effort was outstanding which led to our win on the road."

Three days later the Outlaws beat La Pine 58-39 on their home court.

La Pine came out focused and took a shot at the Outlaws right from the start. The Hawks were quick and spread the court to get to the rim. At the close of the period the Hawks held a slim 17-15 lead.

"They (La Pine) shot the ball well," said Runco. "We weren't bad offensively but they slowed us down by changing defenses, and it kept us off balance."

Sisters outscored the Hawks by eight in the second quarter and held a 33-27 advantage at the half.

The Outlaws posts faced a tough match-up in the third. La Pine hit two big threes to keep it close, and by the close of the period the Hawks had cut the Outlaws' lead down to two.

Runco described the fourth quarter of play.

"We went to a smaller lock-down group of defenders in the fourth," said Runco. "We were nails on defense and shut La Pine out in the fourth quarter for a 17-0 run."

Erickson finished the game with 18 points, followed by Goff and Harrison, who both scored nine. Boehm recorded seven points, and Bryan Boswell and Miller each added six.

"Chase (Goff) had some amazing boards, and Cole (Moore), Sebastian (Boehm), and Tim (Hernandez) came in and played some incredible defense," said Runco. "Ryan (Gridley) and Zach (Cummins) added some great minutes in the victory and it was a good team win on senior night and completed a perfect 10-0 league run."

On winning the league title, John Erickson said, "We are all really excited! We've been playing together for three years, and our chemistry is great. We've all bought into Coach Runco's philosophy, which is play defense and execute on offense. We play hard for each other and not for ourselves. We don't want to become complacent as we head into playoffs. We want to keep improving every day."

"I also want to just say how amazing our crowd and student body have been in support for the team," added Runco. "Our student body and the pit has been the best we have seen in many years. It is so cool to see all the kids out supporting the teams."

The Outlaws will play at home on Saturday, most likely against Cascade, on February 25, in a play-in game.