Outlaws finish fifth at state

The Outlaws boys basketball team lost 42-39 to Seaside to finish fifth at the Class 4A boys basketball tournament in Corvallis last weekend.

Sisters beat No. 1 seed North Valley (NV) in a 47-46 upset but then fell to Phoenix and Seaside in their next two games.

Sisters (No. 4 seed) matched up against North Valley (No. 1 seed) in their first game of the tournament. It was a close game the entire way, and after three quarters of play the Outlaws were on top 39-37. The lead changed several times, with both teams giving it their all. North Valley held a one-point lead with less than one minute on the clock.

Jalen Miller stole the ball at half court and got fouled going to the basket. Miller missed his first attempt but hit the second shot to tie the game 44-44. North Valley came up the court and hit a quick bucket with less than 20 seconds left in the game.

The Outlaws transitioned and John Erickson caught the ball on the left wing. Erickson started to penetrate, but found Eli Harrison and skipped the ball across court. With six seconds remaining Harrison drilled a huge three-point shot that put Sisters up by one and brought the Outlaws fans to their feet.

After a NV turnover the Outlaws took possession and let the final seconds tick off the clock. Sisters' students rushed the court and celebrated with the team.

Eli Harrison led the Outlaws in scoring with 20 points, including two threes. John Erickson recorded 12 points, including two threes and Bryan Boswell pitched in for eight points.

Sisters advanced to the semi-finals and faced the Phoenix Pirates. It was a tough game for the Outlaws, who lost the contest 74-55.

Sisters played neck-and-neck with the Pirates in the first quarter. The Outlaws gained momentum when Eli Harrison downed a three-point shot with two seconds left in the quarter to narrow the Pirate lead to two, with a score of 16-14.

Phoenix got back-to-back threes from Tyler Dungannon to open the second quarter and quickly extended their lead by eight. The Pirates shut down Sisters' offense and allowed the Outlaws only one bucket, from Erickson, in the first four minutes of the quarter.

Midway through the quarter, Jalen Miller sparked the Outlaws with a long pass to Erickson underneath for a basket. On the Pirates' next possession, Miller stole the ball and ran the length of the court for a lay-in and brought the Outlaws to within five points of the Pirates.

Harrison kept Sisters alive in the third period and put up 12 of the Outlaws' 14 points. Miller hit a shot right at the buzzer, but the Outlaws still found themselves down by 10 at 47-37. Phoenix's game plan worked. They spread the court and waited for a high-percentage shot.

Harrison got the Outlaws rolling at the start of the quarter. Eli made a three-pointer on Sisters' first possession and then went 2/2 from the line for five quick points for the Outlaws. Unfortunately, Dungannon answered with eight straight points for Phoenix, and the Pirates took a 55-42 lead.

Sisters was forced to foul and sadly for the Outlaws, Phoenix didn't miss. The Pirates went 17/18 from the line and steadily pulled away to win the contest 74-55.

The Outlaws just were not able to contain Phoenix guard Tyler Dungannon, who racked up 43 points in the game. Dungannon was unstoppable from the three-point line and hit nine of his 11 attempts from behind the arc. Dungannon was also a perfect 10/10 from the free throw line.

"We tried to focus on the point guard (Alex Young) that scored 32 points on us the first time we played them," said Coach Rand Runco. "We held him to 16, but Dungannon got started early and didn't quit hitting. We tried to change defenders and defenses but it wasn't going to happen."

Harrison put up 30 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead the Outlaws. Erickson scored 10 points, Miller recorded six and Chase Goff added five.

After their disappointing loss to Phoenix, the Outlaws focused on the third-place game against Seaside, a team with very strong physical players.

Runco told The Nugget it was a good match-up and the Outlaws were ready for a defensive battle.

The Outlaws played with heart and slowly crawled to an early lead, but Seaside made a run and took a 15-12 lead to close out the first quarter. At the half Sisters held a slim 22-21 advantage.

Both teams struggled to score in the third quarter. Sisters outscored the Seagulls by just one point, 8-7.

Timing was crucial in the final minutes. Sisters went down by three in the final minute and were unable get a good look at the basket. The Outlaws took a three-point shot for a tie, but couldn't connect and the Seagulls tallied the win.

Erickson scored 15 points, Chase Goff contributed 10, going 4/4 from the field, and Harrison added seven.

"It was a tough loss but not from effort," said Runco. "Both teams played very hard and were very quality teams. This brought us the fifth-place trophy and a 24-5 final record. It was a good year and we are really proud of the boys. It was a tough 24 hours and a lot of emotion from the high to low. This is one of the toughest fields of teams in state tournament history, and our boys did well."

Central won the tournament when they hit a last-second shot to beat Phoenix by two.

Harrison was named first-team all-tournament and Erickson was named second-team all-tournament.

Of his teammates, Erickson said, "It's been an honor for me to play with these guys the past three years. I couldn't have asked for a better team."