Outlaws fall in season opener on hardwood

The Outlaws lost 45-35 at Crook County on Saturday, December 1, in a tough first game of the season.

Crook County boasted a 6-foot-8-inch post that challenged the Outlaws' shots. Sisters also missed a lot of open looks and struggled on their shots. The Outlaws went 9/39 from the field and were 14/24 from the free-throw line.

Although the Outlaws lost the contest, Coach Rand Runco said there were some positive pieces to the game. Sisters held the Cowboys' two best scorers to 12 combined points, and several players stepped up their play.

Mitch Keranen and Justin Harrer, in their first varsity game, did a great job on the boards, and Ethan Luloff had a tremendous defensive performance.

Eli Harrison led the team with 14 points. Ryan Pollard tallied nine points and Cole Moore added eight.

"I feel like our lack of depth hurt us late in the game and we were not able to make a run," said Runco. "It was a four- to five-point game the entire game and then we gave up some offensive boards late in the game that let it slip away."

Three days earlier the Outlaws faced Redmond and Summit at the Redmond Jamboree. This was the first action of the season for the Outlaws after two weeks of practice.

Sisters played well in their 12-minute quarter against Redmond. The Outlaws shot the ball well and defended well against Redmond's penetrating offense. Harrison, Moore and Isaac Jackson all hit big buckets that led to the Outlaws beating Redmond by one point. The team was pleased with their rebounding and felt their offensive chemistry was very good.

The Outlaws then faced a very tough Summit squad and struggled from the start. Sisters had trouble containing the Storm and got beat on the glass.

Sisters will face Mt. View at home on Friday, December 7, and the following Tuesday, December 11, will host Madras.