Outlaws beat La Pine in league opener

The Outlaws defeated La Pine 54-46 in their Sky-Em league opener at home on Friday, January 11.

La Pine came out quick, shot the ball well and the Outlaws went down 10-8 early in the game. Sisters caught the Hawks in the first quarter and took the lead.

The Outlaws defense was key, and helped Sisters stay strong until their offense kicked in. Sisters went up by 10 in the third period and it looked as if the Outlaws would break the game wide open. Unfortunately, Sisters was plagued by a few untimely turnovers which allowed La Pine to stay within reach.

Sisters spread the court and forced the Hawks to foul. Sisters went to the line, made their shots and recorded the win.

The Outlaws shot 90 percent from the free-throw line, going 18-20. Eli Harrison went a perfect 12/12 from the line in the final period.

Harrison finished the game with 23 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Ryan Pollard who tallied 11 points, which included three big three-pointers in the first half. Pollard also pulled down five rebounds.

Cole Moore contributed 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Isaac Jackson and Lane Adams also did a great job on the glass for the Outlaws.

Coach Rand Runco said, "La Pine is a very good team this year, with multiple scorers, and they apply good defensive pressure. I was really pleased how we handled their pressure, and we fixed the turnovers and poor free-throw shooting that haunted us against Stayton."

Three days earlier the Outlaws suffered a tough 47-44 overtime loss to Stayton.

Sisters trailed the Eagles for most of the game. In the final quarter Cole Moore drove to the bucket and was fouled. Moore hit his free-throw shots to give the Outlaws the lead with just a few minutes left in the contest.

However, the Outlaws missed six free throws down the stretch. Sisters was up by two with 13 seconds left on the clock.

Runco described the final seconds of regulation play.

"Stayton ran a dice set with their best player in the middle," said Runco. "He penetrated and forced our defense to rotate, and he dumped the ball to a baseline cutter that hit a shot with just a few seconds left in the game to go into overtime."

Sisters fell behind again in overtime and struggled from the line going only 3/6.

With just a couple seconds left on the clock and down by three points the Outlaws ran a play to Pollard. Ryan tried to get off a tough three-point shot which unfortunately was blocked.

"It was a good game and it was good to see other players step up in scoring," said Runco. "I thought we played a good game and much improved."

Lane Adams and Isaac Jackson had their best games of the season. The duo combined for 14 rebounds and played great defense against the Eagle posts.

Pollard had a great night on offense and racked up 19 points in the game. Moore tallied nine points, Adams recorded six, Ethan Luloff scored five and Jackson added four.

"We've had a very difficult pre-season schedule and have suffered a few setbacks on the way," said Runco. "But, we continue to improve. I am really impressed with the hustle and effort of the team and although we have had a few key players miss games, other guys keep stepping up into roles."

"Jens Stadeli, Tristen Lewis, Ben Larson and Connor Schaab are JV players that have had to take on larger roles on varsity and they just get better everyday," added Runco. "If we stay healthy and smart off the court we are going to be a very tough team. This was a tough loss and shouldn't have gone into overtime if we would have shot our normal percentage from the line, and if we would have taken better care of the basketball. We had far too many unforced turnovers. We need to show better discipline on both offense and defense if we are going to get into the playoffs."

The Outlaws will face Junction City at home on Friday, January 18, and the following Tuesday play at home against Cottage Grove.