Outlaws take tough losses

The Outlaws had a tough week on the hardwood with a 59-44 loss to Cottage Grove (CG) on Tuesday, January 22, and a 49-45 loss to Elmira on Friday, three days later.

Sisters faced a strong veteran Cottage Grove team on Tuesday. The Lions have a lot of depth and returned their entire squad from last year. The Outlaws struggled throughout the contest and according to Coach Rand Runco it was not their best outing.

"We did not have our usual intensity level and struggled executing and rebounding in this game," stated Runco. "

The Outlaws did do a great job defending the CG guards, who score the majority of the Lions usual 70-plus points per game. The Lions guards usually combine for over 50 points, but the Outlaws held them to under 18 points in the game.

However, the Outlaws could not contain the Lion's posts, who hurt them in the key and on the glass.

Ryan Pollard had an excellent performance and finished with 22 points on the night, including four three-pointers. Cole Moore chipped in nine points and Justin Harrer added six.

Runco noted that Ethan Luloff did a great job of containing the Lions point guard and was a force on defense.

Sophomores Tyson Gill and Ben Larson also gave the Outlaws a spark off the bench.

Three days later the Outlaws battled hard against a very physical Elmira squad. It was a tight contest most of the first half.

Sisters was up by nine with 30 seconds to go in the first half when the Falcon's big post hit two three-pointers in the last seconds and closed the Outlaws lead to one with a score of 25-24.

Runco said, "Our defense has been superb. Our offense was steady, we were executing well and we were getting Ryan (Pollard), Cole (Moore) and Justin (Harrer) open."

The third quarter came down to rebounding. The Outlaws just couldn't keep Elmira off the glass, and within five minutes the Falcons scored 11 points off two-point attempts. Sisters was outscored 15-6 and at the close of the quarter the Falcons were on top 39-31.

Sisters fought back in the fourth and cut the Falcon lead to two, but could do no more.

"It was a great effort and the boys played really hard," said Runco. "We continued to have great improvement in parts of the game and we just need to keep battling."

Lane Adams did a great job defending Micah Reed, Elmira's dominant post. Other than the two threes, Adams held Reed to just six points.

The Outlaws have a bye on Tuesday, January 29, and three days later, on Friday, February 1, Sisters will play at La Pine to start the second round of league play.