Boys hoops compete at Seaside Holiday Classic

The Outlaws competed in the Seaside Holiday Classic held Thursday through Saturday, December 19-21.

Central Linn took championship honors and Elma finished second.

Sisters suffered a heartbreaking loss to Elma at the start of the tournament. Elma's players were very big, with a very quick back court and three posts over 6'4" and one who loomed at 6'7". They ran several defenses and pressed the Outlaws the entire game.

The Outlaws were behind for most of the contest but tied it up in the fourth quarter. Coach Rand Runco called three consecutive time-outs down the stretch, and Sisters scored on two of the three. In the final seconds the Outlaws ran a play to Connor Schaab.

"Connor attacked the left side of the lane as Justin Harrer wrapped around Tysen Gill at the block," said Runco. "Connor looked to Justin and the defense collapsed and Connor hit a beautiful 12-foot jumper to take the lead with 3.6 seconds left."

Elma called a time-out and set up a play. The Outlaws expected them to throw deep and covered the in-bounder so it would be a tough pass. Elma hit their 5'5" guard, who raced up court through four defenders and shot a long runner and hit it as the buzzer sounded to end the game.

Chance Halley had a great defensive game and shut down Elma's best player in the second half. Jens Stadeli and Ben Larson also had standout defensive performances. Larson contained Elma's point guard and was key in the Outlaws' first-half effort.

Justin Harrer finished the game with seven points and 13 rebounds. Schaab and Hayes Moore each tallied 11 points and Hayden Martinez added six.

"We played incredibly well," said Runco. "It was a tough loss."

The Outlaws' next match-up was against the home team, Seaside. Sisters put in a triangle and two defense to contain Seaside's two guards, and it worked well. At the half, the Outlaws held a 22-20 lead.

In the third quarter, the Outlaws made several unforced turnovers, gave up too many offensive boards and were outscored 15-4.

Tristan Lewis sparked the Outlaws in the fourth quarter as they tried to make a final run, but they were unable to recover from their third-quarter mistakes.

Runco noted Nate Kaping, Isaac MacKenzie and Gill, and stated they all played extremely hard and battled the Seaside posts the entire game.

Sisters wrapped up tournament play against Astoria and struggled with execution most of the game. The Outlaws got a burst of energy from freshman Keegan Greaney, Tristan Lewis, and Jens Stadeli in the second quarter which pulled them to a 27-21 lead at the half.

Astoria caught the Outlaws in the fourth quarter and tied it up 42-42. Sisters was fouled, but missed their free throws and gave the ball back to the Fisherman. Astoria's point guard drove into the lane and hit a contested shot over two players with 1.8 seconds left in the game.

Sisters set a long pass shot play that was deflected and lost 44-42 in their third close tough loss of the tourney.

Runco said, "We are right on the edge and need to keep competing and improving. We are doing the right things to compete and just need to keep working as a team and cut down our series of mistakes at crucial times. I feel we are going to be a tough team to beat by league. We just need our young players to get a little more experience."

Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, Sisters fell 68-33 at Summit. The Outlaws struggled in every aspect including turnovers, poor shooting and poor rebounding.

Justin Harrer had eight points and 10 rebounds in the game. Connor Schaab hit two threes, and the remainder of the scoring was spread out between 14 players.

"Our youth showed and we struggled in small waves," said Runco. "We actually held Summit when we got back on defense and held them to 11 points in the first quarter. The last two minutes of the second quarter they spread it to 30-14. We let that affect us and continued to slide. It was a tough outing, but we learned a lot and it is clear we need to value possessions."

The Outlaws will play at home in the Sisters Holiday Tournament, which will be held Thursday through Saturday, January 2-4.