Outlaws split games on the hardwood

The Outlaws lost 49-45 in their league opener at home against La Pine on Tuesday, January 22. Three days later Sisters played a great game at home against Sweet Home and walked away with a 58-49 victory.

In Tuesday's action, the Outlaws were able to cut a lot of unforced turnovers and did good job on the glass against the Hawks. Laâ¯Pine hit some tough shots early in the game and at the end of the first quarter were up 12-8.

Sisters held the Hawks to five points in the second period and added 14 points of their own to take a 22-17 lead at the half. Hayes Moore hit a big three in the quarter for the Outlaws, and Connor Schaab and Justin Harrer kept La Pine off the glass.

The Outlaws held the lead until the final two minutes of the contest. Two untimely turnovers, a charge call against the Outlaws and a missed short jumper gave the Hawks the opportunity they needed to regain the lead.

Sisters was forced to foul, and the Hawks hit their shots to secure the win.

"We played a really good game," said Coach Rand Runco. "La Pine has some excellent senior players and our kids did an excellent job defending them. We out-rebounded them, cut our turnovers to eight, shot the ball reasonably well, but just had errors at the wrong time.

"We just have to play the complete game," added Runco. "We are continuing to improve and our chemistry is really good. Our youth is starting to mature and I feel we are about to turn the corner.

Justin Harrer led the Outlaws with 10 points, and Connor Schaab contributed eight.

On Friday, the Outlaws deployed a winning combination of offense and defense in their victory over Sweet Home.

Sweet Home started off well and made five three-point shots to take an early 15-4 lead. Sisters scored six more points, and at the close of the first quarter trailed the Huskies by five at 15-10.

The Outlaws trusted their defense and their ability to rebound, and were able to get the ball inside. Sisters caught the Huskies at the half and went up 24-21. Sisters outscored the Huskies 19-12 in the third to go up 43-33, and continued to hold the lead through the fourth quarter.

The Outlaws went 19 for 28 from the free-throw line and beat the Huskies on the glass with 10 rebounds compared to their five.

Runco said, "It was a nice win. Sweet Home is a very talented team with four very good guards that shoot the ball extremely well. We were able to contain their penetration and keep them off the glass, but they shot extremely well from the three-point line and beyond. Tysen (Gill) was an animal on the glass with six offensive boards. Tysen, Nate (Kaping) and Lane (Adams) all did a great job on the glass. Justin (Harrer) also defended one of the best offensive players in the league and held him to eight points."

Hayden Martinez led the team in scoring with 18 points. Schaab tallied 11 points including two threes. Harrer contributed nine points and Ben Larson added seven.

The Outlaws will travel to Cottage Grove on Friday, January 31, with a match-up against the Lions.