Outlaws come from behind and beat Madras White Buffaloes

The Outlaws suffered a tough 34-21 loss to Cottage Grove at Sweet Home on Tuesday, February 21, in the seeding game for first place. With the loss, the Outlaws had to face Madras at home in a play-in game three days later. It was an intense game, and the Outlaws came from behind to win in a nail-biter.

In Tuesday's action, the Outlaws had to battle through injuries and illness and showed some grit in their seeding game against Cottage Grove. The squad was not healthy, and key players had to sit out Monday's practice.

Sisters played hard and defensively played very well. The first three quarters were back-and-forth with tight scoring, and at the close of the third period the score was even, 18-18.

In the fourth quarter, Cory Parent, Cottage Grove's 2016 Player of the Year, got open and hit three three-pointers. The Outlaws went down by seven and got a bit rushed. Sisters missed many good looks in the fourth and missed several good shots which would have let them catch up.

At that point, the Lions spread the court and the Outlaws were forced to foul. CG hit their free-throws and extended their lead further. Sisters tried to turn them over for a come-back, but the Lions' guard play was just too good and held them off.

"Cottage Grove, as most teams in our league, were very, very patient against us," said Coach Rand Runco. "They are respectful of our defense, which is one of the best in the state, and so they were hard to get a high-percentage shot. It was a good battle, and was decided in five possessions. We lost our poise for a few minutes and that was all it took."

The loss gave the Outlaws the No. 2 seed, which forced a play-in game at home against Madras on Friday.

So, three days later the Outlaws matched up against the No. 3-seeded White Buffaloes. Although the Outlaws were still under the weather, they came out strong and closed out the first quarter with a 14-11 lead.

The lead didn't last long, as Madras stormed back in the second period. White Buff's Shea Yeahquo hit five threes in the second, and at the half Madras held a 23-19 advantage.

Runco told The Nugget that the Outlaws played hard in the first half, but did not execute well.

The White Buffaloes outscored the Outlaws 16-12 in the third and pushed their lead to 39-31. Sisters hung in there, and battled hard in the fourth.

Madras was up by 10 when the Outlaws started to make their run. Noah Richards made some great plays and attacked the basket, and the Outlaws fed the ball to Ty Horner.

Horner, Tanner Head, and Keegan Greaney were all relentless on the glass. Horner had two huge offensive board put-backs and Greaney scored on an outstanding tip-in.

Ben Saba led the charge back. Saba had some key steals, hit a huge three-pointer and went four-for-four from the line.

In the final minute, the Outlaws took the lead, got the ball to Horner, and the White Buffaloes were forced to foul. The Outlaws held their composure and finished strong.

Horner did a great job inside and on the boards. Ty finished the night with 19 points. Saba scored nine points, Greaney and Tyler Head had five points each, and Jack Berg added four.

Zach Anderson saw his first big minutes and according to Runco played terrific and brought energy to the team.

Horner said, "Our game focus was trust, and everyone bought into that. After Madras took the lead, we just kept playing and trusted each other and our coaches. It was just awesome to get the win, especially for the seniors. I've played with these guys since I was in fourth grade and am excited to see how far we can go this season."

Runco commented, "Our boys showed a lot of moxy, and hung in there in the second half. We knew Madras was explosive and it showed, but we also had to trust that our defense and effort would wear them down, and make them vulnerable to mistakes.

"Our bench energy was awesome and the kids had a never-quit attitude. We are really proud of the team for overcoming some setbacks this week and playing so hard. We will hopefully get healed up and well this week and come out strong on Friday. The goal in hoops is always make it to March. Great job to the boys, and just one more game will get us to the final eight."

The win completed a perfect home season for the Outlaws, and for the third year in a row they are on to the first round of state competition. Sisters will travel to Gladstone on Friday, March 3, with a 7 p.m. tip-off.