Outlaws fall in season opener on hardwood

The boys basketball squad lost 59-60 to a tough Summit JV team on Monday, May 17, and four days later were defeated 31-50 at home by the Sweet Home Huskies.

Monday the Outlaws faced a big, athletic Summit squad, who also had some very good shooters. It was a tight contest and the game went back-and-forth the whole way.

The Outlaws took the lead early in the first quarter, but Summit made a run and the lead switched hands.

Sisters played a solid third quarter and were up by 18 as teams headed into the final period.

Summit continued to scrap and outscored the Outlaws 28-15 in the fourth. Sisters was up by 12 with a few minutes left on the clock, but the Storm went on a run and hit a few clutch shots from behind the arc. Summit scored on a last second put-back to get the win.

Camden Froehlich led the team in scoring with 24 points, and Max Palanuk followed with 14. Ricky Huffman and Adam Maddox-Castle each added six points, and provided some serious defensive hustle.

When asked about his game-high 24 points, Froehlich said, “The team played hard and scrappy the whole game, which gave me plenty of opportunities to get to the cup. Everyone played with a great sense of urgency and was very unselfish with the ball and I was able to capitalize off of that.”

“We showed tremendous work ethic and hustle,” said Coach Rob Jensen. “We did make some mistakes throughout the game, but they are all easily fixed if we work on them.”

The Outlaws played without Nate Weber, who was finishing up his tennis season at the state tournament. Jensen told The Nugget that Nate is expected to be Sisters’ top scorer and is a solid defender.

On Friday the Outlaws hosted a solid Sweet Home squad. The Huskies had 10 seniors and two juniors on their roster and returned much of their starting lineup.

Sweet Home jumped out early and at the half held a 26-12 lead. Sisters cut their lead to 11 at one point in the third quarter, but were never able to adjust enough and get back in the game.

Froehlich finished with eight points, Weber scored seven, and Palanuk and Huffman added five points each.

Jensen said, “It was apparent from the start that they had figured out who they were, and they were aggressive at the hoop. They dominated the inside scoring and we were not able to get great shots.

“We didn’t play poorly; we just didn’t get exactly what we wanted,” added Jensen. “We will figure things out and be able to do well in the future.”

Sisters was scheduled to travel to Newport on Tuesday, May 25. The Outlaws will play at Philomath on Wednesday, and wrap up their week with a non-league contest against Cascade on Friday.