Outlaws hoops snap losing streak

The Outlaws started their week with a 55-49 loss at Woodburn on Tuesday, June 1, and at home two days later fell 62-53 in a non-league contest against Mountain View.

On Saturday, Sisters snapped their losing streak with a 57-53 overtime win at home over Stayton.

On Tuesday against the Bulldogs the Outlaws handled a tough Woodburn press fairly well. They started out strong and at the close of the first quarter held a 10-8 lead over the visiting Bulldogs. Teams entered the half with the Outlaws on top with a slim 30-29 advantage.

Sisters was outscored in the second half and the Bulldogs won by six.

Sisters had a couple of stretches where they couldn’t get it together and the Bulldogs went on some small runs that were costly. Outlaws got into foul trouble, and they made enough little mistakes that made a difference in the outcome of the game.

Max Palanuk led the team with 13 points, Ricky Huffman scored nine, and Camden Froleich tallied eight. Connor Linn scored seven, Nate Weber had five, and Adam Maddox-Castle added four.

Palanuk said, “My teammates were able to find me on a lot of backdoor cuts that helped us stay in the game. I think this game shows that we can play with any team in the league when we play together and go hard on both ends of the court.”

Jensen told The Nugget that the Outlaws played the most solid game they’ve played all season, and noted that players are starting to know their roles.

The Outlaws played well against Mountain View on Thursday, but lost the game at the free-throw line. Mountain View was awarded 39 free throws in the game compared to the Outlaws’ six. Sisters made more field goals but just couldn’t keep up with the free-throw differential.

On Saturday, everything came together for the Outlaws, and they tallied an overtime victory.

At the end of the first quarter Sisters trailed 8-12. Stayton had some very solid shooters and a post who could play, but the Outlaws battled hard and stayed in it. They came back and won the second quarter 18-16 to enter the half down by two, 26-28. The Eagles got the edge in the third and outscored the Outlaws by four, but Sisters fought back and at the end of regulation knotted it up 53-53.

Sisters won the coin-flip for possession in overtime and got a one-point lead with a free throw. The Eagles missed a shot and the Outlaws got the rebound. The Outlaws pulled it out with two minutes left on the clock and the Eagles didn’t come out to try and get the ball. They let over a minute pass and then fouled. Froleich hit both his shots at the stripe, and Sisters went up by three. The Outlaws’ press forced a turnover and Weber finished with a free throw for the overtime win.

For the first time this season four players finished the game in double-digits. Froleich scored 16 points, Weber had 15, Palanuk and Linn tallied 11 each, and Huffman added two.

Jensen said, “Our kids trusted in each other and kept taking the right shots and it paid off.”

Weber said, “Our game against Mountain View was a tough loss, but even though we lost we showed ourselves what we could all do and what we’re capable of. We came out aggressive against Stayton and for the first half we were playing pretty well together. In the second half our team came out firing on all cylinders. Our passing and teamwork was clicking almost perfectly, and playing together as a team along with a great game plan from our coaches and energy from the bench is truly what carried us to a fantastic win in overtime.”

Linn said, “We’ve had some really tight matchups that didn’t go our way and we were hungry for a win. I think the seniors really upped their game and we used our experience to our advantage. We had good team chemistry and it was a great team effort.”

Sisters was scheduled to host Sweet Home on Tuesday, June 8. They will travel to Newport on Wednesday, and wrap up their week at home against Philomath on Friday.