Outlaws basketball wins one of three

The Outlaws basketball team posted a 47-34 win on the road at Newport on Wednesday, June 9, and on Friday fell 55-48 at home to Philomath. Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, June 8, they lost at home to the Sweet Home Huskies in a final score of 51-44.

In Wednesday’s contest against Newport the Outlaws jumped out early and were up 14-3 at the close of the first quarter. In the second period the Cubs won the quarter by one, but Sisters still held a significant 23-13 lead at the half.

The Outlaws continued to hit their cutters, and Max Palanuk and Ricky Huffman received a lot of passes from the guards that resulted in easy lay-ins. Sisters was also dominant on the boards. The Outlaws held the Cubs to one point in the third quarter, and outscored them 13-10 in the final period to secure the win.

Palanuk led the team with 15 points, Huffman scored 12, Nate Weber tallied 10, and Camden Froelich added eight.

On Friday against Philomath, the Warriors jumped out early, hit four shots from behind the arc, and held a 16-7 advantage over the Outlaws at the close of the first quarter.

From that point on, the Outlaws stayed pretty even with the Warriors. They did a great job holding the Cubs’ two big posts to one and 10 points, thanks to Palanuk, and Huffman’s great post defense. Sisters even held their own on the boards against a much bigger team.

Jamen Schwartz came in off the bench and hit three triples, which provided a spark in the second and third quarters to get the Outlaws back in the game.

In the final period, Froelich went 8-8 from the free-throw line, and Weber had eight points as well, which cut the Warrior’s lead to three with just under a minute left on the clock. Unfortunately for the Outlaws, Philomath hit their free throws and was able to put the game away.

Froelich scored 13 points for the Outlaws, Weber recorded 12, Schwartz tallied nine, Palanuk had six, and Huffman and Linn added four points each.

Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, the game against Sweet Home was a close one, but in the end the Outlaws just didn’t have enough to pull ahead for the win.

Sisters held an 11-8 lead at the close of the first quarter, but then the Huskies came back and outscored the Outlaws and took a 22-16 lead as teams headed into the half. The Huskies held on to the lead in the final half and won by seven.

Froelich finished the game with 10 points, Palanuk had nine, Weber and Linn tallied eight points each, and Huffman added five.

Coach Rob Jensen said, “Overall we did a good job rebounding and we held their best player to two points after he scored 25 in our last match. We were just impatient when it counted and took quick shots instead of being patient and getting better looks. We also needed to defend in the paint a little better.”

The Outlaws were scheduled to play at Cascade on Tuesday, June 15. They will travel to Woodburn on Wednesday and finish league play with a game at Stayton on Friday.