Outlaws own second place in league

The Outlaws hoopsters recorded a 43-34 victory at home against Harrisburg on Thursday, February 2, which pushed their record to 7-2, and gave them sole possession of second place.

Sisters was looking to avenge their 38-50 loss to Harrisburg earlier in the season, and their plan was to apply aggressive man-to-man pressure on the Eagles. However, the Outlaws found themselves in foul trouble early.

Taine Martin got the Outlaws’ scoring started when he outran the Eagles in transition and scored a fast-break layup. Mehkye Froehlich hit two big shots from behind the arc, and his six points would lead the Outlaws in scoring for the first period. At that point, both Froehlich and Kale Gardner got into foul trouble and had to sit out the remainder of the quarter and the entire second quarter.

The Outlaws’ bench stepped in and came up big. Diego Silva, Brody Fischer, Hudson Beckwith, and Garrett Sager kept the momentum going. At the close of the first period the Outlaws were on top 10-6.

Sisters adjusted to the way the game was being called, and clamped down on defense. Silva got the scoring started in the second period when he penetrated the Eagle zone from the wing and hit a mid-key jump shot just a minute into the period. Landen Scott then scored the remaining Outlaw points in the period: a pair of free-throws and then a couple minutes later he dropped in the first of his three-pointers for the game. Scott finished the quarter with an acrobatic reverse layup, which put the Outlaws up 19-8 at the half. Scott led the Outlaws with seven points in the period.

Fischer contributed three defensive rebounds, which stopped the Eagles’ momentum of grabbing offensive rebounds and taking second-chance point opportunities. The Outlaws’ strong defense didn’t allow the Eagles to score a single field goal in the period. Their four points in the quarter all came at the free-throw line.

The Outlaws continued to clamp down on the Eagles defensively in the third quarter, and held them to just seven points in the period.

Sisters entered the fourth quarter with a 15-point lead and knew Harrisburg would try and make a run. The Eagles did exactly as expected and cut the Outlaws’ lead to six after going on an 11-2 run to start the period.

The Outlaws stopped the run by knocking down free-throws and closing out the game on a 9-6 run of their own. Gardner went 6-for-9 from the free-throw line in the final period to lead the Outlaws in scoring.

Scott led the Outlaws with 19 points, including three three-pointers, and Froehlich followed with nine points and five rebounds. Gardner tallied six points and Maddox-Castle recorded five points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Silva and Martin added two points each, and Silva also grabbed four boards.

Coach Chad Rush said, “This was a gritty win for the team. I am so proud of how the team stepped up when we faced adversity in the first and second quarter with two starters having to sit on the bench because of foul trouble. Every player that came off the bench and played contributed to this win, maybe not in the scorebook, but some with key rebounds, others with solid, aggressive defense within our game plan, and others by handling the pressure and making the right pass at the right time. This win moves us closer to the goals that we set out to achieve, but with two big road games next week, we will have to continue to come together and play as a team.”

The Outlaws were to play on the road at Pleasant Hill on Tuesday, February 7. They will hit the road again on Thursday for a game at Creswell, and wrap up league play at home on Monday, February 13, against La Pine.