Outlaws fall to Burns in basketball opener

The Outlaws traveled to Burns on Wednesday, November 30, and lost the contest 62-48.

Sisters played a great first quarter, and forced the Highlanders to turn the ball over six times. The Outlaws got good looks at the basket out of their motion offense, shot 57 percent, and held a 17-11 lead at the end of the period.

The Outlaws saw their biggest lead of the game at 22-13 halfway through the second quarter, but then the Highlanders went on a run and closed the gap. Sisters hit three three-pointers in the period, one from Oliver Bernhardt, and two from Kale Gardner, his last at the buzzer, which gave the Outlaws a two-point lead at 29-27 as teams headed into halftime.

Teams battled back and forth in the third, and midway through the Outlaws were up 36-34. Unfortunately, that would be the Outlaws’ last lead of the game. Burns went on an 11-5 run to close out the quarter. Gardner got to the line 10 times in the period and made six of his ten attempts.

Coach Chad Rush said, “In an attempt to stop their run, the Outlaws got uncharacteristically careless with the ball, and committed nine turnovers in the quarter, which led to 14 of the Highlanders’ 19 points.”

In the final period the Outlaws scored on Diego Silva’s turnaround jump shot in the paint, which closed the Highlander lead to four points at 41-45. But that was as close as the Outlaws would get.

Sisters tried to tighten the pressure by switching to a man-to-man full-court press, but the Highlanders stayed calm and never allowed the Outlaws back into the game.

Gardner led the team with 19 points, and also had four rebounds. Landon Scott finished with 13 points, six rebounds, and three steals, and Bernhardt followed with 10 points.

Rush said, “I thought we came out with great energy and made our impact on the game, making Burns play the type of game we wanted to play. Burns made some great adjustments and we were not able to make the same adjustments to walk away with a victory. I am happy with our effort. We learned a lot about what we need to work on, and are already looking forward to our next chance to get back on the court in front of the home crowd.”

The Outlaws were to play at home against Riverside on Friday, December 1, and a day later against Jefferson, but both games were cancelled due to snowy conditions on the pass. The game against Jefferson was rescheduled for Monday, December 4, and the Riverside game will possibly be rescheduled in January.

Sisters was to travel to the Dalles on Tuesday, December 5. They will play at home against Yamhill-Carlton on Saturday, December 9.