Outlaws open season with back-to-back wins

The Outlaws opened their preseason play with back-to-back wins; a 76-45 win over Santiam Christian (SC) at home on Thursday, December 5, and a day later a 68-65 win on the road at Cottage Grove (CG).

Sisters jumped out quick with a 5-2 lead against SC on Thursday with Kieren Labhart starting the scoring with an offensive rebound putback. The Outlaws led the entire period with Landen Scott scoring six points and Labhart and Will McDonnel hitting big threes that helped the Outlaws close out the period on top 16-10. 

Photo by Tyler Johnson

The Outlaws are off to a strong start in preseason play.

The SC Eagles came back in the second quarter and cut the Outlaws' lead to one point, 20-19, on a three pointer from junior Clayton Slegers with 5:15 left in the period. Sisters responded with a 13-2 run as teams headed into the half. Highlights in the quarter for the Outlaws were a driving layup with a foul and made free-throw from Kale Gardner, a defensive rebound and coast-to-coast layup from Labhart, a coast-to-coast contested layup from Gardner, and a reverse lay-up from Scott. 

SC scored the first four points of the third quarter, and then Labhart scored on an offensive rebound putback. The Outlaws tried to switch defenses to their 2-3 zone, but the Eagles got hot from the three-point line, as Slegers hit three long balls within one and half minutes of play, which cut the Outlaws' lead to 38-36. That was as close as the Eagles would get. The Outlaws went on a 15-1 run with just over four minutes left in the quarter. Scott scored 11 points in the quarter and at the end of three the Outlaws held a 53-37 advantage.

The Outlaws kept their foot on the gas, scored 23 points in the final period, and held the Eagles to eight. Scott hit two shots from behind the arc, and Gardner and Oliver Bernhardt also hit long balls to help in the final scoring effort. 

Scott led the team with 29 points, and seven rebounds, followed by Labhart who scored 17 points and pulled down seven boards. Gardner finished with 10 points and nine rebounds, McDonnell seven points and five rebounds, and Bernhardt with six points and five rebounds.

Coach Chad Rush said, "It was great to get out on the floor for the first time this season and battle another opponent. The boys played very well, responding multiple times to challenges from the Eagles. It was great to see the resiliency of the team during those moments, as being able to stop an opponent's run as quickly as possible is a key to having a successful season. I was pleased to see the selfless play as three players scored in double figures. It was a great start to the season and I look forward to building upon this victory."

A day later the Outlaws took the long bus ride to CG and started off a bit slow. The Lions boast a roster with tall players, and the daunting size difference affected the Outlaws early with several altered shots at the rim and blocked shots from the 6-foot-5-inch and 6-foot-9-inch Lions big men. At the close of the first quarter the Outlaws trailed 7-14.

Sisters chipped away at the Lions' lead in the second period. A bucket from Bodie Schar cut the Lions' lead to 16-19. CG took a timeout with four minutes left in the quarter and Rush challenged the Outlaws to win the next four minutes. The team did just that and went on a 14-9 run to close out the quarter and take a two-point lead, 30-28. Gardner scored nine points in the period.

Teams traded baskets to start the third quarter, but after a three-pointer from Labhart and two layups from Scott, the Outlaws were on top 37-32. The Lions regrouped and outscored the Outlaws 16-4 the rest of the period, and after three Sisters found themselves down 41-48.

Rush said, "We began to abandon our ball movement on offense that was working before and began to take quick shots with little to no passing."

In the final period the Outlaws were able to regroup and get back to their defensive intensity on the one side of the floor. They limited the Lions' transition points and forced tough, contested shots the entire quarter. On offense, they moved the ball, and their strategy of pushing pace and tiring out the Lions' two big men began to take effect. The Outlaws got multiple shot opportunities at the rim and in transition that had not been available earlier in the game, and walked off the court with a three-point victory. 

Gardner led the scoring effort with 22 points, eight rebounds, five steals, and four assists. Scott scored 19 points, and had three assists, and Labhart scored 14 points and pulled down six boards. Bernhardt pitched in with six points.

"I was really proud of the boys tonight," said Rush. "Playing a back-to-back game with the second game on the road, especially early in the season, is a tough task. We knew we had a very different challenge than the previous night because of the Lions' size and length. Our players did an outstanding job of executing our game plan of fronting their big men and making it difficult for them to get points.

"All of our players took on that challenge and made them work extremely hard to try and get the ball," added Rush. "That strategy, as well as wanting to push the pace to tire them out, paid off in the fourth quarter when we were able to get shots in the paint that we were not able to get early in the game. That is due to our ability to run our offense and take advantage of a tired defense."

The Outlaws were to play at Trinity Lutheran on Tuesday, December 10. They will play at Mazama on Friday, December 14 spend the night, and then take on Klamath Union on Saturday, December 13.