Outlaws open league with wins

The Outlaws posted a 49-40 win on the road at Harrisburg in the league opener on Tuesday, January 14. On Friday, they edged out the visiting Creswell Bulldogs, who were ranked No. 4 in 3A entering the game, in a final score of 43-41.

On Tuesday, the game started with a Will McDonnell layup on an assist from Garrett Sager, but the Eagles answered with four straight points, and held onto the lead for the remainder of the quarter. Sisters stayed within three points, and had a trio of three-point plays in the quarter, two long balls from McDonnell and the other three points off a layup and made free throw from Bodie Schar.

Neither team scored the first three minutes of the second quarter. From there, the Outlaws outscored the Eagles 9-4 to close out the half tied up at 22-22. Kale Gardner scored twice in the scoring run, the first on a coast-to-coast transition basket and the next on a floater from the wing position.

The Eagles came out of the half and scored five consecutive points to take a five-point lead. However, the Outlaws shut the Eagles down for the rest of the period. They went on a 17- point run to go up by 12 at the close of the third, 39-27. Landen Scott and Kleren Labhart alternated to score the first 10 points in the run, and Sager finished the quarter when he found Levi Szesze under the basket for a layup with less than a minute left in the period.

Sisters scored first in the final quarter on a baseline out of bounds play when Gardner found Labhart at the basket for an easy two points. The Eagles came back and cut the lead to eight with just a bit over two minutes left in the game. Harrisburg was forced to foul and the Outlaws made three of their four attempts at the charity stripe to keep the Eagles out of striking distance. Time expired and the Outlaws tallied the win.

Scott scored 15 points, and had four rebounds and two steals. Gardner scored 10 points, pulled down 10 boards, and dished out four assists. Labhart contributed nine points, McDonnell scored eight, and Schar added five.

Coach Chad Rush said, “This was a great way to start the league schedule against a very disciplined team. Starting the league season 1-0 was a goal of the team this week. I thought that the team did a great job of executing the game plan that the coaches put together. Now we move our focus to one of the league contenders in Creswell on Friday.”

On Friday against Creswell, the Bulldogs scored first, but Gardner quickly answered with a three-pointer on an assist from Sager just 30 seconds into the game. Both teams played tough defense the entire quarter and the score stayed close. Scott hit a long ball at the buzzer to give the Outlaws a three-point lead, 16-13, at the close of the period.

Sisters continued with their aggressive defense in the second quarter and held the Bulldogs to just eight points. On the Outlaws end, Labhart was the hot shooter, and scored six of the teams eights points, an up-and-under move with an assist from Schar, an uncontested layup with an assist from Sager, and a transition lay-up. Both defenses held strong the final 2:20 of the quarter as neither team would score a basket. At the half the Outlaws were up 24-21.

Just a little over a minute into the third period the Bulldogs closed the deficit and took a one-point advantage, but McDonnell gave the Outlaws the lead right back with a driving basket from the sideline. Later in the period, with the Bulldogs up by one, McDonnell again made a shot right at the basket off a Gardner assist to regain the lead for the Outlaws at 28-27. The Bulldogs closed out the period on a 6-2 run and were up by three, 30-33, as teams headed into the fourth period.

Creswell took a five-point lead early in the final quarter, but the Outlaws responded with a 6-0 run of their own and recaptured the lead. Scott scored on a driving baseline layup, Gardner connected on one of two free-throws, Scott scored a layup, and Schar made one of two from the foul line.

With the score tied 39-39 and just 1:20 left in the game, Gardner found an open Labhart for a layup at the rim to put the Outlaws up by two, 41-39. With 50 seconds left, and the game once again tied up, 41-41, Scott drove to the basket, and banked in a fadeaway to give the Outlaws a 43-41 edge. The Bulldogs were unable to score and the Outlaws posted the win.

Gardner led the team with 14 points, four rebounds, and three assists, and Scott followed with 11 points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Labhart put up 10 points and McDonnell added seven. Sager had four assists in the game.

Rush said, “This was a game that showed us that our defense could win games for us. On a night when points were hard to come by, our defense held them in check with key stops at just the right moments in the game. I am so proud of the effort and grit the team showed tonight. While we will enjoy the win, we need to move on to Elmira.”

Sisters was to play at home against Elmira on Tuesday, January 21. They will play at Pleasant Hill on Friday, January 24.