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Wednesday, January 11, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Outlaws tally three wins on hardwood
By Rongi Yost
Correspondent
The boys basketball team
played three good games this
past week and tallied the win
in each. Sisters started their
week with a 54-33 win at
home against Redmond, and
three days later defeated Burns
on the road in a final score of
47-37.
Sisters was scheduled to
make up a game with Lebanon
on Saturday, but the game was
canceled for the second time
due to weather-related travel
constraints. Mountain View
had their game with Hermiston
canceled, so Athletic Director
Tim Roth set up a game with
Mt. View at the last minute.
The Outlaws came out on top
in that contest, 67-58.
On Tuesday against
Redmond, the Outlaws started
out sluggish on offense, but
made up for it with a great
defensive effort. Sisters’
interior defense was espe-
cially strong, and shut down
the Panthers’ bigs, and the
Outlaws guards forced a lot of
turnovers.
Keegan Greaney went
nine-for-10 from the line, and
finished the game with 13
points. Ty Horner also had 13
points in the game, and Jack
Berg added eight.
Runco noted that the
Outlaws bigs, Tyler Head,
Tanner Head, JW Bertagna,
and Greaney, all did a great
job defensively and on
the glass. Ben Saba, Noah
Richards, Berg and Greaney
all kept pressure on the
Panthers’ guards.
The Outlaws did miss Jake
Larson’s defensive presence
due to sickness, but sopho-
more Richards stepped up on
defense and played well.
“It was a good win,” said
Runco. “The only low point
was a hand injury to Tyler
Head, who has been a two-
year starter and is really a
steady and tough player. We
will have to step up in his
absence.”
Three days later, the
Outlaws posted a road win
against a good Burns squad,
which boasts some really
tough, strong posts.
Sisters started out slow,
and at the close of the first
quarter trailed the Highlanders
14-6. Midway through the sec-
ond period, the Outlaws were
down by 15.
Ben Saba was the spark the
Outlaws needed in the sec-
ond quarter, which got them
back in the game. Saba scored
10 points in the quarter, and
stepped up on defense.
“He was everywhere, tip-
ping balls, making steals and
finishing,” said Runco, “The
rest of the team followed, and
we outscored them 21-14 in
the quarter to have a two-point
lead at the half.”
Sisters continued their
effort and stretched the lead
in the third, and held off in the
fourth for the win.
Greaney led the scoring
effort with 13 points, and
Richards and Saba posted 10
points each. Berg and Horner
both had seven points in the
contest.
“It was a good wake-up
call on the road,” said Runco.
“It was a really tough game,
and we believe we grew a
lot as a team. Everyone did
their part, and they stayed
calm when we were down.
I was so impressed how the
team stepped up in Tyler’s
absence. Tanner Head did a
great job in a new role and
he, Ty (Horner), and Keegan
(Greaney), stayed really
steady on the glass.”
Sisters got home from
Burns at 1 a.m., had a morn-
ing walk-through, and turned
around and headed to Mt.
View. They knew that they
would face a tough battle
against the 5A Cougars, who
boast Van Tassell, one of the
best posts in the state. The
Outlaws hoped to limit Van
Tassell’s touches and do their
best to defend against the rest
of the team.
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The game proved to be
quite a battle. Sisters couldn’t
stop the Cougars in the first
quarter, and in the second they
were plagued by some poor
decisions with the ball; and
turnovers led to easy buck-
ets for the Cougars. Sisters
entered the half down by
eight, 32-24.
In the second half, the
Outlaws played tough. They
played with patience and
poise, and got the ball inside
to Horner, who went right at
the Cougar posts. Van Tassel
was charged with enough
fouls that he was taken out of
the game.
Sisters chipped away and
fought for every point, and
at the close of the third quar-
ter closed the Cougar lead to
three.
For most of the fourth, the
Outlaws were three to four
points down. With just over
three minutes left on the clock,
the Outlaws were down by six,
but dug deep for three stops
and three scores in a row.
The Outlaws broke the
Cougars’ press and hit 14 of
15 free throws in the fourth for
a nice win.
Runco said, “Noah had
a three-point shot and was
fouled going to the basket two
more times at key times in the
fourth. Keegan had a huge
put-back after a steal by Noah.
Ben attacked their guards and
got to the line, and Keegan
kept penetrating and getting
fouled. Ty, Tanner, and Jack
locked down defensively, and
we really fought. Our guards,
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
Ben Saba drives down the court.
Keegan, Ben, Noah, and
Jack, worked extremely hard
defensively.”
Greaney finished with 18
points, followed by Richards,
who put up 17. Horner
recorded 11 points, and Saba
and Berg each added eight.
Runco told The Nugget he
was impressed with Horner’s
play.
“Ty has a lot of poise
handling double-teams and
being patient and not getting
early, unnecessary fouls,” said
Runco. “He kept himself in
the game, and was a force on
both ends in crunch-time. He
had a huge block when their
post went for a dunk in the
fourth, which was a key play.
He was called for a foul, but it
cut their momentum, and not
having a lot of fouls allowed
him to be really physical at the
end of the game.”
Runco attributed the win to
the team’s practices.
“The win was a great team
effort,” said Runco. “It was a
really good effort by every-
one, and really happened
at practice this last week.
Practice intensity stepped up
a notch and we saw improve-
ment across the boards. Guys
are starting to figure out how
our practice effort leads to the
improvement we need.”
Sisters was scheduled to
play at home against Madras
on January 10. On Friday,
January 13, the Outlaws will
kick off league at home against
the Sweet Home Huskies. Tip-
off is set for 5:45 p.m.
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