Wednesday, February 1, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
15
Outlaws continue winning streak
By Rongi Yost
Correspondent
The Outlaws posted two
more wins last week to push
to a 4-1 record in Sky-Em
play. Sisters defeated the
Tigers at Junction City (JC)
30-25 on Tuesday, January
24, and three days later
posted a 39-34 home win
over the Elmira Falcons.
Sisters started off strong in
their game against the Tigers
on Tuesday, got the ball just
where they wanted it, and
held a 9-5 lead to close out
the first quarter.
Af ter s ever al fouls,
the Outlaws had to switch
defenses, which allowed JC
to hit three timely shots from
behind the arc. The Outlaws
struggled offensively in the
second period, and missed
several inside shots and open
looks. At the half, Sisters
trailed the Tigers 18-13.
In the second half, the
Outlaws cranked up their
defensive pressure and forced
many turnovers, but missed
too many transition buckets
to break the game open. On
the flip side, Sisters attacked
the basket, got the ball inside,
and forced the Tigers to foul.
Sisters missed shots down
the stretch and were only six-
for-14 in the final quarter, but
held on to win by five.
Ty Horner put up 14
points, Keegan Greaney
recorded eight, and Ben Saba
added four.
The Outlaws played tough
defense throughout the con-
test and did not foul. Sisters
only gave the Tigers six free-
throw shots on their home
court.
“We had to play right to
the end,” said Coach Rand
Runco. “I was really proud of
our toughness at the end and
we found a way to get it done.
It was an important win on
the road and kept us in good
league standing. We just need
to keep improving.”
Three days later, Sisters
defeated the Falcons by four
in another close contest.
Elmira entered the game just
one game down from Sisters
in league play, and came
ready to fight to stay in the
playoff hunt. The Falcons
are a scrappy team and do
a great job on the glass, and
the Outlaws knew the game
would be tough.
Sisters was able to domi-
nate the game inside, but the
Falcons kept striking with
their three-point shots.
The Outlaws penetrated,
got the ball inside to their
bigs, and transitioned out of
their defense with aggression,
only to have it dwindle away
due to the Falcons’ three-
point shots.
“We did not seem to
have our usual energy and
struggled closing on shoot-
ers in the second quarter,”
said Runco. “Offensively, we
missed some good opportuni-
ties, as we rushed some good
looks.”
At the half, the Falcons
were on top 23-21.
The second half turned
into a dogfight. Sisters
clamped down on their
defense and held the Falcons
to 11 points. The Outlaws
managed to score 18 points
in the half and posted the win.
Runco said, “Offensively,
we continued to be in a rush,
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and were trying so hard
we did not execute good
offense. When we share the
ball and trust each other we
are very good on both ends.
Sometimes, the boys are try-
ing so hard they forget to
share the ball the way we
need to. When we reverse the
ball and hit the open guys, we
are really good. We need to
share the ball for four quar-
ters. If we do that and play
good defense, we are a really
tough team to beat.”
Horner led the team with
14 points, Greaney scored
seven, and Saba and Jack
Berg tallied six.
Ben, Noah (Richards),
Jack, and Jake (Larson)
really worked hard
defensively to get to
shooters in the second
half to stop their
perimeter play.
— Coach Rand Runco
For the second time in the
week, the Outlaws shot only
61 percent from the stripe.
Runco noted several play-
ers that excelled on defense.
“Jack (Berg) did a tre-
mendous job on one of their
best players, and Keegan
(Greaney) and Ty (Horner)
were a huge presence inside,
and stopped many drives.
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
Ty Horner, leading scorer for the Outlaws.
Tanner (Head), Keegan,
Ty and sophomore Zach
Anderson all did a nice job
on the glass.
“Ben, Noah (Richards),
Jack, and Jake (Larson) really
worked hard defensively to
get to shooters in the second
half to stop their perimeter
play.”
Runco is very pleased
with the team chemistry, and
stated the Outlaws improve
with every passing week.
“This is a super-fun team
to coach. The key to our
improvement and standing is
how hard the team is practic-
ing. We have a tremendous
group of players that are all
working hard, and several
of those are not getting the
playing time, but are working
hard for the team goal. The
quality of these young men is
very impressive.”
At the end of the first
round of league play, Sisters,
Cottage Grove and Sutherlin
are all tied with a 4-1 record.
Runco told The Nugget that
the league has very good,
experienced coaches and they
expect it will be a fight to the
end.
Sisters will kick off the
second half of league play
on Friday, February 3, at
Sweet Home. The following
Tuesday, February 7, Sisters
will play at home against
Cottage Grove, and then will
travel to Sutherlin three days
later.