The boys basketball squad lost 73-58 on the road at Cottage Grove on Tuesday, December 13, and three days later lost to Yamhill-Carlton (YC) by three in a heartbreaker, 50-47.

In Tuesday’s action the Outlaws faced their toughest competition of the season so far. Sisters held an 11-8 advantage with just a little over one minute left in the quarter, but then took some quick shots that didn’t fall, committed some turnovers, and couldn’t get a stop on the defensive end, which allowed the Lions to score and take the lead. At the close of the period the Outlaws trailed 11-12.

Cottage Grove held on to the momentum as teams entered the second quarter, and outscored the Outlaws 25-17. Landon Scott scored six points for the Outlaws and Mehkye Froehlich added five to lead Sisters’ scoring effort. At the half the Outlaws were down by nine, 28-37.

The Outlaws switched up their defense to a 1-3-1 zone in the third. Froehlich was able to get a steal just seconds into the quarter and cut the Lions’ lead to seven. However, the Lions were patient with their ball movement, cut into the Outlaws’ defense, and made some shots against the Outlaws’ zone. At the end of three, Sisters trailed by 14.

Sisters battled back an forth with the Lions in the final period and tried to keep the game within striking distance. The Outlaws put up 20 points, but the Lions scored 21 to maintain the lead and record the win.

Froehlich led the Outlaws with 16 points and three steals, Scott recorded 12 points, and Diego Silva tallied eight. Adam Maddox-Castle put up five points, and Kale Gardner, Garrett Sager, and Brody Fischer added four points each. Sager also pulled down five rebounds.

Coach Chad Rush said, “We knew this was going to be the toughest game of the season so far this year and were looking forward to the challenge. We were able to compete with the athletic Lions, but were not able to match their physicality at the basket. We will look to learn from our mistakes the next two days in practice and come back stronger and better on Friday against Yamhill-Carlton.”

On Friday, the Outlaws made the three-hour trek to YC, and despite the long bus ride competed well in the first quarter. The Outlaws traded baskets with the Tigers and after four minutes of play the score was tied 6-6. Next YC opened up a 6-10 lead, but the Outlaws followed with a 6-0 run to reclaim the lead 12-10. The run was capped by a baseline long ball from Maddox-Castle on an assist from Sager. When the quarter ended the Outlaws trailed by two, 14-16. Jessey Murillo led the Outlaws’ scoring with six points.

The second quarter belonged to the Outlaws, and they outscored the Tigers 22-11 in the period. Silva started the scoring spree with two three-pointers. Sisters used their 1-3-1 defense to disrupt the Tigers’ rhythm, and caused four turnovers. The Outlaws scored six points on the turnovers and 14 points in the paint. Froehlich attacked the basket in transition and scored 10 points to lead the Outlaws’ scoring effort.

Sisters came out slow in the third and were held scoreless for the first two minutes. Scott ended the scoring drought with a nice layup, and finished the period with all of the Outlaws’ eight-quarter points; two field goals, a triple with an assist from Gardner, and a free-throw made on a plus-one. The Tigers switched defenses in the quarter to a 2-3 zone defense, which slowed the pace of the Outlaws’ offense.

Despite the slow offensive production, the Outlaw’s defense remained strong. They held the Tigers to just six points on two of nine shooting attempts and forced five Tiger turnovers. At the close of the period the Outlaws were on top 44-33.

The Outlaws struggled in the final period and went a disappointing one-for-eight from the field, while the Tigers went five-for-eight. Even with the lopsided shooting the Outlaws found themselves up by one with just over two minutes left on the clock.

Sisters switched to their delay offense and ran the clock down to 25 seconds. Tigers player Kyle Slater (who finished with 21 points) hit a tough jump shot around the free-throw line and the Tigers took the lead for the first time since the 6:22 mark in the second quarter.

The Outlaws inbounded the ball and tried to beat the Tigers down the floor before they could set up their defense, but the ball was thrown out of bounds. Sisters was forced to foul to stop the clock, and unfortunately the Tigers hit both free-throws for the final three-point difference in the game, and had to record the heartbreaking loss.

Froehlich led the Outlaws with 10 points and three steals, and Murillo finished with nine points and 11 rebounds. Scott and Silva both scored eight points, Sager contributed six, and Maddox-Castle added five. Gardner had five rebounds and three assists in the contest.

Rush said, “There’s no hiding the fact that this loss hurts. I am still very proud of the boys for hanging in there during the second half. We did not let our offensive struggles affect our defensive intensity, especially in the third quarter. That is something that we can take away from this game. I am looking forward to getting back on the court and continuing working on getting better.”

Sisters will play at home against Estacada on Wednesday.