Sweet Home opened its league schedule Friday, Jan. 13, with a 50-25 loss on the road to fourth-ranked Sisters in boys basketball.
“Sisters is really good,” said Coach Drew Emmert. “They’re ranked No. 4 in the state. They haven’t lost to a 4A (team) yet.”
The Outlaws took command early, leading 16-7 after the first quarter and expanding to a 28-11 lead by halftime. By the end of the third quarter, Sweet Home trailed 36-16.
Defensively, the Huskies did all right, Emmert said, but they couldn’t make a shot.
Sisters held Sweet Home’s best scorers, Daniel Virtue, Keanu Aiona, Keegan Holly and Justin Carpenter, to just 10 points and a 4-28 performance from the field. Virtue scored three of those buckets, while Holly put one away.
Sophomore post Jake Swanson came up with 10 points to lead Husky scoring, including a three pointer.
Sisters is tall, 6-foot 8-inches in one case, Emmert said, and the Outlaws used their size to their advantage, dropping into a zone most of the game.
“If we could’ve hit some shots, we could’ve gotten them out of the zone,” Emmert said.
Virtue scored six; Colton Smith, five, with a a three; Aiona, two; and Holly, two. Also playing were Hayden Nichol, Alonso Perez, Nate Virtue and Casey Tow.
“To get a win at Sisters would’ve been tough,” Emmert said. The Huskies were scheduled to face Junction City Tuesday at home.
That’s a game “we need to win,” Emmert said. Cottage Grove and Sisters are likely to finish at the top of the league, with Elmira, Junction City, Sutherlin and Sweet Home scrambling for third place.
Overall, the huskies are 5-8. Junction City is 5-9, and Elmira is 4-8. Each is 0-1 in league.
Above the Huskies in the Sky-Em, Sutherlin is 9-5, while Cottage Grove and Sisters are both 9-4 overall. Each is 1-0 in league.
The girls basketball team lost to the Outlaws 21-13.
The two teams will play at Cottage Grove Friday and at Elmira on Tuesday.