The boys JV basketball team lost a close game against Grand Rapids Christian on Tuesday by a score of 55-51. Sophomore Levi McKenzie led the team with 22 points. The game was a dog fight up until the buzzer went off. Head coach Jordan George was clearly disappointed with the result but sees the fight his players gave as a positive sign. 

“We obviously wanted the game to end a little differently, but that doesn’t change how we feel about how hard we fought and how we responded in the second half to adversity,” George said.

The Rangers were trailing the Eagles 27-23 at the half; however, the Rangers came out strong in the third quarter, overtaking the lead from Grand Rapids Christian. Throughout the second half though, the Rangers struggled on the glass. Rebounding was a slight issue for FHC that in turn gave the Eagles too many second-chance points. Off-the-ball rotations that came as a result of miscommunication from the Rangers also led to easy slip screen lay-ups for Grand Rapids Christian. Coach George believes that simple mistakes were what cost his team this game. 

“In the end, we just had a few too many breakdowns off the ball with rotations and things like that, and the game kind of snowballed and got away from us a bit,” George said postgame. 

Grand Rapids Christian has a reputation for being a great outside shooting squad. They proved on Tuesday that the three-point arc is utilized by the Eagles. Grand Rapids Christian sophomore Donovan Thames can be trouble for the opposing team if his jumper gets hot. FHC sophomore Raymond Cargill was tasked with keeping within arm’s length from the shooter, and Cargill stepped up to the challenge. Thames was held to a total of six points, the fewest scored by him yet this season. 

“Raymond helped keep us in a position to win,” McKenzie said. “He locked up one of Grand Rapids Christian’s best players. Unfortunately, we came up just short.”

Sophomore Jake Koning led the team in the fourth quarter with one last push to attempt an overtaking of the lead. He had 6 points in the final quarter of the game but was unable to close the four-point deficit. There is no doubt that this team will leave everything on the floor, yet sometimes they can still come up short. Coach George and assistant coach Chad Bauchan can see the silver lining beneath the tough loss.

“Grand Rapids Christian is one of the best teams that we will see all season,” Bauchan remarked. “I am proud to know that these boys will give us their all every time they step on the court.”

The loss drops the Rangers’ record to 2-1. This Friday, the boys will travel to Greenville to take on the Yellow Jackets.