After a rough loss to Byron Center on Tuesday, January 1o, the boys had only one day to prepare for an extremely tough matchup against the Wildcats of Northview. The Rangers were feeling a little bit down after their loss but were eager to get back onto the court and pick up the win.

On January 12, at 7:00 PM the boys tipped off their game, and their attempt to get back into the win column began. Throughout the entire game, the pace was fast and the game went back and forth. There were glimpses of small mistakes from the JV Rangerball squad, but they minimized these and executed well in the game’s closing minutes, picking up the win, 58-52. This wasn’t the team’s strongest performance, but the boys were just happy to come out on top.

“Beating Northview was a big win for us because we needed the momentum back after losing to Byron Center in overtime,” sophomore Billy Musgraves stated after the game.

Following the win, the boys had seven days to rest up and recover before facing Greenville. During this time they worked on improving their defense, sharpening up their skills and fundamentals, and executing their plays. In years past, the Greenville Yellow Jackets were far from a basketball powerhouse, but this year was a little bit different. The boys had to go into the game with a different mindset.

Brendan Cargill acknowledged this fact saying “We knew they were going to be better with new players and coaches.”

Despite this much improved Greenville team, they were no match for the Rangerball squad as the Rangers took the victory 54-50. Normally, this win would not mean very much, but this time the boys felt happy and good about themselves. They felt strongly about winning a competitive game, and this only added to the momentum.

The following Tuesday, on January 24, the Rangerball squad pushed its win streak to three games, beating a less-than-impressive Lowell team 67-45.  Every member of the team got playing time, and the boys were able to let loose and have fun. With this win, the JV record sits at 9-3 with 10 games left to play.

Coach Ike Tilden is feeling pretty good about his team, but continues to push them to be the best that they can be.

“We have been working in practice on defense and are starting to see improvements. Specifically, we are focusing on ball screen coverage and help side defense.”

The JV squad will be back in action on Thursday, January 26 at 7:00 PM at home.