On Tuesday, January 24th, Rangerball traveled to Red Arrow country to face off against another local powerhouse. Coming off of a successful conference game against Greenville, morale reigned high as the boys looked to create a winning streak. At the end of the night, they had come away with yet another impressive victory 65-48.

Lowell is renowned for encompassing talent in all aspects of their team, yet the Rangers’ talent was the one displayed that night, especially shown as they managed to garner a very strong start over their opponent. This early lead allowed the boys to stay ahead for the entirety of the game, as a result of extremely strong offense and defense execution. Jonas VanderWoude and Brady Miller were exceptional scorers in the first quarter, and their efforts combined lifted their team to a 17-6 lead over Lowell as the first quarter came to a close.

In the second quarter, Rangerball only increased its intensity; this period of minutes was some of the best they have performed all season. A direct continuation of the stellar execution seen in the first quarter, the boys’ shooting percentage that night was an impressive 50% from the floor-and they reached a season-high number of 18 assists. As a result of that, Lowell’s efforts fell short overall in the first half; the Rangers kept them from getting to the basket and scoring.

However, momentum is a virtue in sports and can be easily tipped from opponent to opponent. When down, sometimes crafting a momentum run is easier, and that’s what Lowell did. As the third quarter began, the Rangers were up by over ten points, yet it was cut to around five points a few minutes in. As usual, the team was undeterred and kept on creating stops, limiting the potential of success for their opponent. Following that, the boys managed to respond with a momentum run of their own. This resulted in the Rangers firmly establishing a lead 54-37 going into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter was no less disappointing for Rangers watching. The team simply continued to plow ahead with excellent shooting, defense, and communication, allowing them to hold their lead as the clock reached zero for the last time. What was undoubtedly an exhilarating and stellar game for Rangerball makes this their third conference win, and stretches their record to 7-5.

“We feel great about the win over Lowell. It puts us in a good position in the conference and was a statement win to the other teams in the conference. Coming off a win is really good when going into a game against a strong opponent like EGR. It puts us in a winning mindset and sets us up for success,” comments senior Sam Sneider.

The boys’ next matchup is an equally exciting one, if not more. On Friday, January 27th, they will take on East Grand Rapids at home with aspirations of triumphing over another local rival.

“We are feeling good going into Friday’s game,” junior Quincy Henry notes. “We have been watching the film and practicing hard all week, and we are confident we will win our next game.”