The boys JV basketball team’s record now sits at an impressive 14-4 with three games left in the season. With wins over Northview, Grand Rapids Christian, and Lowell, the guys are feeling good heading into the home stretch.

On Thursday, February 9, the JV Rangerball squad faced off against Northview. The team had beaten Northview the first time and was looking to complete the sweep. In order to do this, the boys needed to play as a team and play good defense. They did this for the full thirty-two minutes and came out on top. Once leading, the boys never looked back, beating Northview 72-50, and completing the sweep.

“Beating Northview both times felt great because they were a very good physical team that talked a lot of trash, so it was nice to shut them up.” Seder Middaugh stated after the win.

Following the win, the boys had a few days off until they faced off against the Eagles of Grand Rapids Christian on Valentine’s Day. The game started off incredibly slow, and neither team seemed to be able to get an edge. However, unfortunately for the Rangers, the Eagles fell into a groove and grew their lead to ten before halftime. The Rangers were not used to being down, and they knew that they were the better team so they were very frustrated in the locker room. However, coming out of the half the squad looked completely different.

Sophomore Aaron Schellenberg told me that despite being down at the half they knew they could still win. “We felt confident that we could get back into the game and win. Once we picked up our defensive pressure and effort the shots started falling.”

This is exactly what the boys did, as they hounded Grand Rapids Christian for the remainder of the game and came out victorious, winning 61-48.

After the win, the boys were scheduled to play Greenville on February 16. However, due to the weather, the game was canceled and not rescheduled. With this being said, the JV basketball team had a whole week to prepare for the next matchup.

On Tuesday, February 21, the Red Arrows of Lowell traveled to The Jungle to play the Rangers. Two of the Rangers’ best players, freshman Matt Sexton and sophomore Brendan Cargill had been moved up to varsity, so there was some uncertainty as to how the team would perform. The game, once again, started off pretty slow, and the Rangers–having not played in a week–were showing some signs of rust. To the boys’ credit, they picked it up and cruised to a 64-42 win.

Head Coach Ike Tilden is excited to see how the boys step up in order to finish off strong. “With two of our starters getting pulled up to varsity we are looking for guys to step up in certain roles,” Tilden says. “Not necessarily in terms of points scored, but controlling what they can control in their energy and effort and giving us a lift in certain spots.”

With three games left to play the Rangers look to continue this win streak and end the season on a positive. They will be back in action this Thursday, February 23, at East Grand Rapids–weather permitting–at 5:30 pm.