On Tuesday, February 28, the boys faced off against Grand Rapids Christian. It was a big conference and rivalry game. The boys tried their hardest and worked really hard throughout the whole game, even though they knew their competition was very tough and skilled. This also marks the second to last game of the season for the Rangers. This was a big statement game heading into the playoffs. 

From the tipoff, it was clear it was going to be a tough game for the boys. It was very tight in the first quarter; the boys kept themselves in it with lots of hustle. Soon enough, they realized they couldn’t rely on their hustle to win. GRC was able to get lots of fast breaks and dunks off of the turnovers the boys had. It was clear they were becoming very fatigued by the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was even more evident that pure hustle would not win, even with some threes from juniors Jonas VanderWoude and Brady Miller, along with layups from senior Nate Delaney, the Eagles ran the court. A very fast-paced GRC team caught the Rangers running, and halftime was definitely needed for the boys to rest.

The second half was much of the same. The Rangers were able to generate offense and get points off of quick plays, but GRC’s ability to score and run the floor was just simply too hard to keep up with. Jonas said, “Overall, we haven’t had the season we would’ve liked, but it hasn’t been terrible. We need to improve on execution, defense, and working together in order to make a run.” The boys continued putting up a fight, but GRC just knew how to counter.

Overall, the boys had a good game but were unable to pull off the win. Although a loss may seem gloomy for the boys headed into the playoffs, they can take a lot from the well-executed plays in their game and use it for success in the playoffs. The final score on the night was 47-38. Rangerball looks to bounce back on March 2, for one last home game, against the Fighting Scots of Caledonia.