The Ranger boys basketball team faced off against the Lowell Red Arrows at Lowell on Monday, March 7. It was the first round of districts and the boys were looking to get the playoff ball rolling with a win. They had dueled against Lowell twice already this season, and both games were wins for the Rangers. But playoffs are a different type of animal and anything can happen.

Right from the tip-off it was clear it was gonna be a lot tighter of a game than people imagined. The whole first quarter was neck and neck. Junior Jonas VanderWoude was knocking down shots and a couple of threes. Senior Jake Koning had a good charge attempt to keep FHC in the game. The boys were fighting for every bit of momentum knowing that this win will not come easy. The Rangers lead narrowly 18-13 at the end of one. 

The second quarter was a lot of the same, the Rangers were scoring in transitions and had threes from junior Brady Miller. But Lowell was practically mirroring the Rangers. Whatever the Rangers were doing the Red Arrows were doing it better. The Red Arrows’ strong and fast-paced transition offense kept the Rangers on their toes, and it made the Rangers commit a lot of fouls. The Red Arrows were driving the lane so hard, they kept the game tight the whole first half with a score of 28 to 23 in favor of the Rangers.

The Lowell Red Arrows came out firing though in the second half. They came out scoring a lot and going on runs and the Rangers could not hit crucial shots that would keep them in the lead. The Rangers could feel the pressure the game started to get tighter and the crowd started to get louder, but Brady and Jonas kept it tight with some big shots along with a lot of rebounding from senior Sam Sneider. With the third quarter ending, the Rangers had a narrow lead of 38-33 heading into the fourth. 

In the fourth quarter, the Rangers fell apart. The Rangers were turning the ball over left and right giving Lowell even more and more momentum. Lowell kept creeping closer and closer until they finally took the lead with a minute left and it was over. The boys did everything they could but came up short by a score of 50-48.

Jonas said, ”We needed to take more pride in getting defensive stops.” The Rangers’ season unfortunately ended. The seniors will be missed and the underclassmen look to bounce back next year.