Senior night ended with a satisfied defeat as the Rangers lost 58-32 against the Lockwood Lions, a difference of 26 points that “felt like we were in a three- or four-point game” as the Rangers “showed so much improvement since the beginning of the season up till now” says coach Scott Rosberg. Knowing the Lions were a tough team and one of the top teams in the conference, the Rangers couldn’t be prouder of their hard work throughout the entirety of the game.

The first quarter gave the Rangers most of their hope as they kept their points close to the Lions. Houston Dunn scored every point with the help of his teammates getting most of the rebounds to the Lion’s failed shots. Heading into the second quarter with a score of 10-9, Rangers in the lead, the Lions had grown more determined to score. Their points climbed fast on the scoreboard as the Rangers started to become more worn out by the fast plays. At the end of the half, the lions were up 25-17.

Starting off the third quarter, the Rangers grew more intense with every play. The players kept up with rebounds: Ryan Bauer and Alec Dalby made sure they always got the ball.

Houston Dunn blocked the Lions’ Zicciah Calison-Blake from dunking on the fast break attempt. Houston’s unexpected vertical against 6’3’ Zicciah left the crowd in silent suspense. When the ball was stopped mid-air, the crowd grew wild with cheers louder than they had all night.
The tension on the court grew when the block led to a technical foul for both Zicciah and Dunn.The Rangers got four fouls in the last three minutes of the third quarter which lead to the 26-point difference by the end.

The heat only grew in the final quarter as the Rangers kept their movements strong yet clumsy. The boys did all they could do to keep up with the Lions as they moved fast, but the Rangers grew tired and fell behind the last six minutes of the game. Taking the ball, attempting to get rebounds, and going for hard shots, the Rangers added to their fouls from the last quarter, giving the Lions more easy shots. 12 of the Lions’ 58 points came from free-throws.

Even though the game ended in a strong rivalry, the Rangers enjoyed the game overall. Jon Durgan laughed off his falls during the game as he says, “I liked how physical it was.” Tristan Watts called the fouls of the night “crazier than usual, but not unexpected. They were good calls.” The rest of the players all left the locker room laughing off the tension of the game, explaining that they were proud of their team’s performance.