Boys varsity basketball downs Lowell on “i understand” night 70-44

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Seniors Ryan Dunn and Ty George, along with sophomore Jimmy Scholler, came up with 45 of the 70 total points for FHC last night while blasting the Rangers past Lowell, 70-44. On “i understand” night in the jungle, FHC came out fueled and ready to play.

“I loved our energy and excitement to come play in the beginning of the game,” head coach Ken George said. “It was really fun night in the jungle and I think we took their heart away early on by how we came out and played.

FHC came out as hot as they have been all year with a 25-9 first quarter. 8 of Jimmy’s 14 points came in the first quarter alone, sparking a run that wouldn’t stop for the Rangers.

The second quarter was no different with the Rangers heading into the locker room up 44-22 at the half. The first 16 minutes were not only offensive domination, but a monopolization of the rebounds.

“I think we did a really good job defensively rebonding tonight,” George said. “We did have some breakdowns in the back end of our press and that bothered me some. The baskets they did get were at the back end of our press and free throws. But, in the second half, I thought we did a better job with that and made them work harder.”

Despite a few defensive breakdowns, FHC out-rebounded the Red Arrows 41-23, along with out-assisting (18-10) and out-stealing them (14-6). The Rangers finished +5 in the turnover margin, and dominated every category in the stat book.

Ryan had one of his best nights on the season, totaling 20 points, 7 rebounds, and an assist.

“I just had a lot of chances early on to score and I wasn’t really capitalizing,” Ryan said. “Then in the second half I finally got it going and I was able to get a lot of buckets. I just didn’t think they had a true matchup for me based on the scouting we did before the game. I thought any guy they put on me I’d be able to take them.”

Ty also recognized Ryan’s willingness to score tonight.

“He was tough tonight,” Ty said. “In the third quarter, he really got it going and we just started running stuff to him consistently. They didn’t really have a guard that could matchup with him.”

With FHC having won their first four conference games and the last seven straight, it puts their overall record at 7-2. It is no secret, however, that their recent OK white opponents haven’t matched up to FHC like the teams they’ll face later on in the season and in the playoffs.

“We try and switch up a lot of things in practice and do a lot of new stuff,” Ryan said. “We try to keep guys energy up and even do a lot of drills where things can get scrappy or heated. It just keeps people motivated and helps us come into games like this where we have tons of fans. It helps us that much more so we can go out and get that win.”

Although FHC’s focus turns back on winning their next two conference games against Ottawa Hills and FHN, it was a great opportunity last night for the Rangers to play well on “i understand” night.

“I was really proud of Emma Yoder and Claire Baguley for putting this all together,” George said. “We knew [the Arrows] were winless, but I still thought our guys came out jacked up and ready to play. The whole event just made it really special night for us.”