Senior Ryan Dunn and sophomore Jimmy Scholler were two of the four 10+ scorers for FHC in Friday night’s rivalry win against the Huskies of Forest Hills Northern 60-46. On top of 13 points, Ryan had 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks and 3 steals.

“I just felt like there could’ve been better matchups against me tonight, but they really didn’t do that,” Ryan said. “We tried to run a lot of post-up plays left and right.”

With FHC down by one heading into the locker room at the half, the seniors were called on to make big plays, and they did. 8 of Ryan’s 13 points came in the third quarter alone and helped the Ranger offense get back on track. FHC started to run away with the lead from that point forward.

“A couple of guys made some really big plays in the second half,” Ryan said. “We were able to get a run going, spread the lead, and spark our energy up.”

With FHC usually being a major threat from beyond the arc, it was a different looking offense as the Rangers went 0/8 from three. It called upon its athletes such as Jimmy and senior Andrew Tebeau to get under the basket for easy buckets.

“It just shows how versatile we are as an offense,” Jimmy said. “Our starting five can all score and our two guys off the bench can too. Daniel had a couple good buckets at the buzzer to help lift us, so it doesn’t matter who because we all can score.”

Despite a slow first half from both offenses, FHC’s defense stayed solid throughout the night. The second half dominance was evident as FHC outscored FHN 39-24 in the third and fourth quarters.

Late in the game, it became about free throw shooting for FHC as the Husky defense grew desperate for a chance back in the game. Senior Ty George was clutch from the line in the fourth quarter, finishing with 10 of his 16 points from the line alone. Jimmy and Ryan also picked up points off of fouls.

With just under three minutes left in the game, FHC went on another fast break with the ball in Ryan Dunn’s hands. With a two on one situation looming at the other end, the Husky defender chose to cover Ryan and leave junior Tate Hallock open to shoot through the lane.

Tate took care of the rest.

As Tate got the ball just behind the free throw line, he took two emphatic steps and threw down a ferocious one-handed slam at the basket, sending the Ranger bench into eruption. That was the final turning point.

With the Rangers playing the Huskies for the first time since being knocked out in the district semifinal last season, it was all about the rivalry in the gym last night.

“It’s amazing [to beat them],” Ryan said. “Growing up and playing against these guys all the time and then senior year coming into our house and getting a win is huge.”

Head coach Ken George didn’t think it was perfect, but he gives a lot of credit to his scorers for making the offense come alive again in the second half.

“I give FHN a lot of credit for making us look ugly early on,” George said. “I also give a lot of credit to Ryan and Ty for making a lot of big plays for a little bit there. I also feel like my sophomore we pretty big and Tate’s dunk was big too.”

FHC has now swept the OK white and moves to 9-2 overall on the season. The Rangers move on to play two non-conference games this upcoming week against the Wyoming Wolves and the East Grand Rapids Pioneers. They look to keep the flow of the offense and continue to make themselves a tough team to defend.

“We kept posting Ryan up because he’s just so hard to guard under the basket,” George said. “Ty made some free throws and I thought Jimmy was tough and played really well tonight. It’s nice when we can have a variety of guys make baskets and it’s just tough to cover us.”