The boys varsity basketball team split its two games last weekend with a win and loss against Traverse City Central and East Kentwood, respectively. On Friday the Rangers host the Grandville Bulldogs, who are fresh off of a 12-8 season a year ago.

The Bulldogs are led by their leading scorer from last season in senior guard Freddy Baker. Junior guard Jaydon VanDuesen and senior forward Noah Atwell return as starters from last year alongside Baker. The Bulldogs also add a talented scorer in sophomore TJ Barnes. Last season, Grandville performed very well in a difficult OK-Red conference, which includes East Kentwood, Rockford, and defending State runner-ups, West Ottawa.

The Bulldogs are 1-2 on the early season, as they started off with a blowout win over Thornapple Kellogg. They then lost by 30 points to a very good Wyoming team, and on Tuesday night, they lost by 25 to the defending Class B State Champion, Benton Harbor. 

The Bulldogs like to rely on the three-point shot, with their guards being able to get into the lane and kick to their open shooters. In the first game of the season, the Rangers allowed 75 points to East Kentwood and then only surrendered 38 the next day to Traverse City Central. The Rangers no doubt will be looking for the defense they had against TCC in order to shut down a good shooting team in the Bulldogs.

Rebounding will be a big key in this game for the Rangers. They were severely outrebounded by East Kentwood, allowing 15 offensive rebounds. Against the Trojans, the Rangers won the rebounding battle by 5 and walked away with the win. Senior big men Tate Hallock and Daniel Deindorfer will need to rebound the ball well to be able to allow junior guards Jimmy Scholler and Mitch Wilkinson to get out in transition and make plays.

Offensively, the Rangers will look to get up and down the court with the ball in Jimmy’s hands at point guard. Pounding the ball down on the low block to Daniel for easy buckets will be a point of emphasis. If the Rangers can get seniors Josh Wise and Jay Shields to knock down shots from the outside, they will have a great chance to move to 2-1 early in the season.