If there was any concern about how the boys varsity basketball team would look after not playing a game in nearly two weeks, the Rangers’ 85-46 blowout win over the Greenville Yellow Jackets put it to rest. The junior backcourt duo of Jimmy Scholler and Mitch Wilkinson dominated the game in all stages for the Rangers. With the large margin of victory, neither of them played over 20 minutes, but Mitch scored 29 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, had a steal, and blocked 2 shots. Jimmy really pushed the tempo of the game to earn a double-double and finish with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 block, and 4 steals.

The Rangers came out firing on all cylinders, taking a 6-0 lead on their first three possessions. Mitch scored 15 of his game-high 29 in the opening quarter, as he along with his teammates combined for five made three-point shots in the quarter. Jimmy and Mitch either scored or assisted on 22 of the Rangers’ 26 opening-quarter points, as they led Greenville 26-15 after one. 

Mitch stayed hot in the second quarter, scoring the first 7 points for the Rangers. A thunderous two-handed slam dunk by senior forward Tate Hallock capped off a 16-1 run for the Rangers, extending the lead to 25 points and forcing a Greenville timeout. Jimmy scored 9 of his 13 points and added 3 rebounds and 5 more assists in the quarter. Senior guard Jay Shields, a very good shooter who hadn’t been shooting the ball well of late, hit three three-pointers in the first half to give the Rangers a big boost off the bench. With the same kind of production that they had in the first quarter, the Rangers led 51-22 at the break.

Just like in the first matchup between these two teams, the Rangers’ defense was suffocating. They decided to throw double teams constantly at Grenville star guard Kane Brown, and it worked tremendously. Kane Brown was hounded by two Ranger defenders at almost all times and was getting more and more frustrated. Greenville big man Gavin Cossou was a force in the paint for the Yellow Jackets, but stopping Kane Brown was the biggest mission for the Rangers.

The second half was more of the same from the Rangers. Despite not playing any of its starters for the remaining 12 minutes of the game, the Rangers still were able to outscore the Yellow Jackets 34-24 in the second half.

With the victory, the Rangers improve to 9-4 overall and 4-2 in OK White conference play. The Rangers will be back in action on Friday night when they travel to Cedar Springs.