The boys freshman basketball team suffered a tough loss on Thursday to the Northview Wildcats 54-37. Northview is a really talented team who made for a tough matchup for the Rangers. Similar to Tuesday’s game, the boys struggled to gain a lead on their opponent and maintain it. 

“We could never take the lead,” head coach Adam Monroe said. “[We] got down early and never made a push.”

The Wildcat’s enormous frontcourt was a difficult match-up for Rangers. Rebounding was a tough task for the team. The Wildcats scored 12 points in the first quarter and not one of those points was scored on the first shot of the possession. 

“We had some struggles boxing out in the first half,” freshman guard Timothee Larmande said. “We gave up way too many second-chance points.”

The Rangers have also struggled lately on the offensive side of the floor. What once were easy shots are starting to come by scarcely. Combining this with low shooting percentages, the Rangers have not been able to put up big numbers on the scoreboard.

“I didn’t think it was possible for this team to struggle offensively, but the last few games have been rough trying to put the ball in the hoop,” Adam said. 

The coaches hope that this loss sparks a fire under the boys in order to get them ready for the second time around for conference play. With this loss, the boys fall to 8-3 on the season and 5-1 in conference play. Next week on Tuesday, the Rangers play the Wyoming Wolves, yet another difficult game for the team. 

“[We] have another tough test Tuesday against a very good Wyoming team,” Monroe said. “It should be a good test to get us ready for the second time around the conference.”