The boys varsity basketball team experienced a heartbreaking loss at the hands of Forest Hills Northern on Friday by a score of 54-50. Seniors Jimmy Scholler and Mitchell Wilkinson’s combined 33 points were not enough as the boys dropped their first conference game of the year as the Huskies mounted a late-game comeback to win the game.

The team doesn’t look at this game as a setback, though, moving forward.

“There are some differences game-to-game with every opponent we play, but in terms of our overall plan, that will stay the same,” head coach Kyle Carhart said.

Mitchell led the game in scoring with 17 points; he also recorded an assist and a block in this game. Jimmy was not far behind in the points category by scoring 16 points of his own, along with four assists and a block. Junior George Hatchett tied Jimmy with the most assists by also having four; senior Jay Weiner’s three steals were the most from any Ranger in this game.

“We showed up ready to give it our best effort,” junior Chris Battiste said. “When the buzzer sounded, despite the score, we made sure we left everything we had on the court.”

As a team, the Rangers had 25 rebounds, 14 assists, four blocks, and seven steals. The Huskies’ stats were nearly identical to those of the boys with their 26 rebounds, 14 assists, three blocks, and seven steals.

The two teams battled back and forth throughout the first quarter, with no team going ahead of the other by more than three points. A two-pointer from junior Dallas Hopson with just over one minute left in the quarter was able to put the Rangers ahead of Northern 17-15 when the buzzer sounded. 

The team extended its lead as a three-pointer from Jimmy was the first strike of the second quarter, and Jimmy quickly followed up with a two-point shot to put the boys up 22-15. The second quarter would turn out to be much more of a defensive affair as only 20 combined points would be scored, and no shots were made in the last 2:11 of the half. The Rangers headed into the locker room at halftime with a 28-24 lead.

“We took extra steps to stop their two best players, and we feel as if we guarded very hard throughout the duration of the game,” Dallas said.

The team would strike quickly again as Jimmy would provide the first points of the second half by knocking down another two-pointer; however, neither team scored in the next 2:18 until the Huskies knocked down a shot to bring the game back within four points. The boys would end the third quarter on a 12-6 run as the score came to 42-34.

Northern began to inch back into the game in the fourth quarter, with four points coming off of free throws. This led to a three-point shot with about three minutes left that tied the game for the first time since the middle of the first quarter. The boys would regain their lead until 20 seconds were left when another three-pointer gave the Huskies a one-point lead, 51-50. The Huskies knocked down three more free throws in the final seconds to push the game to 54-50 in their favor, ultimately the final score of the game.

“I was extremely proud of the effort our guys gave,” Carhart said. “Their commitment to our game plan was astounding. They did everything we as coaches asked from them.”

This first loss in the OK White moves the team’s conference record to 10-1 and 13-4 overall. Looking to bounce back, the boys’ next matchup will be against Northview at home on Friday, February 28th at 7:00 pm.