Freshmen Calvin Balanda, Sam Ardringer, Jack Benner and Lannan Partlo gave Grandville all they had, but the Bulldogs were able to get away with the win. The boys freshman basketball team lost on Tuesday to the Grandville Bulldogs 58-45. This was an all-around rough game for the boys; they started off slow and could not find their rhythm throughout the game.

The Bulldogs came out strong gaining a 6-0 lead on the Rangers just two minutes into the game. Levi McKenzie was able to put the first points on the board with a step-back jumper for the Rangers. 

“We came out flat. I think that we were a little hungover from the tough loss on Thursday,” head coach Adam Monroe said, referring to the 47-43 loss to Northview.

Grandville did an incredible job moving the ball throughout the game, including multiple possessions where the ball never touched the ground. This ball movement helped lead the Bulldogs to an early 22-12 lead over the Rangers. 

“Grandville did a great job executing it’s offense against us, however, we should have been able to adapt and shut it down, but we couldn’t,” said Levi.

Freshman Timothee Larmande hit a couple of big threes for the Rangers to try to pull them closer to the Bulldogs including one to bring them within 6 in the second quarter.

“Timothee continued to shoot it well for us today, but unfortunately, it was not enough to get us the win,” said freshman guard Owen Meyer.

The Rangers went into the locker at halftime trailing the Bulldogs 37-25. 

During halftime, coaches Adam Monroe and Matt Ellis tried to fire up their squad to get them back into the game. At the beginning of the third quarter, the Rangers did not come out like the coaches were hoping. This allowed for the Bulldogs to stretch their lead to 22 at the end of the third quarter leading 52-30.

The boys showed the fight in them during the fourth quarter where a couple of baskets by Timothee and Calvin cut Grandville’s lead to 12.

“I think the most important part of the game is when we went on a little run in the fourth quarter. It showed the heart the team has, and that we could have won if we played that way the whole game,” Timothee said.

Calvin then finished an “and one” under the basket for the Rangers, but missed the free throw. 

Jack, Sam, and Lannan came in for FHC and proceeded to give their all for the Rangers.

“We finally got some energy from guys who have been itching for their opportunity. Credit to guys like Calvin, Lannan Partlo, Jack Benner and Sam Ardringer for taking advantage of the available minutes tonight,” Monroe said.

This was the second to last game for the freshman. The loss to Grandville brings their record to 14-5 on the season. With one game remaining, the Rangers hope to close out their freshman year on a good note. On Thursday, the boys will conclude their season at home against Unity Christian. Even though the final was not how the coaches expected, they are still beyond proud of the heart that their guys showed.

“[I’m] still proud of how far we have come. We have an opportunity to go 15-5 if we take care of business on Thursday,” Monroe said.