The Rangers Varsity Boys Basketball team takes a tough loss as Ridge Point wins by 24 points at the home game last Friday, Jan. 19. The team fought hard but couldn’t overcome Ridge Point’s sizable backcourt in a hard-fought battle as the game ended 63-39.

Despite coming off a back-to-back away game against Travis, they still played a strong game but couldn’t come out with a win.

“We had a back to back and we were short-handed,” Paddy Chen, guard, said. “We fought and the effort was there but it was a tough loss. The effort was there and we played good.”

David Oloyede, forward, put up some good numbers with 10 points and 6 assists but he knew that wasn’t enough. The team struggled in the height department as they were lacking in length inside the paint. Ridge Point dominated the paint area. The halftime score was 13-33.

“I think we competed hard, we had to play with what we had, we didn’t have a lot of height, that’s how they got the lead over us,” Oloyede said.

However, when it came to leading the fast break, Guard Sam Hayes was the governor general. In terms of leading the whole team, forward, Timi Ibidapo took that role as they were determined to cut the deficit before the end of the first half. However, the team struggled to decrease the lead.

“We played hard and just ran our stuff. Our weaknesses are just taking bad shots and not running the plays,” Oloyede said.

As they entered the second half, the game became more and more intense as the team was relentless to make a comeback. The deficit was decreased to 15 as they tried to start a run, but Ridge Point wouldn’t let that happen as their lead increased to 24. By the end of the game, the score was 63-39.

Despite the loss, the team is still positive looking on to the next away game at Austin High School on Tuesday, Jan. 23.

“Next game, I feel good,” Chen said. “We just need some rest and get the team back together. Work hard and play hard. We need the effort we had yesterday (Travis) and today (Ridge Point).”