Joe Drennan
Sports EditorThe Rangers boys basketball team opened their season with a close 56-54 victory over St. Paul Como, unfortunately they could not continue their winning ways as they fell to St. Paul Harding 70-43, and Duluth Denfeld 59-49.
ìIt was two teams that have a lot of new players this year and it was nice to go down there and come away with a victory,î Rangers head coach Chuck Gunderson said of the victory over Como.
In the game against Como, Tom Frericks lead the team with 19 points, followed by Steve Korthals and his 12 points. Noah Lawson had nine defensive rebounds on the defensive end of the court.
The Rangers were not as successful as they traveled to play an experienced St. Paul Harding. Noah Lawsonís 12 points and Frericks 10 points were far from enough to topple Harding as they downed the Rangers 70-43.
ìHarding was a physical basketball team and it took us out of our comfortable zone,î Gunderson said. ìIt forced us to do things we are unaccustomed to.î
In the Rangers home opener, Frericks kept his scoring totals in double digits, scoring 12, but Nate Robertson led the team with 15 points and seven rebounds. Lawson also had 11 points in the Rangers losing effort against Duluth Denfeld on Saturday.
ìWe were playing where we were comfortable against Denfeld,î Gunderson said. ìBut with an inexperienced team like ours you get inconsistencies in your play. We could have won the game, but we had some costly turnovers, nice shots that just didnít drop, and some other small fundamental mishaps that cost us.î
Gunderson says that despite the two losses, he feels his team shot the ball well in the teamís first three games, but since the team is so inexperienced, they have to feel things out and find out who can score in different situations and from where.
In the Denfeld game, we were playing where we were comfortable, but with an inexperienced team, you get inconsistencies. While Frericks has been consistent in scoring in the first three game, other players like Lawson and Robertson have shown some signs they might be able to help out Frericks in the scoring department.
ìItís been different people each game scoring for us, and I think that will hold true until the guys find out what their roles are and they find the places they can score from and score from consistently,î Gunderson said.
The Rangers next game is tonight against Centennial at home. Tip off time is 7:30 p.m.
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