The Roland Running Rangers basketball team opened up the season 2-0 with a pair of wins as they won their home opener 66-60 in overtime over Inola on Nov. 28 at the Ranger Dome, then began NOAA Conference play with a 55-52 nailbiting road victory Friday night over Stilwell.
Scott Nelke got his first win as new Lady Rangers’ coach as Roland prevailed 34-28 over the Lady Longhorns, but the Lady Rangers lost their NOAA Conference opener 68-44 Friday night on the road to Stilwell.
In the boys’ homeopening victory over Inola, the Running Rangers (2-0) rallied from a 48-46 deficit after three quarters as they outscored the Longhorns 13-11 in the final period to knot the game at 59-all to force overtime. In the extra session, Roland outscored Inola 7-1 to cap off the come-from-behind win.
Davohn Hall scored a game-high 29 points to lead the Running Rangers, followed by Carson Wiggins with 15 points, Paul Johnson with nine points, Buck Triplett with seven points, Raesean Perryman with four points, Mason Kemp with three points and Cason Perryman with a free throw.
In the boys’ Friday night road conference win, the Running Rangers led 22-12 after a quarter, but saw the Indians trim Roland’s advantage to 33-27 at the break. Roland outscored Stilwell 11-9 in the third quarter for a 44-33 lead, but the Indians made a game of it as they outscored Roland 16-11 in the fourth quarter but the rally came up short.
For the game, Hall scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Running Rangers, followed by Wiggins with 11 points, Triplett with seven points, Cason Perryman and Johnson with four points each, Ashton Peters with three points and Kemp with two points.
In the girls’ home opener against Inola, the Lady Rangers (1-1) pretty much led throughout, having a 6-2 lead after the first quarter and a 1410 advantage at halftime. After the Lady ’Horns cut their deficit to 23-21 after three quarters, the Lady Rangers held them at bay with a 10-7 final period.
Lilly Medicine Bird shared game high honor with Inola’s Miller Weast with 12 points. Kynlei Earnhart scored nine points, followed by Haven Freeman with eight points and Ryanne Nelke with five points.
In Friday night’s NOAA Conferenceopening loss, the Lady Indians jumped out to a 20-9 lead after a period to take control of the contest. Stilwell’s 24-7 second quarter put the host team ahead 44-16 at halftime, which became a 57-31 advantage going into the final period.
In defeat, Halle Freeman scored 13 points and Medicine Bird added 11 points to the Lady Rangers, followed by Haven Freeman with eight points, Nelke with five points, Earnhart and Addison Cole with three points each and Julianna Trujillo with a free throw.
