Men’s basketball team wins first game of the season.
By Jose Arredondo
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
The Rangers captured their first win of the season on the road Oct 22.
Kinesiology freshman Andrew Butler led the Rangers with 20 points and five rebounds.
Criminal justice sophomore Cody Swaearingen led the Northeast Lakeview Nighthawks with 15 points and nine rebounds.
The Rangers forced 26 Nighthawks turnovers and converted 50 percent of them into points.
The Rangers offense was firing on all cylinders. They scored 35 points in the paint as well as 30 points from the 3-point line.
Rebounding was the only thing that went well for the Nighthawks – 23 rebounds to the Rangers’ 13. However, the Rangers capitalized on offensive rebounds and prevented the Nighthawks from matching it.
The Rangers possessed a 56-35 lead at halftime, and in the second half they maintained that double-digit lead.
The Rangers’ full-court press made it a fast-paced game, and the Nighthawks had no answer for it.
“We just got outplayed and out-hustled,” Coach Steve Gordon said. “They looked like little boys in a man’s game.”
In the final eight minutes of regulation, the roaring Lakeview crowd played a role in the Nighthawks’ 10-2 run to cut the Rangers’ 24 lead to 14 points.
Nonetheless, Butler ended the Nighthawks’ rally and muscled his way over the opposition to slam through the net.
The Nighthawks fouled Butler on his way to the rim, giving him a 3-point opportunity. Butler missed the free throw, but the Rangers continued to dominate the game.
Although the Rangers were victorious, Coach Louis Martinez advised his players to not allow the victory to go to their heads.
“I told my players to enjoy this win tonight, but come tomorrow, it is back to work,” Martinez said. “We still have a lot to work on as a unit.”
The Rangers seek to improve to a 2-1 record as they take on the University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals at 8 p.m. Oct. 29 at the Alice P. McDermott Convocation Center.