Rangers move on to Section 7AAAA finals

Boys basketball defeats Duluth East, Andover en route to championship game against Coon Rapids

On Feb. 6, the Andover Huskies stormed back to clinch a one-point victory over the Rangers, ending a score of 66-67. When the Rangers faced the Huskies once more in the Section 7AAAA semi-final game on Saturday, March 9, they put together another 66 points, but this time ended the game 10 points ahead of the Huskies. That sweet revenge now sends the Rangers on to the section championship game against Coon Rapids, held at Princeton High School on Thursday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. The Rangers won a tight battle over the Cardinals back on Friday, Dec. 22 at home, with a score of 76-74. A win over the No. 2-seeded Cardinals would send the Rangers to the state tournament March 20-23.

Duluth East

It was a tight game until the final frame, but the Forest Lake boys basketball team still pulled out a 59-46 quarterfinal win at home against Duluth East on Wednesday, March 6. The Rangers kept up their defensive pressure all game long, holding the No. 8-seeded Greyhounds to just 25 first-half points, while allowing its highest scorer to accumulate only 11 points on the night.

On the other hand, Forest Lake showcased consistency on the offensive end as well and had multiple scorers with 10-plus points – as seniors Owen Waldoch and post-player Braedan Turk each totaled a game-high of 17 points, while floor-general Brennan Sauvageau added 10 points.

The Greyhounds jumped out to an early 8-5 lead in the first half, until the Rangers ensued a 10-0 scoring run to take the lead at 15-8 – and they wouldn’t look back. Back-to-back transition buckets helped the Rangers keep pace with their manageable lead as the first half came to a close, with Forest Lake maintaining a 29-25 lead.

Minutes before the first-half ended, Turk, who seemingly was everywhere, collided into another player, causing him to miss the remainder of the period and earning a black eye for his troubles. Head coach Kyle McDonald noted whether his absence had an effect on the offense as Duluth East evidently inched closer prior to the break.

“I don’t think so, he just kind of bumped heads and was at the wrong place at the wrong time,” McDonald said. “It was between two of our own guys – but he said he was good to go at halftime. I told him I’m going to play him as I normally play him.

“He does have a pretty good shiner,” McDonald joked, “but I think he will be just fine.”

To open up the second-half of play, Duluth East put together a wide range of adjustments, doubling Waldoch down low every time he possessed the ball. However, the Rangers’ firepower was no match for the Greyhounds, as Forest Lake continued to push its lead even higher as the second half played on. A 39-31 advantage, Waldoch extended it to an 11-point lead after sinking a 3-pointer near the top of the key.

Forest Lake kept on scoring and forced multiple stops on the defensive end of the floor, as the Rangers ran away with the 13-point victory.

When asked about the game plan and any major adjustments throughout: “I think it was just a matter of nailing down our game plan. We held them to just 46 points – we had a defensive emphasis with ball pressure and limiting those scorers. Seeing that all of them were under 11 points, it’s a good thing, and we did really well. It was just about hammering those points and rebounding on a high-level while defending the three ball,” McDonald said, further noting the Greyhounds’ liking for jacking up 3-point shots.

The Rangers defeated the Greyhounds 67-63 in the regular season back on Jan. 6. While facing a familiar opponent with a more than familiar face, McDonald detailed how his squad planned to pick apart its defensive strategies.

“I think my brother and I know each other’s team almost too well,” McDonald said, with his sibling, Rhett McDonald, leading the charge for Duluth East. “It’s hard to prepare what you’re going to do offensively because he knows almost everything we’re doing every offensive possession. But we wanted to attack the paint. There’s times we did really well with that and then there’s times where we didn’t take care of the ball and we’d get a turnover. So it was either feeding it to Owen or giving it to Braedan – or even off the dribble to use our size and our athleticism to our advantage.”