Ranger clinches berth in Region V tourney

The Ranger College men's basketball picked up a balanced scoring effort on Saturday and rolled to a 74-59 victory over the Hill College Rebels in a game played in the Bob Bullock Sports Center in Hillsboro. In all, Ranger had five players score into double figures in the contest.

With the win, fifth-ranked Ranger College improved to 24-2 for the season. More importantly, the Rangers moved to 10-1 in conference and locked up a berth in the upcoming Region V tournament. Only the top four teams from the Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference and the Western Junior College Athletic Conference will advance to the tournament which will be played March 7-9 in Abilene Christian University's Moody Coliseum.

Ranger, who has now won 11 consecutive games, struggled briefly at the start against Hill. The Rebels managed to push home a couple of buckets and eked out a quick lead.

The Rebels' happy mood didn't last long, however. Jonathan Jackson and Brayan Au got the RC offense going with just under four minutes into the game. That, as it turned out, was Hill's last stand. Jackson and Au both punched out clutch shots in the first half and helped RC race to a 40-31 halftime cushion.

Jackson finished the game with 15 points, while Au added six.

Caleb Asberry and Coryon Mason provided Ranger with the spark they needed in the second half. Both came off the bench and scored almost at will en route to lead the Rangers to a 34-point outburst in the second half.

Asberry, a sophomore from Pflugerville, chalked up 14 points and a pair of assists against Hill. Mason, a sophomore from Oklahoma City, joined Keyshaad Dixon with 11 points.

Dixon, a sophomore from Boston, led the team with eight assists.

Ranger College will close out its home schedule tonight at 7:30 p.m. when it faces off with Weatherford College in the Ron Butler Gymnasium.