Rangers rally past McLennan

The Ranger College men's basketball team gave the McLennan Highlanders some hope in the first half of their NTJCAC matchup on Wednesday in the Ron Butler Gymnasium.

They took it away in the second.

Ranger College maintained its stranglehold on the top of the NTJCAC standings with a dominating effort in the final minutes of their showdown with the Highlanders. The Rangers reeled off a 42-34 run in the second half and rolled to a 75-68 come-from-behind win.

With the win, Ranger College moved to 17-1 on the season and, more importantly, moved to 2-0 in conference action. McLennan fell to 9-8 and 0-1.

The Highlanders, after surviving an RC run early that helped the Rangers take a 14-point advantage, hit stride in the final 10 minutes of the first half. The Highlanders, who sent much of the first half blanketing RC sharpshooter Keisei Tominaga with a smothering defense, scored 12 unanswered points at one point and raced to a narrow 34-33 lead at the half.

Au, Ranger's leading three-point shooter since 2015, brought RC back in the second.

Au finished the game with 18 points and four steals. Tominaga, who was held to just six points in the first half, pitched in 10 of his 16 points in the second half.

Montre Gipson, C.J. Roberts and Shakur Daniel all turned in outstanding efforts in the win. Gipson pumped in 14 points and dished out five assists. Roberts had eight points and five assists, while Daniel led all RC rebounders with 10 boards.

Ranger will return to action on Jan. 15 when they close out their recent three-game homestand with a matchup against Southwestern Christian. The game will start at 7 p.m.