Rangers roll over Coastal Bend in home opener

The Ranger College men's basketball team picked up double-digit performances from five players on Tuesday and cruised to a 98-69 victory over Coastal Bend College in their 2019-20 home opener in the Ron Butler Gymnasium.

With the win, Ranger ran its season record to 3-0. The Rangers had opened the season a few days earlier with wins over Missouri-West Plains and Snow College in games played in Oklahoma City.

Ranger, ranked No. 2 in the NJCAA national rankings, got its offense going midway through the first half. Brayan Au, Jorell Saterfield and Montre Gipson all pumped in key shots down the stretch and helped the Rangers head into the half with a 48-34 cushion.

Sophomores Shasirae Harvey and Deladris Green also starred for RC in the first half. Harvey pushed in seven of his 10 points in the opening 20 minutes of the contest. Green, a sophomore from Liberal, Kansas, added six.

The Rangers hit stride offensively in the second half. Keyed by 18 points from Keisel Tominaga, Ranger College reeled off a staggering 50-35 run in the final frame.

Tominaga, a freshman from Japan, sank eight shots from the floor in the second half, including a pair of long-range three-pointers that helped ignite the RC offense. Kenton Eskridge and Au also knocked down long-range shots in the RC run.

Tominaga finished the contest at Rangers' top scorer by netting 21 points. Au and Saterfield added 16 and 14, respectively, while Gipson chipped in 11.

Much of Coastal Bend's success in the matchup came from the free-throw line. The Cougars hit on 30 of 40 trips to the charity stripe.