Rangers advance to Final Four

Niki Metskhvarishvili buried four free throws in the final 47 seconds of overtime and helped spur Ranger College to a wild 87-83 victory over rival South Plains on Thursday in front of a large crowd in the Hutchinson Sports Arena. Metskhvarishvili's free throw – part of a 17-point performance by the sophomore forward – keyed a 13-8 run by Ranger in the extra frame that handed Ranger a quarterfinal win over the former No. 1-ranked squad in the country.

"A lot of people didn't believe in us when we came here," said Metskhvarishvili following the win. "We believe in our team. We weren't surprised at all by this."

With the win, Ranger College improved to 22-4 for the season and, most importantly, earned a return trip to the NJCAA Men's Division I National Basketball Tournament's Final Four. Ranger College last appeared in the Final Four in 2019 en route to a national runner-up finish.

Ranger had entered the overtime period with the score knotted at 74-74, thanks to a late surge by the Texans.

South Plains took advantage of 10 first-half turnovers by Ranger to jump on top. The Texans outscored RC by a 42-39 clip in the first 20 minutes of play.

Keisei Tominaga, Jorell Saterfield and Tiras Morton brought the Rangers back in the second half. Tominaga, who finished the game with five three-pointers, knocked down several key shots midway through the second and helped RC build an 8-point lead at one point.

Tominaga finished the game with a game-high 25 points – much of which came in the Rangers' second-half rally.

Saterfield pitched in 19 points in the win, while Trey Tennyson and Morton chipped in seven and six points, respectively.

The win sends Ranger into the semifinal round on Friday to face off against Cowley County Community College. The game will begin at 5 p.m.

The winner of the RC-Cowley matchup will advance to face either Coffeyville or Indian River in the NJCAA championship game on Saturday, beginning at 6 p.m.