Rangers rally past No. 9 McLennan, 74-68

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Ranger College - Stephenville

Special to The Flash from Tommy Wells

Ranger College Public Information Officer/Sports Information Director

RANGER – Ranger College head coach Billy Clyde Gillispie didn’t panic when ninth-ranked McLennan Community College built a 16-point advantage early in the first half. He knows basketball is a game of runs. McLennan had its early on, building a 16-point lead over the course of the first 13 minutes of Wednesday’s crucial North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference showdown in front of a near-capacity crowd in the Ron Butler Gym.

Then, when things looked the bleakest, Joshua Simmons and Co. had theirs. And it lasted a whole lot longer.

No. 24-ranked Ranger College outscored McLennan Community College by an impressive 63-41 margin over the final 26 minutes of the game and rolled to a thrilling 74-68 victory.

Following the showdown, Gillispie summed up the contest with one brief statement.

“That was two good teams,” he said.

With the victory, the Rangers notched their 20th straight victory and moved a huge step closer to their goal of claiming the NTJCAC title. Now 20-4 overall, Ranger College is 7-0 in conference play and holds a 2-game lead over McLennan and Temple College with six games remaining on its regular season schedule. RC returns to action on Saturday with a matchup against Southwestern Christian in Terrell.

McLennan, 21-4 overall, answered the buzzer with a flurry early on. The Highlanders staked themselves to a huge lead by racing to a 27-11 advantage with 6:28 remaining in the first half.

Fans cheer in stands

McLennan’s happy mood didn’t last long.

Following a timeout by Gillispie, the RC offense managed to get itself in gear. Sparked by clutch three-point shots from Chase Carlton and Simmons, the Rangers closed out the first half with a 22-10 spree that cut the Highlander lead to four, at 37-33, at the break.

Simmons led RC’s first-half rally by throwing in 10 of his team-high 20 points in the opening 20 minutes of the showdown. Carlton, who registered 13 in the contest, knocked down three three-point bombs in the first half.

The Rangers’ late success against the Highlanders only bolstered their attack in the second half. Ranger College, which had defeated McLennan earlier this season on a last-second shot in Waco, made sure there would be no need for late heroics by outscoring the Highlanders by a 41-31 clip in the second half.

Kris Clyburn and Simmons provided the bulk of the RC offense in the second half. Both scored 10 points in the closing 20 minutes.

Clyburn – one of five RC players to score into double figures – finished with 16.

Trey Conrod and Jordan Geist also reached double figures for the Rangers, netting 13 and 12, respectively.

Ranger’s showdown with Southwestern Christian will tip off at 2 p.m. on Saturday with the women’s matchup. The men’s team will begin at approximately 4 p.m.

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