Boys lose two, beat Kadoka Area

The Hill City High School boys basketball team is practicing hard after a busy week with three games in five days. There were some low points, but also some high points as they continue to progress in the season with a current record of 5-7.

First, they played the Sturgis Brown Scoopers Jan. 25. According to coach Laramie Harvey, “It was a rough game. We didn't come out ready to go, and we're never able to get the energy level up to where it needs to be.” As a result, the Rangers lost 59-42.

The next game Jan. 27 against the Wall Eagles went a little better. The Rangers were up by 10 going into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the ball did not bounce their way, and the Wall Eagles claimed the win 70-62. 

This left some of the players feeling discouraged.

“Those first two losses, we could have won both those games, but we just weren’t there I guess,” said Everett Sullivan. “We didn’t show up like we wanted to, but I’m pretty happy with what we did last week.”

On Jan. 29, the Ranger boys played the Kadoka Area Kougars. The scores went back and forth all game, remaining closely balanced. However, at the very end, the Ranger boys turned the game and won 47-44.

“To the boys’ credit, I think we were down a few points in the last three or four minutes. And we were able to make a few plays and come out with that one on top,” said Harvey. “It was nice to end the week with a win after struggling in a couple of games previously.” 

Next up the Ranger boys will play the Newell Irrigators Feb. 3 with a 7:30 p.m. tip. After that, they will face the Lakota Tech Tatanka Feb. 4 with a 7 p.m. tip. 

These games will “be a good standing point to kind of see where we’re at at the end of the week and at this point in the season,” said Harvey. 

To face this challenge, Harvey later said “We need to learn to come in with our energy ready to go right away and keep it up the whole game. That’s one thing I’d really like to see us get better at.”

The players agree and Erick Jorgensen added, “I feel like we need to work hard and not mess around in practice and hopefully we can pull out a win.”