Rangers fall by one in a shootout

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The pain followed the fall.

With 11 seconds to go and the Rangers with possession and trailing by one point against the Lions, 64-63, Quilcene used its last timeout to set up a play to get the ball inside to one of their bigs.

But a misstep and collision in the key saw the ball — and the game — slip away as time expired in a back-and-forth nail-biter late last week in boys varsity basketball.

Northwest Yeshiva High School escaped from Quilcene with a one-point win in a barnburner that saw multiple lead changes.

The first quarter came to a close tied at 11-all, and the halftime score was a similar stalemate at 24-24.

The second half started with three tie scores before the Rangers started to pull away, moving to 39-30 with 4:35 left in the third quarter.

It was the Rangers’ biggest lead, and it wouldn’t last. The Lions pulled to within one point, 42-41, after a clutch shot by Northwest forward Daniel Negrin.

The Lions reclaimed the lead, 43-42 for the first time since 5:54 in the second quarter with a little less than a minute to go in the third.

Northwest Yeshiva’s offense went unanswered until early in the fourth quarter, when the Lions’ 11-0 run was broken by a Ranger jump shot that put the score at 50-44.

The Lions’ offense didn’t go missing for long, and Northwest Yeshiva was in front again by nine points with just under four minutes remaining.

The Rangers held tight, however, and again trimmed the Lions’ advantage to 64-61 with 1:30 remaining.

A basket by Taylor Boling cut the score to one point, 64-63, with 28.5 seconds left to play.

A Lions turnover at midcourt put the ball back in the Rangers’ hands, and a quick timeout followed.

Then, heartbreak on the hardcourt.

“We had a shot at the end,” said Quilcene Coach Eddie Ware.

Indeed, the Rangers did; in the paint, with the game on the line.

“You only needed one,” Ware said. “Like my big man said, he said, ‘Coach, I’m sorry, I just slipped.’ I told him, ‘Don’t be sorry for nothing.’”

Ware noted the big hole the Rangers found themselves in, down by nine points in the fourth.

“They could have dropped their heads at any given moment. But they didn’t. They kept their heads high and they kept fighting,” Ware said. “And that’s all I ask for.”

The Rangers have been on a five-game skid since their last win in December against Rainier Christian School.

But Ware said he sensed a turnaround in his team, especially since the last trio of losses.

“We talked about effort. And I told the guys yesterday in practice, that I got my guys back from the first week,” he said.

“I saw smiles yesterday in practice. And that let me know that we were going to come in here and they were going to fight.”

The string of losses following the holiday break was something the Rangers had to endure, then outlast.

Ware said his Rangers have rebounded in spirit.

“Now I see my team has come back. I don’t know what happened in that three-game stretch, but I say, ‘Now you guys are back.’ And I appreciate it,” he said.

Andrew Perez-Lopez led the Rangers with 19 points and six rebounds.

James Miller added 18 points and was 3-for-4 from the free throw line.

Isaiah Reimann added 12 points and eight assists.

Boling contributed 12 points and eight rebounds.

The tough home loss put the Rangers’ record at 4-8 overall (2-6 conference).

Quilcene was scheduled to play Tuesday at home against Evergreen Lutheran High School, with another game in Quilcene Thursday against Northwest Christian School (Lacey).