 "Photo: Leda Garcia")
 "Photo: Leda Garcia")
The Rangers men’s basketball team defeated the Southwest Texas Junior College Cowboys Wednesday in the regular season home opener 80-77 in a close game.
The Rangers are 2-0 in conference play.
Before the game, Coach Aaron Tavitas described Southwest Texas Junior College as an important opponent, calling them “a top team in the league.”
“We’re looking forward to playing them,” Tavitas said Tuesday.
The Rangers, whom Tavitas describes as being a fast-paced and open offense team, started the game with a quick burst of buckets against the Cowboys that included a couple of dunks, one of which warranted a hanging violation against The Rangers.
The Rangers provided a strong finish to the first half with a half-court 3-pointer at the buzzer that ignited the crowd.
At halftime, dental hygienist freshman Yvette Perez of the Lady Rangers said, “They’re playing hard. It’s real intense.”
The Cowboys made a comeback midway through the second half with a 12-0 run that allowed them to tie the game briefly.
The Rangers went down by one point before two free throws put them up by one with 1:53 left in the game. With 12 seconds remaining, the Cowboys called a time out. The Rangers forced the turnover after the whistle and got a foul call with less than one second remaining. Sinking both free throws, the Rangers then blocked a desperation shot in the backcourt to finish the game.
Guard business communications sophomore Dion Smith described it as “Just another game. We practice hard. We know who the ball’s supposed to go to at the end of the game. The guards are supposed to penetrate, and we’re supposed to score. We put ourselves in that situation with bad shots. So when it comes down to the end of a game, we got to make a play.”
Smith said the Cowboys did not have a chance of pulling out a victory in the last second. “We knock down our free throws like we’re supposed to, we finish the game,” he said.
Dermon Smith of the Rangers led all scorers with 20 points.
The Rangers play the Northwest Vista College Wildcats at 8 p.m. Nov. 4 at Palo Alto College.
