Rangers beat Republic

DEER PARK – The Selkirk boys’ basketball team beat Republic 48-41 Saturday, Feb. 7 in a key loser out game to continue in the Northeast 1B tournament. That puts them in a third-place game against Inchelium at Deer Park Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m.

“Huge win against Republic to keep our season alive,” Ranger coach Brodie Larson said. “We shot it well from deep, which always helps.”

The Rangers started the game with a 20-9 first quarter run and extended that to 37-21 at the half. Republic cut that by 10 in the third quarter, but the Rangers held on for the win.

“I thought we defended well, did an awesome job on the boards, and the boys gave it everything they had,” Larson said. “I’m really proud of these guys — they’re working their butts off and playing some really good basketball.”

Paxon Larson had a good game, hitting four 3-pointers and scoring 14 points. He also had four steals. Keaton Arrastio also scored 14 points, with 19 rebounds and four blocks. Lane Reed scored 10 points, had two steals and a pair of assists. Caden Pichette had seven rebounds, five assists and scored nine points.

Earlier in the week, the Rangers went to Northport Wednesday, Feb. 4, and took on the league’s top-rated Mustangs.

The Rangers started strong, outscoring Northport 20-15 in the first quarter. Northport came back in the second quarter, taking a one-point lead into the half after a 17-11 quarter. The teams had their highest scoring quarter after the half, with Northport entering the fourth quarter with a 53-51 lead.

Northport hit a pair of long shots towards the end of the game. “Northport knocked down two big threes late, and that was the difference,” Larson said.

“We got some really good looks down the stretch; the shots just didn’t fall. I was really proud of how the boys competed and executed — we just needed the ball to bounce our way a couple of times.”