Rangers' scrimmage with TVCC, Paris canceled

The Ranger College men's basketball team saw its 2021 preseason come to a premature end on Wednesday morning when school officials announced the team's two scheduled scrimmages were being scrapped due to COVID-19 concerns.

According to RC medical trainers, a member of the Rangers' men program tested positive via rapid test prior to the start of the scrimmage. As a precaution, Ranger College Athletic Director Stan Feaster and Rangers' head men's basketball coach Larry Brown decided to cancel the three-way scrimmage with Trinity Valley and Paris Junior College. Brown said the team would send the unidentified player to be retested to ensure a false positive result had not been received.

"Canceling the scrimmage isn't something we wanted to do, but with the COVID-19 issues we are facing as a nation, we felt we should not play, mainly as a way to protect our student-athletes and those from the other colleges," said Feaster.

The team also canceled its Sept. 16 scrimmage against Western Texas College. According to the Centers for Disease Control protocols, the members of the team will be required to quarantine for seven days prior to returning to activity.

Ranger is scheduled to begin its 2021 season on Jan. 21 against Clarendon College.