Rangers move into NTJCAC championship game

Keisei Tominaga pumped in 25 points and Jorel Saterfield and Nika Metskhvarishvili added double-digit performances on Saturday and powered the Ranger College men's basketball team to an 85-73 conference playoff victory over the McLennan Highlanders in front of a small crowd in the Ron Butler Gymnasium.

With the win, Ranger College improved to 17-4 for the season and, more importantly, earned a berth in the NTJCAC championship game against Collin College on Tuesday, April 6. The game will be played at 7 p.m. in Ranger.

Tominaga, Saterfield and Metskhvarishvili carried Ranger to a hot start. The three combined to score 36 of the Rangers' first 48 points and helped RC roll to a 15-point halftime advantage, at 48-33. Tominaga and Saterfield both scored 14 points in the first 20 minutes of play. As a team, the Rangers lit up the scoreboard from outside in the opening half. Spearheaded by four first-quarter three-pointers by Tominaga, RC knocked down 11 treys in the opening half.

Tominaga helped RC hold off a Collin second-half run by throwing in 11 points.

Metskhvarishvili finished the game with 14 points. Saterfield contributed 19.

The win was Ranger's third of the season over McLennan.

The Rangers split their two regular-season games with Collin, dropping a 62-59 decision at home on Feb. 27 and grabbing a 76-72 victory over the Cougars in Plano in the final game of the regular season.

Collin earned its way into the championship game with a 90-88 win over Grayson College on Saturday in Denison.