Rangers claim NTJCAC tourney crown

With 10:53 remaining in the Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference championship game, Keisi Tominaga found his team trailing by three points and looking for a spark.

Ranger's all-time three-point leader delivered three points … from the free-throw line.

Tominaga ignited a 25-14 run down the stretch that handed Ranger College a 73-62 come-from-behind win over Collin College - and a third straight conference title - by nailing three free throws.

With Collin holding a 51-48 lead, Tominaga drew a foul while attempting a long-range shot from the left side. While the three-pointer failed to go in, he didn't miss from the charity stripe. The sophomore guard pushed home all three free-throw attempts and gave RC the boost it needed to survive a tough challenge from the Cougars.

Once Ranger had tied the game, Tominaga turned the game over to Jorell Saterfield and Nika Metskhvarishvili. The two knocked down several key shots in the final 7 minutes and delivered Ranger its 13^th win in its last 14 outings. More importantly, the two helped carry Ranger to the Region 5 Championship game on April 10 in Snyder.

Backed by the offensive play of Saterfield, Metskhvarishvili, Tiras Morton and Trey Tennyson, Ranger stretched its lead to as large at 12 points late in the contest.

"We had to play hard the whole time," said Saterfield. "They (Collin) were tough."

The win pushed Ranger to 18-4 for the season and moved the Rangers to within a win of qualifying for the NJCAA national tournament for the third consecutive season. The winner of Saturday's Region 5 championship will earn an automatic invitation to the April 17-24 tournament in Kansas.