After a defeat at home to Columbine High School in last season’s high school varsity boy’s basketball opener for Heritage High School, they looked to start this year on a better note in the reverse fixture traveling to Columbine on November 28th. The Heritage Eagles were aggressive early, applying a ferocious full-court defense that caused problems for the Columbine Rebel ball handlers and a sophomore point guard who poured in 10 of his 21 points in the first quarter. Leading 25-15 after the first quarter, the Eagles never looked back and pulled away for an 87-64 victory.
Trystan Rangel (0), a sophomore point guard for Heritage High School, was in complete control of the game, scoring 21 points and recording two steals on the defensive end. Rangel swung the momentum in the middle of the first quarter when he hit a highlight step-back three-pointer that brought the entire Eagles bench to their feet, three of his 10 first-quarter points. The highlights weren’t over for Rangel. Running the fast break early in the second quarter, Rangel served a no-look pass to fellow guard Atticus Schroeder (2), who finished it with a lay-up for two of his 16 points. Another three-pointer from Rangel with 30 seconds left in the second quarter gave Heritage a 41-31 advantage entering the halftime break.
The Columbine Rebels came out of halftime strong, going on a nine-to-two scoring run and cutting the lead to three– forcing a Heritage timeout by Coach Ron McClurg. Following the timeout, the Eagles returned to their bread-and-butter, a full-court pressure defense. They were causing deflections and getting it to their stellar sophomore, Trystan Rangel, who continued his excellent play in the second half, helping Heritage grow their lead back to 18 by the end of the third quarter (63-45).
Continuing to apply pressure halfway through the fourth quarter, Trystan Rangel pulled up while going for a loose ball and got removed from the game with calf cramping– and taken to the locker room for further evaluation. Shortly afterward, Rangel returned to the bench area, smiling and jumping around. The game was in hand, and Coach McClurg kept his point guard out for the remainder of the contest. The Eagles pressed on without Rangel to close the game out 87-64, starting their season on the right foot with a big road win.
The Heritage Eagles will travel to Richland Hills, TX, from November 30th until December 2nd, where they will play three games in a tournament hosted by Richland High School. Once they return from Texas, they will host their home opener at Heritage High School on December 6th against a tough Eaglecrest High School Raptors basketball team.
