RHS Panthers win 3 of 4

RANGELY I The Rangely Panthers boys’ basketball team won three of their last four regular season games, including a 52-49 win over Rio Blanco County rival Meeker in the regular season finale, in front of a large and loud county crowd.
The Panthers beat Soroco, 50-37, in a non-league game, then lost to Paonia, 44-52, on Friday before defeating Hotchkiss, 53-44, on Saturday and ending with a win against Meeker on Tuesday.
The Panthers finished the season with two league loses and will be the No. 3 seed in the district tournament. Rangely will now wait until all league games have been played to find out what team they will host in the pig-tail round of the district tournament next Tuesday.
The winner Tuesday will advance to the final four of the district tournament, where seeds for the regional tournament will be determined.
“I really have the feeling that the seniors are really getting dialed in mentally, and the rest of the guys are following their lead,” head coach Eric Hejl said of the end of the regular season. “This is the time of year that you want things to be clicking, and, even with the hiccup in Paonia on Friday, I’m still feeling pretty good about our mindset and our play going into districts.
“There is focus, determination and just the right amount of an ‘us against the world’ mentality that I think will be positive for us moving forward,” he said. “We are headed in the right direction, ready to put it all out there and see what happens.”