BACK IN BUSINESS | Rangers take down Victoria; at Lee on Wednesday

There’s nothing like starting the new year off on the right foot.

Or the left foot, as long as it’s a win.

Kilgore College’s basketball Rangers picked up a huge win Saturday at home at Masters Gymnasium over the visiting Victoria College Pirates, 96-78, allowing the Rangers to even their Region XIV Conference record at 2-2 after that long holiday break.

KC pulled away in the second half after holding a two-point lead (38-36) at halftime.

Coach Robert Byrd’s team makes the trek to Lee College on Wednesday, a 7 p.m. start, then returns home to Masters on Saturday for a 4 p.m. tip-off.

Willie Williams had 24 points for KC (11-4 overall) and Peter Mckey had 22 – Mckey hit 50 percent of the shots he took (9-of-18), and went 4-of-8 from three-point range. He also had three rebounds and a steal.

Williams had a double-double: 24 points and 12 rebounds. He also had an assist and a blocked shot.

Jamir Turner came off the bench for 17 points, four rebounds, four assists, four steals and a block. Cahmai Crosby had 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Jamil Muttilib and James Matthews each had six points: Muttilib had 10 rebounds, four assists, five steals and a block, and Matthews had two rebounds and two steals.

Ikechukwu Nwaobi had four points and a rebound. Thomas Hattaway, the former Kilgore standout, had three points, an assist and a blocked shot. Larry Lyons had two points and an assist, and Kaleb Pouncy didn’t score, but had three rebounds and blocked two shots.

KC went 21-of-24 from the free throw line.

Connor Miller led Victoria with 17 points – the Pirates hit 54 percent of their shots, but took far less than KC (who took 80; Victoria took only 53 total shots).

Victoria fell to 4-9 overall and 1-3 in conference play with the loss.

KC’s next opponent, Lee, is a horse of a different color. Lee is 13-1 overall, 4-0 in conference, and leads the conference’s South Zone, or South Division. Blinn is right behind at 3-1, and then Angelina, Coastal Bend, Lamar State-Port Arthur, and Victoria are all 1-3. Jacksonville College is 0-3 in conference play.

In the North, 13-2 Trinity Valley leads with a 4-0 conference record. Navarro is 3-1, Panola 2-1, and then KC, Tyler Junior College and Paris Junior College are each 2-2. Bossier Parish sits at the bottom of the North with a 1-3 record.