ANDREWS, Texas (KTSM) – The best season in 25 years for the Riverside Rangers came to an end on Tuesday afternoon in the Class 4A Regional Quarterfinals.
No. 17 Canyon Randall started hot and never cooled off in a 101-51 win over the Rangers, as Randall punched a ticket to the Class 4A Sweet 16 this weekend in Lubbock.
Jaylen Dean led the Rangers with 19 points in the loss, while Joel Saenz added 11 of his own for Riverside.
Riverside ends the season with a record of 17-13 with the defeat, but that doesn’t tell the whole story of the Rangers’ season.
After a 1-9 start, Riverside rattled off wins in 16 of its next 20 games, including a dramatic Area round win over Midland Greenwood last Friday. That victory pushed Riverside into the Regional Quarterfinals (Round of 32) for the first time since 1998.
Riverside did all of that despite missing head coach Javier Vela for a large chunk of the season, as he helped his son with a battle with Leukemia. The Rangers’ Area round win was emotional for Vela and the entire team.
