Records get thrown out the window when North and South meet. The two sides both played a physical style of defense when they met Feb. 7 at South. North took the lead with a run before the half, and a late 11-point spurt from Greyson Barney pushed the Rangers to a 52-44 win. North improves to 4-14 on the season while South falls to 4-15. North started the game strong when Nathan Sagendorph hit a 3-pointer on the opening possession, and Ethan Grindstead followed with a board and a score. While the Rangers started strong, they struggled with ball handling. North had eight turnovers in the first half. Coach Nick Meyer said that when they play an aggressive defense like South, it’s going to show them how to improve ball control. “That’s one of the things we talk about every day in practice,” Meyer said. “At one point, we put up 16 pieces of paper labeled 1-16 and for every turnover, one came down and if we got to the end we would reload them and have a consequence for it. It’s always an emphasis to clean things up and with emotions high in a rivalry game, once we controlled our nerves, we got into it.” South trimmed into the lead with a Kayden Johnson bucket and an and-one by Malick Sy had the Rebels ahead after one, 12-10. Sy continued to impact the game with a block to open the second quarter. Josh Jensen then found success on his drives, posting eight points in the frame of his 14 in the game. North chipped into the lead with a 6-0 run to send the game to the half with the lead. Drew Morbeto and Brand Bambrick had layups that cut it to a one-point game, and a Braylon Rolf layup with 10 seconds left made it 19-18 North. “The momentum swing was huge for us,” Barney said. “I think if we don’t get that, it’s a whole different second half. South comes out with momentum. We just kept pressing and had to have our foot on the gas no matter what.” The Rangers continued their run out of the break with Barney finding Rolf for a layup and Ethan Grinstead scored on the following possession. Then the Rebels cut into the lead. Jensen found Jaiden Lamb for an up-and-under layup, and Brady Shazivari had a hesitation layup fall. But North countered with a 3-pointer from Sagendorph and a baseline cut from Rolf. The Rangers controlled the glass with Bambrick hauling in 13 boards, Rolf had eight and Grinstead had seven. That helps with their drive-and-kick offense. “All the credit to them on both ends of the glass,” Barney said. “Without them, we aren’t scoring at the clip that we do. Second-chance points and things like that, it’s great to have that type of size and advantage inside.” The sides traded 3-pointers to open the fourth as Jenson found Shazivari for South and Barney drained his first. Barney added two more in the frame to prevent any comeback bid. North started the season as a young team that featured limited varsity playing time. But the side has grown and started to find a rhythm. Both Barney and Meyer said it will bleed into the next season with two starters and several others back. “Ultimately, it’s our effort,” Meyer said. “They play their butts off, and that’s what we’re looking to do. At the end of the day, can you say that in those four quarters that you did what you were supposed to do? Even though there’s some games we’re doing well, we still come up short, that’s just sports and the guys are doing a good job of not letting it affect them.” North was led by Barney and Grindstead with 11 and eight. South had Shazivari in double figures with 12. North travels to Riverside on Feb. 10. South travels to Kenston on the same day. The score North 52, South 44 ...read more read less