There was a buffet of basketball on tap at Unaka High School Friday evening as the Rangers hosted teams from Sullivan North and Washburn for a triple header inside Snavely Gym.

Unaka and North got things tipped off as the Rangers blew out to a quick 21-2 lead after one and weren’t threatened the rest of the way as they gained their first win of the season 69-43.

“We played hard, which was a good sign,” said Ranger head coach Aaron Dugger. “I thought we competed on the glass and played at the pace we wanted to.

“I was a little disappointed in the silly fouls we were getting,” he added. “We came out with intensity, and we are trying to get better. We still have a long way to go.”

North absolutely had no answers for Colton Chambers in the opening quarter as Chambers gave a lesson on how a big man should crash the boards as he dumped in 11 of the team’s 21 points in the stanza.

Dylan Carrier had a solid quarter as well hitting for five points while Kyler Lewis drilled a trey.

Tyler Arnold scored the only two points of the quarter for the Raiders.

The Raiders put together a nice run in the second quarter tallying 15 points to only nine for the Rangers.

Devan Price showed the way for North with five points, and Zach Byrns netted four.

Chambers added five more points to his column to finish with 16 in the first half.

After the break, the Rangers came out to once again take back the driver’s seat by outscoring the visitors from Kingsport 22-13.

Kyler Lewis took command by driving the lane and collecting eight points to pace Unaka in the frame. Chambers stayed consistent adding six more points to his ledger.

Arnold hit two treys in the period to lead North.

Dugger substituted freely in the final eight minutes as the Rangers closed out the contest with a 17-13 fourth quarter.

Lewis and Austin Beauprez tickled the cotton for four points apiece with Chambers and Joe Seafoss chipping in with three each.

Chambers led all scorers with 25 points in his first contest as a Ranger.

“It feels great because ever since I’ve walked in the door, they have welcomed me,” said Chambers. “It’s a great family atmosphere, and I appreciate all that my teammates do for me.

“I wasn’t trying to do anything spectacular, just play my role. Coach told me not to force it, and the game would come to me. I just played hard and everything fell into place.”

Lewis finished the contest with 17 and Carrier added 11 to complete the trio of Rangers that scored in double figures.

Price and Matt Burk led North with 11 points apiece. Arnold finished with 10.

Girls

Unaka…….64

Washburn…35

Coach Kenneth Chambers’ Lady Rangers picked up where the Rangers left off, going on a 21-8 opening quarter tear to run away from the Lady Pirates of Washburn in the second contest of the night.

Katlyn Burrow came out blazing hot and setting the net on fire with four treys in the opening period to set the tone for the rest of the contest.

The Lady Rangers led 28-17 at the intermission then went on a 36-18 second half scoring streak to salt the game away.

Burrow led a trio of Lady Rangers in double figures collecting a game-high 17 points. Hannah Tipton totaled 11 points while Sierra Wright was a monster on the boards collecting second and third shot attempts to finish with 10 points.

Katlyn Weaver contributed eight and Madison Ensor six points in the winning cause.

Boys

Unaka………80

Washburn…..52

The Rangers returned to the court to finish off the triple header and took their second win of the night with a 28-point win over Washburn.

Unaka’s Joe Seafoss and Dylan Carrier blazed the nets for 20 points each to lead all scorers. Kyler Lewis dropped in 16 points for the Rangers who ran their record to 2-0.

Colton Chambers added eight points for Unaka.