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STAR CORRESPONDENT

The Unaka Rangers entered the District 1-1A boys basketball tournament with the confidence that they could compete against the North Greene Huskies in trying to reach the district championship game being played at Happy Valley High School.

And it’s not too many times in basketball that a team can hang 71 points on the board in a high school game and not walk away with a victory but that was what happened as the Huskies shot lights out from beyond the arc in taking an 89-71 victory pushing Unaka to the consolation contest.

For fans that like offensive shootouts, this one was the perfect game to attend as both teams combined for a total of 26 treys as the Huskies hit 16 while Unaka blazed the nets for 10 which ultimately was the difference in the contest.

The Rangers had no answer for Bennett McClain and Jason Britton as both were unconscious from the outside with McClain hitting for 36 and Britton 28 to lead the Huskies to the win.

However, Rylan Crabtree did his best to keep the Rangers within striking distance as the Unaka sharpshooter hit for 25 in the game to lead Unaka.

With Crabtree hitting from the outside, Marcus Shoemaker was taking care of business in the post as the burley center pushed his way to 16 points in a losing cause.

Mason Wilson also hit double-digit scoring as he went for 10 points in the game. Logan Lewis and Austin Lambert added nine points apiece for Unaka while Korbin Rainbolt added a deuce.

The Rangers will square off with Cloudland in Tuesday’s consolation game for third place.