Crosby-Ironton Boys Basketball Rebounding From Last Season

Two years ago, the Crosby-Ironton Boys basketball team experienced the highs of making it to state, and last season they felt the lows of finishing 9-18. Now, the Rangers have learned from last year’s season and are ready to make another run at state.

Injuries and a lack of experience ultimately led to the 9-18 season for the Crosby-Ironton boys basketball team last year, but the Rangers learned a lot from their disappointing season.

“Well, sometimes you learn a lot the hard way,” David Galovich, Crosby-Ironton’s Head Coach, said. “The good thing about it is these kids stuck with it, and put time in this summer, and improved their game, and now we are seeing some of that hard work pay off.”

And it’s paying off in a big way as the Rangers are 12-2, and there’s still room for a lot of improvement.

“I feel we are kind of fortunate to be 12-2 the way we’ve shot the basketball,” Galovich said. “So, if we start hitting on all cylinders, I think we can be a decent ball club.”

“There’s always room for improvement, and you can never shoot too well,” Kyle Skeim, Crosby-Ironton Senior Center, said.

The Rangers only lost one senior after last year, and all the experience the younger guys gained is finally paying off.

“Leadership is everything, and just having five seniors is a lot of leadership,” Johnathan Jacobson, Crosby-Ironton Senior Power Forward, said. “That can help a lot of younger guys, even juniors, it helps with a lot.”

“It’s nice to have a guy like Johnathan Jacobson, he’s a three-year starter, coming back as an all-conference player, and he’s just been a steady performer for us,” Galovich said.

The section is up for grabs this year between a few of the top teams, but the Rangers have some extra motivation as they are playing for their assistant coach Paul Hoge, who passed away over the summer.

“Coach Tesdahl always brings out a warm-up jersey with the name “Hoge” on the back and we place that on the bench,” Galovich said. “We recently got a plaque put up in the hallway in the gym entrance in Paul’s honor. We will always miss Paul.”

Crosby-Ironton kicks off a four game home stand tomorrow against Detroit Lakes at 7:15 p.m.