Sports

It's All About 'Believing' For the Rangers Basketball Squad

Lakewood High School boys get off to a fast start to the season with a big win over Elyria Catholic.

Before taking the court this season, the boys basketball team breaks each huddle by shouting “believe.”

The last time the school brought home a conference championship was 1974. 

Head coach Phil Argento thinks his squad’s got a real reason to believe this is the year to end the drought.

Find out what's happening in Lakewoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

After all, the Rangers caught fire at the end of last season by pulling off thrilling upsets against and in the playoffs, .

Lakewood finished the season with an 8-15 record. 

Find out what's happening in Lakewoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

That’s after going winless the year before.

Argento, in his fourth season as head coach, said it’s his core of experienced players familiar with his uptempo style of play that will make all the difference this season.

The Rangers are anchored by four returning starters from last year: junior guard/forward Pete Nelson, (6-2) who was last year’s leading scorer; senior forward Jay Andreani senior (6-3), sophomore point guard Jacob Schmidt (5-11), who started as a freshman last year; and senior guard Conor Mabry (6-1).

What the team lacks in size it makes up for with speed.

“We fast-break constantly,” Argento said. “We want to play fast. We never stop running. It’s three things: run, pressure and toughness.” 

His team didn’t waste any time, when, on Friday, the Rangers beat Elyria Catholic High School, 80-69. They were down in the first quarter, but in the fourth period, Lakewood outscored its opponent 24-9.

“We just wore them down,” Argento said.

It’s the depth of the team that will also give the Rangers an advantage this season.

Coming off the bench in the win against Elyria Catholic, guard Adam Morris, (6-0) led all scorers with 29 points. There were three Rangers in double figures.

“We have some depth, a lot of kids who have been in the system for a few years,” Argento said. “Depth is something we haven’t enjoyed too much over the past few years. When you’re playing an uptempo style it’s really important." 

“I look for this team to put some points up on the board.”

Expect lots of playing time for senior guard Devin Goddard (5-10); guard Aaron Donahoe, (6-0); and forward Jonathan Vincent (6-3) — who plays wide receiver for the Rangers’ football team.

After Thursday’s matchup against Avon was rescheduled, the Rangers will host Bay High School on Saturday.  

With a highly competitive Northeast Ohio Conference-Lake Division, Argento knows it’s not going to be easy.

“We’re looking forward to reacquainting ourselves with teams like Westlake, Bay Village,” Argento said. “We’ve been getting ready. The kids put in a lot of work in the offseason.”

Their foundation was built around “believing.”

“The kids start believing that they can compete and win,” he said. “And until you actually go out and win, you just talk about it. When you start winning, it’s reality.” 

Click here for the team's schedule.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here