The Maple Ridge Ramblers senior boys basketball squad visited long-time rival Port Moody on Thursday and got a 63-49 win.
Down 24-18 at the half, the Ramblers had one of their strongest second halves of the season, outscoring the Blues, 45-25.
Ridge was led by Ethan Coumont, with 22 points and 11 rebounds, Amit Rakhra with 17 points. Ravjot Rakhra crashed the boards for seven rebounds.
On Saturday, the Ramblers played their first league game of the year against W.J. Mouat of Abbotsford, who are ranked ninth in the province.
An excellent defensive effort in the first half saw the Ramblers down by only two, 21-19. But the Hawks had a strong second half, outscoring Ridge 39-25 to take a 60-44 win.
Guard Pavel Niemirski continued his outstanding season by contributing 22 points, five rebounds and five recoveries. Rakhra, a guard, scored 12 points and had seven recoveries, while Coumont had nine boards to help the Ramblers’ cause.
League play continues this week with an away game on Tuesday against the province’s third-ranked team, the Walnut Grove, and on Thursday at home against another strong Abbotsford team, MEI, at 7:30 p.m.