The Rudder boys basketball team couldn’t climb out of a big first-half deficit, falling to Katy Paetow 76-50 in their District 19-5A opener Friday.

Paetow (14-7, 1-0) jumped to a 20-10 lead after the first quarter and kept the Rangers from making a second-half comeback with strong performances from Davion Sargent, who scored 23 points, and Trevor Frank, who added 18.

Grayson Adams led the Rangers (6-15, 0-1) with 13 points, while MJ Heard scored 11 and JoDarius Hayward added 10.

Paetow won the JV game 54-46 and the freshman B game 58-31. Rudder won the freshman A game 45-35.

Rudder will continue 19-5A play against A&M Consolidated at The Armory at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.


Katy Paetow 76, Rudder 50

RUDDER (6-15, 0-1) — Grayson Adams 13, MJ Heard 11, JoDarius Hayward 10, Jeremiah Johnson 7, Kentun King 5, Carlos Moreno 2, Justin Headge 1.

PAETOW (14-7, 1-0) — Davion Sargent 23, Trevor Frank 18, David Bradley 13, Brian McKnight 9, Elijah Roberts 6, Jayden McCullough 3, Bryce Luster 2, Charles Chuckwu 2.

Rudder 10 9 14 17 — 50

Paetow 20 19 19 18 — 76