HINCKLEY – Given the soap operalike buildup and charged atmosphere at Wednesday night’s Mooseheart boys basketball game at Hinckley-Big Rock, a disastrous collapse in the final few minutes had a chance to crush the Red Ramblers’ spirits.

Mooseheart coach Ron Ahrens tried to emphasize perspective to his players after the Ramblers’ 58-51 loss in front of a sold-out crowd.

“At the end of the day, it’s a game,” Ahrens said. “We wake up tomorrow morning, we’re going to school, I’m going to work. ... That’s what I just told the kids in there. Hey, we got beat in a game. We have a long season ahead. We’ve got a lot of games left.”