The Big Rapids Cardinals came extremely close to their first-ever appearance in the Class B semifinals.
Kent Ingles, a veteran of 44 years of head coaching at Cedar Springs, Greenville, and now Big Rapids, will enjoy memories of this season for a long time.
When Ingles came to Big Rapids in 2004, he took over a struggling program that had won only two district titles in 36 years. This season, he guided Big Rapids to its third straight district title and second consecutive regional title.
In 2013, the Cardinals struggled and lost to Cadillac in the state quarterfinals at Ferris State University.
In a rematch of the same two teams in the same place, this year it was a different ballgame. Big Rapids led late in the fourth quarter, couldn’t hang on, and got outscored 11-5 in overtime for a 55-49 loss.
A capacity crowd of 2,400 filled the home of the Ferris State Bulldogs for a game that had all the drama that fans could want.
“It was different than last year,” Ingles said. “We got off to a better start this year than what we did last year.”
“Two years in a row, it was the most fun game of the year,” said Cadillac coach Jeff McDonald. “It’s a local game for Big Rapids, and our fans travel well.”
Big Rapids ended the year at 20-5, which was still remarkable for a team that was 12-4 at one point and had only one returning starter from last season. That starter was Quinn Tyson, who had 21 points and three assists from his guard spot prior to fouling out in overtime.
Free throws were of paramount importance in the game. Cadillac beat the Cardinals from the free-throw line, hitting 24 of 36, while Big Rapids was only 9 of 11. Referees called 23 fouls on Big Rapids and 14 on Cadillac, and the Vikings got into the bonus earlier than the Cardinals in the second half.
“It’s pretty hard to win when someone shoots 25 more free throws than you do,” Ingles said. “That’s ridiculous.”
“I thought we struggled with free throws and layups,” McDonald said. “At the end, we stepped to the line and hit some big ones. Those give you such a cushion and put so much pressure on the other team. That was huge for us. When you miss free throws, you give teams chances.
“Our guys did a great job following the game plan and knowing their players,” McDonald said. “That’s a good team we beat.”
Demetri Martin, who led Big Rapids with 12 rebounds against Cadillac, and Jake Hayes, who had 10 points and five rebounds, had solid seasons.
Cadillac and Big Rapids are only 40 miles apart, but they are in different conferences and no longer play each other during the regular season. But for two straight seasons, they’ve played for the right to go to the semifinals at Michigan State University.
“It’s good experience for the kids, but we wanted to go one step further,” Ingles said. “It was a good atmosphere. I’m proud of the fans and the community.”
“It’s been great here in this gym. It’s a great atmosphere” McDonald said. “It’s an easy travel for us. We’re used to tough travel in the Big North. Our kids will never forget it.”
Ditto for Big Rapids. “I’m disappointed we lost, but I’m not disappointed in the effort,” Ingles said. “They took some bad shots here and there, but that’s high school basketball.”
Ingles called 2013-14 a “topsy-turvy” season for his team. “Practice [the day before the quarterfinal] might have been the second day all year we had everybody back,” Ingles said. “We’ve had broken legs, dislocations, suspensions, and sicknesses. We couldn’t get them together all year long. We revamped our lineup about three different times this year. But it was a nice year for the kids. It’s great to get to the quarterfinals. The kids should be proud.”
Ingles commented on coaching a Class B school. “The difference between what happened here and those last many years at Greenville is that we were two students into Class A and were playing Rockford with 3,000 kids. The difference was a couple of kids. It’s neat. It’s been fun. I feel really blessed to be able to have this group of young men like this after all these years. I hope they had as much fun as I did.”