Red Hawk Kyle Chaney (21) is fouled while Trey Reed looks on.

The Cedar Springs boys varsity basketball team traveled to Sparta last Friday to take on the Spartans. Sparta had defeated the Red Hawks earlier this season in overtime, in a game Cedar Springs let slip away. The Red Hawks were determined to avenge that loss, and prevent a Sparta sweep this season.
“Anytime you beat Sparta, it is a good feeling,” said head coach Andy Secor. “They haven’t swept us in a long, long, time, and this team didn’t want to allow that to happen this year.”
The first quarter saw no scoring by either team in the first two and a half minutes. Then a Spartan 3-pointer gave them the lead. A Jason Gingrich lay up opened the scoring for the Red Hawks, who had 6 different players score in the quarter. Alec Hanmer got on the board with a put back lay up. Field goals by Hank Porter and Derek Ash, followed by a Hanmer 3-pointer gave Cedar an 11-7 lead. Then after an Andrew Klompstra power lay up, Tyler Covell found an open Trey Reed at the top of the key in the closing seconds of the quarter. Reed hit the 3-pointer to give Cedar Springs a 16-10 lead after one quarter.

The Red Hawks listen as Coach Secor gives instructions during a time out.

Klompstra gave Cedar an 18-10 lead with an inside lay up to begin the second quarter. A Porter 3-pointer and a Ryan Dines lay up were all the Red Hawks could muster the rest of the quarter as Sparta finished with a 10-5 run, and Cedar led 23-20 at halftime.
In the third quarter, after a Gingrich 3-pointer, Sparta battled back to tie the game at 26 with 5:23 to go. Then the Red Hawk offense started hitting on all cylinders. Hank Porter went on a personal 7-0 run to give Cedar a 33-26 lead. Then a 3-point play by Klompstra, and 3-pointers by Porter and Gingrich gave Cedar a 10 point lead after 3 quarters.
The Red Hawks had to fight the most of the fourth quarter to keep their lead as Sparta was awarded 13 free throw attempts in the quarter. A Tyler Baker lay up and a Kyle Chaney free throw kept the Red Hawk lead at 8 with 6 minutes left, but the Spartans cut the Cedar lead to 4 at the 5:20 mark. A Klompstra free throw, a Gingrich 3-pointer, and a big three point play by Ryan Dines, built the Cedar lead back to nine points, 56-47. After a Sparta free throw, Andrew Klompstra scored on a lay up to give the Red Hawks a 10-point lead with under 2 minutes to go. But Klompstra was injured on the play, and left the game.
The Spartans were desperately pressing, and Cedar was able to break the press and score in the final 2 minutes to preserve their lead. Dines found a wide open Chaney, who converted the lay up to keep the lead at 9. Then Dines drove the lane and scored on another lay up. Chaney then hit 2 free throws in the final minute for the final points of the game and Cedar had a hard fought 64-53 victory.
The 64 points was the highest point total of the year for Cedar Springs, who shot 59.2 percent on 2-point shots and 44.4 percent from behind the arc for the game. The Red Hawks put 4 players in double figures for the first time since 2008. Porter led the Red Hawks with 16 points and also had 3 assists. Gingrich had 11 points and 5 assists. Ryan Dines had 10 points and a game high 6 assists. Andrew Klompstra had 10 points with a perfect 4-4 from the floor. Alec Hanmer had 5 points and a game high 7 rebounds for the Red Hawks, while Kyle Chaney had 5 points and 3 boards. Trey Reed had 3 points and 4 assists, while Tyler Baker and Derek Ash had 2 points each.
“I thought we played one of our best games of the year, against a team that was in 2nd place in the OK Blue,” Coach Secor commented after the game. “Our three starting guards all had very good games. We do feel a little snake-bit with Andrew Klompstra’s ankle injury, as we were just getting Hank Porter back to full strength.” Klompstra will miss at least 1 game with an ankle sprain.
Secor continued, “We have a very tough week this week, with a 9-4 Tri County team and a Coopersville team now in 2nd place in the Blue.”
The Red Hawks defeated Coopersville on the road earlier this year in a close game. The Red Hawks are home to take on the Coopersville Broncos on Friday, February 11, at 6 p.m. Then the Red Hawks travel to Godwin High School on Tuesday, February 15 to take on the Wolverines. Game time is 7:15 pm.

Kyle Chaney (21) goes up for two with Andrew Klompstra (54) and Jason Gingrich (10) looking for a rebound.

The Cedar Spring boys varsity basketball team traveled to Coopersville Friday to take on the Broncos in an OK Blue League match up. The Red Hawks entered the game with a 2-5 record and had yet to win a close game, having lost three games after leading in the 4th quarter. That changed Friday as the Cedar Springs stopped Coopersville on the last possession of the game to hang on for a slim 43-42 victory.
In a fast paced first quarter, Coopersville was able to break the Red Hawk full court press and made 5 of their first 7 field goal attempts. During this time, the Red Hawks could not buy a bucket, missing their first 13 field goal attempts. An Andrew Klompstra free throw was the Red Hawks only point as the Broncos were out to a quick 13-1 lead. With 1:22 left in the first quarter, Kyle Chaney drove the lane and scored the Red Hawks first field goal to make the score 13-3 after one quarter. It was Chaney’s first score since returning from a knee injury which forced him to miss 3-1/2 weeks.
In the second quarter, the Red Hawk offense got going. After a Klompstra Lay-up, Jason Gingrich took a pass from Chaney and canned a 3-pointer. After a Ryan Dines free throw, Gingrich went to work with 5 assists on the next 5 Cedar field goals. Buckets by Alec Hanmer and Trey Reed cut the Broncos lead to 17-13. Then Hanmer took over for the Red Hawks. The senior wing scored the next 13 Red Hawk points, including three 3 pointers. With the Red Hawks trailing by 5 late in the third quarter, Chaney found an open Gingrich who sank a 3-pointer to cut the Bronco lead to 31-29. Then another Hanmer Field goal brought the Red Hawks within one, 32-31 after 3 quarters.
Tyler Covell sank 2 free throws to give Cedar their first lead of the game early in the 4th quarter. In the next four minutes, there were 2 ties and 4 lead changes. A Klompstra free throw and a big three point play by Trey Reed again gave the Red Hawks a one point lead with 4 minutes left. After a Bronco basket, Klompstra gave Cedar the lead for good with a put back lay up. Then with 1:28 left, Jason Gingrich got the ball to Klompstra who hit a huge turn around jumper to give the Red Hawks a 3-point lead. After a Bronco field goal, Gingrich threw a perfect pass from half court to a wide open Klompstra for an open lay up that gave Cedar a seemingly comfortable 4-point lead with 30 second left. The Broncos hit a 3-pointer to cut the Cedar lead to 43-42. Then the Broncos forced a Red Hawk turnover with 8 seconds left, but Red Hawk defense held on for the hard fought come from behind victory.
“We essentially shredded the game plan in the first five minutes and had to make plenty of adjustments. I think our players adjusted well and it’s great to comeback and win a game you trailed 13-1,” said Coach Secor. “It was good to win a close game like this. Hopefully it will give us the confidence that we can make plays down the stretch to win games. We have been right in every game, and that is a credit to how well we have played defensively.”
Coach Secor continued. “Alec Hanmer had his best game as a Red Hawk and kept us in the game when we were struggling offensively. Andrew Klompstra had a double-double and made a big bucket late in the game. Jason Gingrich’s 7 assists and Tyler Baker’s 2nd half defense were other big individual performances,” noted the coach.
Hanmer finished with 17 points. Klompstra had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Gingrich scored 6 points and Trey Reed had 5. Derek Ash had 7 rebounds. Chaney had 2 points and 5 rebounds, and Covell had 2 points.
The Red Hawks continue OK Blue play with a home game Friday at 6 p.m.  against the Forest Hill Northern Huskies.

Derek Ash goes way up for the rebound as Andrew Klompstra boxes out.

The Cedar Springs boys varsity basketball team traveled to Wyoming to take on the Lee Rebels last Friday. The Red Hawks got their first win of the young season, easily defeating the Rebels 52-29.
“We came out with good energy and intensity,” said head coach Andy Secor. “Our starting group did a good job of getting us going offensively. I thought we played very well defensively for the second game in a row. Our team defense was very good.”
Derek Ash won the opening tip, and 19 seconds later Kyle Chaney got the Red Hawks going with a three pointer from the corner. Then Chaney assisted on the next two Cedar buckets, three-pointers by Hank Porter and Jason Gingrich, and the Hawks were off to a 9-0 lead. An 8-0 run by the Rebels cut the Cedar lead to one, but an Ash free throw and 5 straight points by Porter gave Cedar Springs a 15-8 lead after one quarter. The second quarter began with field goals by Andrew Klompstra, Trey Reed, and Ash, all assisted by Porter. Then a Gingrich free throw and a Porter lay-up gave Cedar a 24-13 lead. Alec Hanmer became the seventh Red Hawk to score in the half when he buried a three-pointer to give Cedar a 27-15 Lead.
In the third quarter, buckets by Ryan Dines, Klompstra, Porter and a three-pointer by Gingrich stretched the lead to 15. Then Junior Tyler

Hank Porter led the Red Hawks with 14 points.

Covell hit two three-pointers in a span of 21 seconds and the Red hawks lead was 42-24 after three quarters of play. In the fourth quarter, Gingrich hit a three, then Porter made two free throws followed by a Reed lay-up and the score was 49-26. An Isaac Gloczynski free throw followed by a pair of Brandon Slater free throws rounded out the scoring for the Red Hawks as they cruised to the 52-29 victory.
Coach Secor was pleased. “We started to knock down some perimeter shots, Hank and Jason are shooting the ball with a lot of confidence,” he said. “We got some big contributions from our bench. Tyler Covell hit two big three-pointers in the third quarter and Andrew Klompstra played very well, leading the team with 8 rebounds. Alec Hanmer quietly had a solid game. He handled the ball well for us, knocked down a three-pointer, and was second on the team with 6 rebounds.”
Porter led the Red hawks with 14 points and 6 assists, Gingrich had 10 points and 3 assists. Covell finished with 6 points and Klompstra had 4 points to go with his 8 boards and 2 assists. Ash, Chaney and Hanmer had 3 points each, Dines and Slater two each and Golczynski one.
“It was good to get some of our reserves much-deserved playing time.” said Secor. “Those guys have been working hard in practice everyday to improve and they deserve any minutes we can get them.”
The Red Hawks started OK Blue Conference play this week with a game at West Catholic on Tuesday, December 14th at 7:15 p.m., followed by the home opener against arch rival Sparta on Friday night, December 17 at 6 p.m. at Cedar Springs High School.

Hank Porter (12) elevates and looks to pass to Derek Ash as Trey Reed (left) follows.

Derek Ash (40) goes up for the shot as Kyle Chaney (21) and Hank Porter (12) look on.

Cedar Springs boys varsity basketball coach Andy Secor said last week that there will be times when “it will be challenging (for us) to score.” Unfortunately for the Red Hawks, that was true in their first game Tuesday night at Greenville. Cedar scored only 29 points in a loss to the big and physical Yellow Jackets.
Hank Porter scored the first 5 points for the Red Hawks, sinking a pull up jumper and then a 3-pointer. A Derek Ash lay-up and a Ryan Dines 3-pointer gave Cedar a 10-8 lead after one quarter. Tyler Baker scored on a baseline jumper and then a lay-up to start the second quarter. Then Porter hit another jumper and Jason Gingrich canned a 3, and Cedar went in to the locker room trailing 22-19 at the half.
Greenville built a 5-point lead and a Trey Reed 3-pointer cut the Yellow Jacket lead to 2 points 27-25, with 3 minutes to go in the third quarter. That was the closest Cedar would get as Greenville went on a 12-0 run over the next 7 minutes to build their lead to 39-25 with 3:30 to go in the game. Greenville held on for a 46-29 victory.
Coach Secor was disapointed with the loss but found some positives in the team’s performance. “I am very happy with the energy and effort we played with. Our kids really played tremendous half-court defense. We held their Cornerstone University bound post player to 6 points and played great team defense,” he said. “On the flip side, we really struggled on the glass and with offensive execution.  We will get to work right away on that film, breaking it down, and improving our offense.”
Porter led the balanced Red Hawks with 8 points and took an impressive three charges. Baker, Gingrich and Ash had four points each. Reed, Dines and Alec Hanmer had 3 points each. Reed also took a charge. Kyle Chaney contributed with one rebound, solid defense and no turnovers. Brandon Slater had a rebound, a steal and an assist. Derek Ash led Cedar with 6 rebounds, Andrew Klompstra had 5 rebounds and Porter 4.
The Red Hawks travel to Wyoming Friday night to take on the Lee Rebels. Game time this Friday is 7 p.m.