Ryan Dines shoots a short jumper while Andrew Klompstra and Alec Hanmer go for the rebound.

The Cedar Springs boys varsity basketball team hosted Forest Hills Northern last Friday in an OK Blue showdown. Last year the teams faced off twice, with each team winning at home by 3 points.
The huskies got out to a quick 5-0 lead before the Red Hawks could get off a shot. Ryan Dines got things going for Cedar with a pull-up jumper to make it 5-2. An Alec Hanmer 3 pointer brought the Red Hawks to within two midway through the first quarter, but that was as close as Cedar would get. Tyler Covell drove down the baseline and made a lay up in traffic to finish the first quarter scoring for the Red Hawks and the Huskies led 17-7.
Hanmer began the second quarter with a jumper followed by an Andrew Klompstra free throw. Then Kyle Chaney drove the lane for a lay up. Later, Chaney entered the ball to Derek Ash who made a spin move from the post for two. Point guard Jason Gingrich got on the board late in the second quarter with a 3-pointer to make the halftime score 28-17 in favor of the Huskies.
In the third quarter, Gingrich stole the ball, was fouled and made his two free throws. Then a Klompstra lay up cut the Husky lead to 28-21 with 6:40 left in the third. Then the Red Hawks went scoreless for the next 7:48. During that time Cedar missed 8 straight shots from the floor and was 0-3 from the free throw line. The score was 36-21 Huskies when Hanmer hit a 3-pointer with 6:52 left in the game to end the scoring drought.
Trey Reed hit a short jumper to make the score to make the score 39-26 with 6 minutes left. Then the big Friday night crowd was thrilled when junior Justin Hanes canned a three pointer from the wing to score his first ever varsity points. Then after a Klompstra field goal, Hanes hit another three to cut the Husky lead to 11 points. After a Husky bucket, Gingrich scored the final points of the game with a pull up fade away jumper in the lane to make the final score Forest Hills Northern 47, Cedar Springs 36.
Hanmer led the Red Hawks with 8 points to go with 2 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Gingrich had 7 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals. Hanes ended with 6 points. Klompstra had 5 points and 7 rebounds. Ryan Dines had a nice all around game with 2 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and zero turnovers. Kyle Chaney had 2 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Trey Reed and Derek Ash both had 2 points and 2 rebounds, and Tyler Covell finished with 2 points.
The Red Hawks have this week off. Their next game is Tuesday, January 25 at home against the two-time defending league champion Comstock Park Panthers.  The freshmen game is at 4 p.m., followed by the JV at 5:30, and the Varsity at 7 p.m.

Red Hawks finish second in holiday tournament

Middleville defeats Cedar Springs in 49-48 thriller

Red Hawk Jason Gingrich came on strong, scoring 19 points against Middleville, including a 3-pointer for the final play of the game.

After defeating Kent City in the opening game of the second annual Cedar Springs Holiday Tournament, the Red Hawks had only hours to prepare for the championship game the very next day. The challenge for Cedar Springs was to try to slow down 6-foot-8-inch Ferris State bound center Jared Stolicker. In a 9 a.m. practice on game day, the Red Hawks worked to do just that.
Stolicker entered the game averaging 26.5 points and 15 rebounds per game this season. “Middleville is a solid basketball team with the best player we have faced so far (Stolicker),” said Cedar Springs head coach Andy Secor. “Coming into the game he had consecutive games of 38 points and 28 points.” The aggressive Red Hawk defense dug in their heels and held Stolicker to only 12 points and 5 rebounds.
Cedar Springs began the game with four points each from Jason Gingrich and Derek Ash, then an Alec Hanmer three-pointer gave the Red Hawks an 11-10 lead after one quarter. In the 2nd quarter, Gingrich hit a three, then Derek Ash took over. Ash scored eight consecutive points with the towering Stolicker guarding him, outplaying the Ferris recruit. Cedar led 22-19 at the half.

Jason Gingrich hits the running 3 pointer on the final play of the game.

A Tyler Baker jumper started off the second half for the Red Hawks. Then Tyler Covell canned two 3-pointers followed by field goals by Gingrich and Trey Reed. Cedar led 34-33 after three quarters. The Red Hawks opened the fourth with a Gingrich triple, followed by 2 Alec Hanmer lay-ups, but Middleville took the lead with 2:07 left.
Trailing by 2 with one minute left, Cedar failed to score and after a Middleville rebound, were forced to foul. Middleville converted all 6 of their free throws in the last minute. Two pull up jumpers by Gingrich kept Cedar within striking distance, but Red Hawks could not gain any ground as the Trojans made all their free throws. Gingrich converted a 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the Middleville winning margin to 49-48.
“We needed to make a few more plays offensively down the stretch to secure the win,” said coach Secor. “In a game like that, all it takes is one less turnover, a made free throw, one more block out, a better play call from the bench, all of those things could’ve made the difference in that game and we were just one play away,” he said.

Alec Hanmer goes up for 2 of his 7 points.

Gingrich led Cedar Springs with 19 points and 6 assists. Derek Ash had 12 points and 8 rebounds, outshining the Middleville star. Alec Hanmer scored 7 points and had 6 assists in his best game of the year. Covell scored 6 points, Reed and Baker had 2 each.
Despite the loss, Coach Secor found some positives. “The championship game was just a great high school game to be a part of. I thought we played one of our best games of the year,” he said. “I thought the kids executed our defensive game plan very well. Our defense is holding teams to 38 points per game, and that is something we are taking great pride in and trying to carry it over into OK Blue play.”
The Red Hawks continue with OK Blue Conference play when the travel to Coopersvile Friday to take on the Broncos. Game time is 6 p.m.