Following an early week loss at Traverse City St. Francis, Big Rapids bounced back with a massive win at Tri County 77-48 on Friday night.

The Cardinals wasted no time getting out in front, using some early three-point shots against the Viking zone defense to lead 23-6 after the first quarter. Tri County would respond with some made shots in the second quarter, slowing down the Cardinal offense to only 11 points and get the deficit to 34-24 at the half. 

Big Rapids would start slow offensively in the third, giving the Vikings some early buckets; however, Big Rapids would use a full court press to force six straight Tri County turnovers and extend the lead to 20 after three quarters. Reserves would finish out the game for the final four minutes, sealing the Cardinals’ sixth conference win of the year. 

Liam McLaughlin led the Cardinals with a season-high 18 points, followed by Ty Gielczyk with 13, Cole Haist with 12, and Gabe Njenga with 10. Haist and Njenga unofficially added five assists a piece, while Njenga and Gielczyk combined for over 17 rebounds. 

Connor Henry paced the Vikings with an estimated 11 points, followed by Jason Guerra with 9. Preston Pifer added five rebounds.

Big Rapids moves to 11-4 on the season and 6-1 in conference action with the win. They will face West Michigan powerhouse Whitehall on Tuesday, Feb. 4. Tri County drops to 4-13 with their win over White Cloud on Saturday. They will face Newaygo at home on Friday, Feb. 7.

Catch every Cardinal game on NewsRadio WBRN, starting with pre-game at 6:30 P.M.