Big Rapids boys’ basketball season came to an end Wednesday night, as the Cardinals fell to the Hart Pirates 56-55 in a heartbreaking loss at Newaygo High School.

The Cardinals dominated the start of the game, leading 15-4 after the first quarter behind exquisite defense and points inside the paint. Unfortunately, senior center Ty Gielczyk was knocked out of the game with an ankle injury in the second quarter and Hart took the opportunity to cut the game close behind some three-point baskets.

The Pirates continued the massive run to take a near double-digit lead going into the fourth quarter. Big Rapids would fight back to get the game to one possession late, where a Gabe Njenga dunk in the final seconds would put the Cardinals one point short of forcing overtime.

Njenga led the Cardinals with an estimated 20 points on the night and eight rebounds. Liam McLaughlin added 12 points while freshman Drue Haist added eight off the bench. Cole Haist was held to three points with multiple assists and JaReese Moten added six steals defensively.

Hart was paced by 16 points and eight rebounds from Caleb Ackley as well as 12 points from Avery Guikema. Kolton Rockwell added nine points and multiple assists. The Pirates will face Ludington on Friday night for the District 35 Championship with the win.

Big Rapids finishes the season with 16-7 record and finishes second place in the CSAA-Red conference. The Cardinals graduate five seniors, including starters Gabe Njenga, JaReese Moten, and Ty Gielczyk as well as Kingston McKinney and Xavier Mishler off the bench.