BANGOR — Cassopolis’ first trip to the Class C regional since 2008 came up a bit short Monday night.

The Rangers could not get the ball to fall against Quincy in the semifinals at Bangor and dropped a 64-60 decision to the Orioles.

After winning a pair of double overtime games to capture its first district title since 2008 last week, Cassopolis appeared to be poised to pull out another dramatic win as it had the ball down two points in the final seconds.

After trailing 61-54 with 1:15 to play, the Rangers scored six unanswered points to cut the lead to 61-60.

Following a free throw by Quincy to extend the lead to two, Tyrese Hunt-Thompson was able to find a crease in the Orioles’ defense to drive to the basket.

His shot rimmed out and Kiambu Gary grabbed the rebound, but it was knocked away in the ensuing scrum and Quincy’s Nathan Karney wound up with the ball and a foul.

Karney made both free throws to seal the victory.

“Things just didn’t go our way at the end,” said Cassopolis coach Ricky Evans. “A couple of times we had loose balls go off our hands out of bounds. And we had several shots go in and out. That was the game.”

While the Rangers (18-5) struggled to put the ball in the basket much of the night, Karney came up big when it most counted for the Orioles.

The Big 8 Conference’s most valuable player scored 10 of his 16 points in the final eight minutes and was 6-of-8 at the free throw line.

Cassopolis had to battle throughout the second half to keep the game close after dominating much of the first 16 minutes.

The Rangers built a 25-16 lead midway through the second quarter before going ice cold and going away from the things that helped them open up that advantage.

Quincy (20-4) was able to erase that lead and headed into the locker room deadlocked at 27-27.

“Sometimes kids get caught up in the game and it’s really easy to do,” Evans said. “I told them at halftime that we got our lead by going to the basket and when we did that they hadn’t stopped us. But sometimes kids want to show their individual skills and we didn’t need that. And it cost us in the second quarter.”

While Cassopolis finished the night shooting 40 percent from the field, in the second quarter the Rangers had a streak of nine consecutive missed shots.

Quincy, which will face Kalamazoo Christian, which upset Schoolcraft 53-47 in overtime, in tonight’s regional championship game, shot 56 percent from the field.

William Dunn, a 6-foot-7 freshman, led the Orioles with 19 points.

Cassopolis was led by Hunt-Thompson’s game-high 21 points. Shane Los one of just two seniors on the Rangers’ roster, finished with 17 points. Xander Smith added 14.

 

QUINCY 64, CASSOPOLIS 60

At Bangor

QUINCY 64

Drew Deaton 7, William Dunn 19, Caleb McCavit 3, Ryan Gibson 6, Nathan Karney 16, Bryce Ruhl 9, Braden Allman 0, Jordan Nelson 4. TOTALS: 23 13-21 64.

CASSOPOLIS 60

Shane Los 17, Brylan Glover 2, Xander Smith 14, Tyrese Hunt-Thompson 21, Kiambu Gary 4, Devonte Goins 2, Travor Bruens 0. TOTALS: 25 7-10 60.

 

Quincy                       14       27       41       64

Cassopolis    16       27       40       60

3-point baskets: Quincy 5 (Gibson 2, Deaton 1, Dunn 1, McCavit 1), Cassopolis 3 (Smith 1, Los 1, Hunt-Thompson 1). Total fouls (fouled out): Quincy 12 (none), Cassopolis 16 (Goins). Varsity records: Quincy 20-4, Cassopolis 18-5.