FeedsInkster falls in district final
Inkster’s long, arduous roller coaster ride of a basketball season came to a close on Friday when the Vikings lost to host Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, 64-60, in the Class C District 70 finale.
Like they did all season long, the Vikings played tough and kept it close but the Fighting Irish’s line shooting was too much.
The rule is: if down, foul to get back in it.
Inkster was down in the second half and did as they were supposed to, but Ann Arbor hit 22 free throws in the second 18 minutes of play. Inkster’s defense did an outstanding job holding the Irish to just four field goals in the entire half but the free throws caught up to them.
Losing by a handful of points is the same old story written on a different day. A majority of Inkster’s 15 losses were by the same means and were a result of not closing out games.
However, for a very young team with a new coach, a new system and an inconsistent roster, making it to the district final was a big accomplishment. Still, first-year coach Greg Carter—also the coach of the state runner-up football team—hoped for a little more.
“We thought we should have played a little bit better in the championship game,” he said. “The kids played well but we hoped to go further. We were a different team at the end of the year than we were at the beginning. We were definitely a tough out.”
Inkster was down 34-27 at the half and closed the gap to 42-41 at the end of the third.
Senior Johnny Crawford played like a guy that didn’t want to leave the hardware store without his hardware. He scored 13 of his game-high 21 points in the second half to keep the fuel and hope burning for Inkster. Rollins added 19 for the Vikes.
Junior Renty Rollins, in only his eighth game this season, was a huge asset coming into district play. He scored 19 against the Irish and 20 to lead Inkster past Monroe St. Mary’s Catholic Central, 59-56, in the district semifinal on Thursday.
“He’s made a big difference,” Carter said. “Him and bringing some of the younger JV players up made the biggest difference in the tempo of the game.”
Howard added 12 against Monroe and senior J.J. Snelling scored 10.
The added junior varsity players included sophomore Will Cranford and freshmen Cliff Murphy, Jonathan Taylor and Dean Butler.
Murphy had an immediate impact in the district opener against Romulus-Summit Academy North. Murphy, along with Crawford, scored 12 to lead the team to a 77-50 victory. Josh Williams added 10 in that game.
For Carter, the season was anything but normal but it did have its ups.
“I had fun,” was his first reaction. “It was different. The coach has a little less control in basketball. There were times I wished I had that 25 seconds in between plays (like football).
Carter, also the school’s athletics director, is undecided if he will return next season as the basketball coach or not.
“I’ve had thoughts both ways,” he admitted. “I really like working with the kids. I’ll have to wait and see.”
Make no mistake; football fans will definitely see him on the sidelines in the fall.
