Hopkins and Sparta boys’ varsity basketball teams certainly have engaged in a couple of nail-biters on the court this season.

The Spartans edged Hopkins last month 59-58, but the Vikings turned the tables with a 53-52 decision Friday night in Sparta. The victory lifted Hopkins to a 3-8 overall record, 2-5 in the O-K Silver Conference, while Sparta fell to 5-8 overall.

The Martin girls’ team Friday night bounced back from a tough three-point loss Tuesday to Lawton by breezing past Fennville 45-19. The win lifted the Lady Clippers’ overall season record to 7-6.

Coach Ben Schipper said, “It was good to bounce back tonight and get into the win column after our tough loss at Lawton on Tuesday.

“The big deal tonight was getting Cirsten Coburn back into the lineup. She missed our last four games due to sickness and her presence was missed greatly during that stretch. We eased her in, playing only about eight minutes tonight, but our offense definitely had a spark we’ve been missing when she was out there. She helps get our ball movement going and has great court vision.

“I’m hopeful our team continues to get healthy heading towards the end of the season so we can finally be clicking heading into the state tournament.”

Gracie Shettler led the Lady Clippers with 14 points, followed by Makala Goddard and Maddy Bogdan with 8 points apiece.

“I loved Maddy’s aggressiveness tonight. She was very much the tone setter on the floor for us. We continue to work on improving our shot selection and I felt we made some strides with that tonight.”

However, the Martin boys fell 60-51 to Fennville later in the evening. The Clippers now are 3-9 on the season overall.

The Hopkins girls lost 51-34 to Sparta. The Wayland boys fell 60-42 to Kenowa Hills, but the Lady Wildcats improved to 8-5 overall by stopping the Knights 61-33.

COVER PHOTO: Some members of the Wayland High School band showed up in the stands to led their support to the Coaches vs. Cancer fund-raiser Friday evening.