The Hopkins boys’ varsity basketball team Tuesday evening claimed its seventh victory in a row and moved into first place all alone in the O-K Silver Conference.
The Vikings took home a gritty 66-60 triumph from Calvin Christian, with whom they had been tied atop the league standings.
Hopkins improved to 11-4, 7-1 in the O-K Silver.
“We came out tough right out of the gates knocking down outside shots and playing pressure defense,” said coach Jake Jewett. “We knew they were going to try and pack it in and take away our size, so we needed to hit shots.
The Squires’ top player, Brock Stevens, played very well, finishing with 26 points, but Jewett insisted his ballclub limited the impact from their other players.
“This was a gritty win for us where we needed to play team basketball and leave it all out on the floor.,” Jewett said. “We did exactly that and executed down the stretch when we needed to.”
Tyler Zomerlei finished with 24 points, Nathan Tew counted 12, Drew Weber had 11, and Colin Weber finished with 10, as the Vikings’ balanced attack had four players in double figures.
The Hopkins girls didn’t have as successful an outing, losing 38-28 to Calvin Christian, as their overall record sank to 8-7, 5-3 in the conference.
The Vikings play next at home Friday night vs. Kelloggsville in a game that will honor four honorees this year for the Hopkins Athletic Hall of Fame.
COVER PHOTO: The Hopkins squad, gathering here around coach Jake Jewett, have won their last seven games and have claimed first place in the O-K Silver Conference, (Photo courtesy of Julie Eastman Smith)