By Jon M. Gambee

Fennville came out on top of a defensive struggle Tuesday night to beat Martin 36-33 in a non-conference game.

Neither team could get on the board until midway through the first quarter and only nine points were scored between the two teams. Fennville enjoyed a 5-4 lead after those eight minutes and outscored Martin 11-7 in the second quarter to take a 16-11 lead into the half.

Martin came back in the third quarter, outscoring Fennville 15-12 and trailed by only 28-26 going into the final eight minutes. The Clippers pushed hard in the home stretch but could not overcome the deficit.

“Tonight was a game between two good defensive teams,” said Martin Coach David Curry. “It started with neither team scoring until about midway through the first quarter and it was Fennville who got on the board first.

“We did not play great offensively. In the first half we were trying to make those low percentage passes and Fennville is very good at anticipating. As a result we committed 19 turnovers in the first half. It’s hard to put points on the board when you turn the ball over that many times.

“But on the flip side, our defense did a tremendous job of executing our game plan the entire night. I thought defensively we played a near perfect game.”

The Clippers stayed close throughout the rest of the game and had a good chance to tie it or go ahead at the en but could not get the basket they needed.

“We were down by only one as the game winded down and ended up having to foul so we could get the ball back,” Curry said. “But Fennville made both free throws. Knowing we had to have a three to tie, Fennville defended at the three-point line and made it tough to get a clean shot off. We got a decent look, but weren’t able to convert.”

Tanner Curry led Martin, now 10-4, with 17 points and Garrett Dill had 11. Curry and Dill led the team with nine rebounds each.

“Tonight basically came down to who took better care of the ball and tonight that was Fennville,” Curry said. “We travel to Lawrence on Friday with hopes of staying undefeated in our division. The loss brings our overall record to 10-4 while we stay 6-0 in our division.”

Fennville is now 9-3 overall on the season.

PHOTO: Tanner Curry (52) tries to dribble the ball past a Fennville defender. (Photo courtesy of Jon Gambee)