It was a mixed bag for Hopkins Saturday afternoon in twice rescheduled basketball games against Kelloggsville. The boys won 77-62, but the girls suffered their first loss since the Christmas break, 42-34.
The Viking boys got off to a slow start, trailing 21-15 at the end of the first quarter and 34-32 at the half. They turned this around in the third period, scoring 29 points to the Rockets’ 19 and took an eight-point lead, 61-53 into the final eight minutes.
Junior forward Drew Weber had a breakout game, scoring 28 points, senior guard Hunter Lewellyn finished with 17, sophomore Colin Weber added 15 and senior Tyler Zomerlei chipped in 11.
“After a slow start, we had a strong third quarter in order to pull ahead and eventually finish off the game on the winning end,” coach Jake Jewett explained. “We used our size advantage inside better in the second half and passed through double teams to find open layups. I’m proud of our discipline down the stretch but we need to play more consistent from the start.
“Hunter Lewellyn’s energy on both ends of the court really fueled the rest of the team and got us going.”
The Hopkins guys now are 10-4 overall and 5-2 in the O-K Silver Conference.
The Lady Vikings ran into a top-notch defensive effort by the Rockets and suffered their first defeat this season in the O-K Silver Conference.
Senior point guard Kennedy Helderop scored 12 points and Olivia Sebright 10 to lead Hopkins, which fell to 7-5 overall and 5-1 in league play.
Both the boys’ and girls’ team will play Kelloggsville again Tuesday evening.