It was once said that former Detroit Lions quarterback Bobby Layne never lost a game, he just ran out of time. Could the same be said about Cedar Springs in the wake of its 52-45 loss to Hopkins Saturday in the Cornerstone Holiday Basketball Tournament?
Though Hopkins manhandled the Red Hawks throughout the first two and a half quarters, taking command of a 44-19 advantage, the underdogs outscored the Vikings’ second unit 26-8 the rest of the way, and even crept to within five points, 50-45, with just under a minute to go.
Some armchair quarterbacks, not Bobby Layne, might have scratched their heads and wondered if coach Jake Jewitt had called off his big dogs too early and made things a little too interesting.
Hopkins, smarting from its first defeat of the season Wednesday might to Forest Hills Eastern, came out swinging in the early going with a 9-2 lead and a full-court press that bothered Cedar enough to make miscues that turned into easy fast-break buckets. The Vikings also dominated the boards early, particularly on the defensive side.
Had it not been for a three-pointer late in the first period by Alex Kirkwood, the Red Hawks wouldn’t even have scored in double figures in the first eight minutes and they trailed 20-11.
Cedar battled back to close to gap to 20-16 on a short jumper by Dawson Wood, but junior guard Kyle Pierce hit a three-point shot from the corner and Hopkins’ defense held the Hawks scoreless until intermission en route to a 31-16 lead. Tyler Zomerlei’s triple just before the halftime buzzer widened the gap to 15 points.
The Vikings hammered Cedar in the first half of the third quarter, holding their opponent to a solitary three while threatening a blowout at 44-19. That’s when Jewitt called off his big dogs to give his second unit valuable playing experience. Though an act of kindness, the move came within five points of being fatal.
Wood started to hit a lot of threes and his last basket with 23 seconds left closed the deficit to five, 50-45. Viking senior Bryce Smith salted the contest away with a couple of free throws after that.
Despite limited playing time, sophomore Colin Weber scored 12 points and was named to the all-tournament team, along with Wood. Zomerlei topped the Hopkins attack with 13 points and Pierce took advantage of the extra playing time to score nine. Drew Weber and Bryce Smith both collected six rebounds.
Wood scored 20 for individual scoring honors.
Hopkins finished 2018 with a 5-1 overall season record. It will play Tri-Unity Christian Friday night, Jan. 4.
COVER PHOTO: Tyler Zomerlei (23) scores two of his team-leading 13 points.
