The Hopkins boys’ varsity basketball team Friday evening lost a 59-58 heartbreaker at home to Sparta in the opening contest in the O-K Silver Conference this season.
The ballgame was a close one virtually throughout the night. The host Vikings led 12-10 at the end of the first period and were clinging to a 28-27 advantage at intermission. They opened up a small lead, 46-30 at the close of three, but were unable to hang on to it down the stretch.
“I’m proud of our defensive effort, but we need to take better care of the ball, especially in crunch time,” said coach Jake Jewett. “Some untimely turnovers for us and a late foul call with .05 seconds left on the clock brought Sparta to the free-throw line. They made both free-throws to win the game.
“We’ll need to get better from this game, as we travel to Calvin Christian next week Tuesday.”
Tristen Perry finished with 20 points and Josh Tew counted 10.
The loss dropped Hopkins to an overall record of 1-3. It came just three days after scoring a big upset victory over previously undefeated West Michigan Aviation Academy.
Sparta, meanwhile, now is 4-1 overall.
