After a grueling and bruising defensive struggle throughout the first half, the Hopkins basketball team used a couple of spurts and nifty free throw shooting to pull away from Hamilton Tuesday night and claim a 65-52 triumph.
It was the season opener for coach Jake Jewitt and his cage group, and things looked sluggish in the early going, but quality defense and rebounding kept the Vikings in it during the early going and paved the way for the pullaway act.
Hamilton had won its first two games this season, edging Coopersville Nov. 27 and downing Middleville Thornapple Kellogg three days later, so it was its first loss of the campaign,
The two squads battled to a 10-10 deadlock in the first eight minutes, but the Hawkeyes squandered a golden opportunity after the buzzer sounded by missing all three free throws as a result of a foul called during a desperation shot. Hopkins was able to take leads of three to five points, but an inside hoop by Brad Osborne and his three-ball on the next series tied the count at 20-20.
Enter junior Kyle Pierce, who nailed a couple of threes just before intermission to stake his team to a 23-20 advantage at the half.
The Weber boys, burly 6-3 forward Drew and 6-5 sophomore point guard Colin, then started to take over the game. Drew began to bull his way into the paint for inside baskets and Colin, perhaps the only 6-5 sophomore point guard in these parts, swished seven free throws consecutively. As a result, Hopkins slowly began to increase its lead, which late in the third quarter was extended to as much as 11 points, 42-31, on Pierce’s third three of the evening.
The Vikings’ full-court pressure, which didn’t seem to bother Hamilton in the first half, came up with a few steals and turnovers to spark some easy baskets by senior guard Hunter Lewellyn. By the time the final eight minutes had begun, the Hawkeyes were confronted with a nine-point deficit, 48-39.
Hamilton’s Robert Tasma led a furious effort to close the gap in the late stages by nailing three threes from the right corner, but it just wasn’t enough. The gap continued to widen slowly, as senior center Nolan Smith joined the inside effort that helped stretch the difference into double figures.
Hopkins, which returned its entire starting five from last season’s 13-10 outfit, showed a balanced offensive attack. Drew Weber finished with 14 points, Colin Weber added 13, Smith had 12, Pierce 11 and Lewellyn eight.
Tasma led the Hawkeyes with 13 and Jaden Groenheide had 12.
COVER PHOTO: Hunter Lewellyn (14) tries to get inside for layup along the baseline.