NORTH MUSKEGON – The Hart boys basketball program has a different feel to it under first-year head coach Nick Bronsema.

That was evident on Friday night as the Pirates improved to 8-0 overall on the season and 3-0 in West Michigan Conference Rivers Division with a very impressive 61-45 win over a very good North Muskegon team.

“lt’s amazing,” said Hart standout Parker Hovey about the team atmosphere so far this season, which helped the Pirates surpass their seven win total from last season. “Our chemistry is amazing. We’re just having a lot of fun and winning games.”

Part of the Pirates’ success this season can be traced to an offense that’s averaging around 71 points per game.

The Hart offense clicked in right away on Friday when the Pirates jumped out to an early 10-2 lead, and repeated the hot start after halftime by scoring the first eight points of the third quarter.

Hart’s Parker Hovey, who scored a game-high 26 points, is defended by North Muskegon’s James Young. Photo/Tyler Lirones

Hovey has been a big part of that attack all season, and he was very hot again on Friday, leading the Pirates with 26 points.

“He’s really done a lot of growing form what I hear,” said Bronsema, a former Orchard View coach, about his 6-6 senior guard’s abilities. “Nothing he does on the court surprises me. He’s in the gym more than anyone I’ve ever seen in my life. He really works hard.”

Despite failing behind 10-2 to start the game, North Muskegon rallied with an 8-0 run to end the first quarter and tie the game 10-10 headed into the second.

Hovey had five first quarter points to lead the Pirates while James Young had six points for the Norse.

“l’m very happy about that,” said Rypstra about the resiliency his team showed. “I’ve been telling the guys we have to continue fighting. But they’re (Hart) just boom-boom-boom and it’s hard to defend.”

North Muskegon’s James Young floats up for a layup. Photo/Tyler Lirones

In the second quarter, Hovey and Blake Weirich each had six points to help Hart pull ahead 29-20 at halftime.

Hovey kept rolling in the third quarter, pumping in nine points as the Pirates extended their lead to 47-43.

Hovey added another six points in the final quarter as Hart sealed up the win.

Weirich finished with 16 points for the Pirates.

After the game, Coach Bronsema was quick to credit the coaches who preceded him at Hart and helped set the table for the current squad.

North Muskegon’s Troy McManus (1) tries to find a pass while being defended by Hart’s Caleb Bitely. Photo/Tyler Lirones

“The guys before me did a wonderful job,” the coach said. “We didn’t walk into this with kids who didn’t know how to play basketball. I give a lot of credit to the former coaches. I’m just happy for the kids and you can tell they’re excited. You can feel it.”

North Muskegon was paced by Sam Gallo with 13 points while Young and Troy McManus each scored 10.

North Muskegon, now 5-2 overall and 2-2 in division play.