FRUITPORT – It doesn’t seem like the Fruitport boys basketball team can buy a win, no matter how hard the Trojans have been pushing for one lately.

In two games last week, Fruitport came from way behind in the final minutes to pull within two points, but fell short against both Grand Rapids West Catholic and Hamilton.

On Tuesday it worked out the other way. The Trojans were leading Newaygo by five points with just under three minutes remaining, but let the advantage slip away and lost 50-47 in a non-conference matchup on their home court.

It was the ninth straight loss for Fruitport, which fell to 4-11 while Newaygo improved to 9-5.

Fruitport’s late lead disintegrated quickly as the clock ticked down.

Newaygo’s Ethan Reyburn drilled a three-pointer to cut that lead to two. A few seconds later, his teammate Hunter Yearsovich hit another triple to steal the lead and the Lions kept it for the rest of the game.

Yearsovich hit an iso layup after a steal to make it 48-45 following the two 3-pointers. After two Newaygo free throws and a Fruitport layup, the Trojans had four seconds left to get a potential game-tying shot off, but turned the ball over to end the game.

“I thought we were closing out okay, but sometimes the ball goes in the hoop, sometimes it doesn’t,” said Fruitport coach Steve Erny, whose team also fell 82-37 to Hudsonville Unity Christian on Monday. “I think we hit one 3-pointer all night and they hit five. I thought we were settling for too many outside shots early, but even so, another one or two of those go in, we’ve got ourselves a different result. That’s the way it works sometimes.”

Newaygo led 14-10 after one quarter, 25-20 at halftime and 38-35 heading into the fourth.

But 30 seconds into the final quarter, Fruitport freshman Hudson Hazekamp grabbed his own offensive rebound and sank a layup to give Fruitport a 39-38 advantage.

Newaygo responded with a layup of its own, but Hazekamp got another basket off another rebound to take the lead back.

Senior Nathan Carlisle hit a fast break layup and Hazekamp nailed a short jumper to make it 45-40 in favor of the Trojans with five minutes remaining.

“He always holds himself to a high standard,” Erny said of Hazekamp. “To have him come through and help us make a comeback – that was a good thing to see.”

The lead was short-lived however, because the visitors ended the game with a lethal 10-2 run.

“It was a tough game and we fought to the end, but we did not have our ‘A’ game tonight, unfortunately,” Erny said. “We’re in the middle of our conference changeover, so we had a non-conference game here and I think our guys were amped up and ready to go. I just don’t think we executed well in the first half.”

Fruitport sophomore DayDay Williams led his team with 14 points and eight rebounds. Junior Ryan Bosch had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Hazekamp finished with eight points and five rebounds.

Logan Klomp led the Lions with 18 points.

“Our mantra is we’ve got to continue to pound the rock each day to try to get a little bit better,” Erny said. “In a season where the wins haven’t been there as much, especially lately, that really tests your resolve to be a good teammate and somebody who can bounce back from adversity.

“We’ve got to continue to fight and we’ve got a big game Friday night against Spring Lake, so that’s what we have to turn our attention to.”