SPRING LAKE — It may only be the second week of the boys basketball season, but Friday night’s rivalry game between the Grand Haven and Spring Lake boys basketball teams had the energy of a high-stakes, late-season contest.

The teams and crowd had an intensity throughout, despite the Buccaneers leading by double-digits for much of the game in a 58-40 Grand Haven win.

The Lakers were as close as six points early in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t fully recover from an ugly start.

Grand Haven is now 2-0 on the season, while Spring Lake falls to 1-1.

“It’s always a big game. I think both teams probably play their hardest game of the year in this one,” said Grand Haven coach Greg Immink. “It’s what makes high school basketball special. Having the students in the stands and being in a loud atmosphere, for both sides, I thought it was great.

“For us to come out with a win was great. I thought our guys competed extremely hard.”

“It’s always a crazy atmosphere out here,” added Bucs senior Owen Worthington. “It’s so much fun. You can definitely hear the emotions going on for everybody. It’s probably the most fun game of the year, for sure.”

Worthington stepped up big in the spotlight of the rivalry game, connecting on six three-pointers to lead Grand Haven with 18 points. He scored the first six points of the game on a pair of triples, which sparked an 18-3 run in the first quarter.

“I’m really proud of Owen Worthington tonight for stepping up and knocking down his outside shots,” Immink said. “Coming off last week (against Reeths-Puffer), I know he wasn’t happy with the way he shot the ball. I think everybody knows he’s capable of doing more, and tonight he stepped up big and did that. Give him a lot of credit.”

“It felt great,” Worthington said of the hot night. “Obviously coming out of the gate shooting well is definitely a confidence booster. I came off a rough first game, but still came in with a lot of confidence for this game.”

Grand Haven stormed out to an 18-3 lead to start the game and led 18-6 after one quarter. The teams played an even second quarter at 15-15. A buzzer-beating three by Spring Lake’s Kaden George kept the halftime deficit at 33-21 for the Lakers.

Spring Lake’s defense clamped down in the third, holding the Bucs to just five points. The Lakers were within five points and on a 10-0 run with 2:30 left in the quarter before a three by Worthington stopped the momentum. Grand Haven led 38-30 after three.

Spring Lake was within nine points at 45-36 with 3:45 to play, but Grand Haven ended the game on a 13-4 run, including eight of the game’s final nine points, to widen the final margin.

Nic Stump scored 16 points for Grand Haven, including 10 in the first half. Tucker Kooi was the next-highest scorer for the Bucs with five.

George was a force for Spring Lake, totaling 25 points to lead all scorers. He was 11-for-14 at the free throw line and scored 13 of the team’s 19 second-half points.

Porter Saunders added six for Spring Lake and Zach Schlepp scored four.