GRAND HAVEN – Considering the tough conference that it’s in, the Grand Haven boys basketball team has done remarkably well in recent weeks.

The Bucs came into Tuesday’s league showdown against East Kentwood riding a five-game winning streak, including four straight in the O-K Red.

But it’s hard to maintain that kind of winning pace against elite competition, as the Buccaneers discovered in a tough 53-47 loss to the Falcons on their home court.

The loss leaves the Bucs in a tight spot in the O-K Red standings. They are currently 7-4 in the conference and tied for second place with Rockford and Grandville. Those three teams trail first-place East Kentwood and Hudsonville by one game.

Grand Haven’s Eli Wachter takes a jump shot. Photo/Jeremy Clark

Grand Haven now moves on to play two very big conference games, against Grandville at home on Friday and against Hudsonville at home next Tuesday.

The Bucs will finish their O-K Red season at Holland West Ottawa on Feb. 24.

Despite the outcome, Grand Haven Coach Greg Immink said the game was good for his team as it continually tries to improve.

“These are the type of games you want to play,” said the coach, whose team is now 14-4 overall. “You want to be challenged. It helps you learn about your team and where you need to improve week to week so you can get better.

“I was pleased with our resiliency. We just didn’t make some plays that we have all season long. That’s just the game of basketball sometimes.”

Grand Haven’s Will Korenstra cruises in for a layup. Photo/Jeremy Clark

The game started out very promising for the Buccaneers, who jumped out to a 10-0 lead just three minutes into the game.

The Falcons responded by nailing three triples over the rest of the first quarter, and Grand Haven led 17-10 heading into the second.

Nate Stump led Grand Haven with seven points in the first eight minutes.

East Kentwood remained hot from the floor in the second, nailing three more triples, outscoring the Bucs 11-4 and pulling into a 21-21 halftime tie.

“Give them credit,” Immink said about the Falcons’ marksmanship. “They shot the ball very well, especially in the first half. They made six threes and a little bit of it was ‘pick your poison.’ Our goal was to keep them out of the paint, and I thought we did.”

Wachter gets a shot off over an East Kentwood defender. Photo/Jeremy Clark

The Grand Haven offense continued to sputter in the third quarter, when East Kentwood doubled up the Bucs 14-7 and took a 35-28 lead in the fourth.

The Bucs fought back in the final quarter and pulled within two points, 49-47, with 23 seconds remaining. They went to the line for two free throws that could have tied the game but missed both.

The Falcons then made two free throws and East Kentwood junior Christian Humphrey threw down a dunk that sealed Grand Haven’s fate.

“This was another example of a great O-K Red battle,” Coach Immink said.

Eli Wachter led the Buccaneers with nine points while Joey Basil, Harrison Sorrelle and Stump all finished with eight points.