REPORT FOR November 25, 2000
MEN'S BASKETBALL
For more than a year, Rob Dykstra sat patiently on the sidelines,
waiting for a chance to contribute alongside his Calvin teammates. On
Saturday, Dykstra got his chance and made the most of it, coming up with
a pair of game-saving plays in the final minute to help catapult Calvin
to a thrilling 85-81 victory over cross-town rival Cornerstone in the
championship game of the Old Kent Classic in front of nearly 5,000 fans.
Sidelined for all but one game last year by a foot injury, Dykstra
missed the bulk of Calvin's pre-season practices this fall with a
hamstring injury and did not join the Calvin practice sessions until
last week.
On Saturday, the Tri-Unity Christian High School graduate made his first
appearance of the year with less than five minutes left to play and
promptly delivered with a put-back bucket that gave Calvin a 76-75 lead.
It was in the final minute that Dykstra delivered the most however.
With the game tied at 81-81, Calvin set up for the game-winning play but
lost the ball momentarily as it was deflected toward midcourt. With
several players scrambling for the ball, Dykstra dove to the floor and
came up with the loose ball, quickly passing it to a teammate to avoid a
held-ball situation. The Dysktra save came with just 30 seconds left on
the game clock and 11 ticks left on the shot clock.
After an official's timeout, a clear-out play was set up for Calvin
sophomore Bryan Foltice, also a Tri-Unity Christian High School
graduate. Foltice drove and put up a 15-foot jumper that was blocked by
Cornerstone sophomore Bryan Edwards. Calvin senior Brian Krosschell
(Grand Rapids Christian) was able to deflect the ball back to Foltice
however and the lefthander quickly tossed up a looping runner that
nestled through the hoop a half-second before the shot clock expired,
giving the Knights an 83-81 lead.
Cornerstone followed with a timeout with 15 seconds left. On the
ensuing possession, Cornerstone attempted a pass into the post but
Dykstra stepped in front to intercept the pass with six seconds left and
was fouled with 4.6 seconds remaining. Dykstra then drained both free
throw attempts to give Calvin an insurmountable 85-81 lead as a
Cornerstone three-point attempt fell short at the buzzer.
With the victory, Calvin became the first team in Old Kent Classic
history to repeat as tournament champion. In addition, the Knights
stretched their winning streak to 26 games dating back to last year,
matching the school-record winning streak established by the 1960-61 and
1961-62 Calvin teams.
Saturday's win also marked Calvin's 10th victory against Cornerstone
(originally known as Grand Rapids Baptist) in 11 attempts dating back to
1986. The two East Beltline rivals will meet again in less than two
weeks when the Knights host the Golden Eagles, Tuesday, December 5 at
the Calvin Fieldhouse.
Saturday's game featured a meeting of nationally-ranked teams as Calvin
entered the game ranked number-one in the latest D3hoops.com poll while
Cornerstone was ranked third in the first NAIA Division II poll of the
year. Cornerstone had won the NAIA Division II national championship in
1999 while Calvin had claimed the NCAA Division III crown last March.
For the majority of the first half, it appeared the Calvin would gain
the upper hand as the Knights led by as many as 20 points, en route to
taking a 49-32 halftime lead. Calvin shot 56.8 percent from the floor
in the first half while holding Cornerstone to 44 percent field goal
shooting.
Foul trouble and red-hot perimeter shooting by Cornerstone spelled
trouble for Calvin in the second half. A 13-0 scoring run sparked by a
pair of triples by junior Brad Gray ignited the Cornerstone comeback.
The Golden Eagles took their first lead of the game at 65-63 on a
three-point play by Edwards with 7:54 left with Calvin sophomore
standout Jeremy Veenstra (Kalamazoo Christian) fouling out on the play.
Veenstra was the second interior player for Calvin to foul out as senior
Josh Tubergen (Holland Christian) was lost with five fouls with over 10
minutes left to play.
The lead would then change hands six times over the next four minutes
with Cornerstone finally building a 79-76 lead on a short jumper by
sophomore Justin VandePol with 2:48 left. The lead would be short-lived
as Foltice responded with a clutch step-back three-pointer with a
defender in his face to tie the game at 79-79 with 2:24 remaining.
Krosschell then powered in a move after a Calvin defensive stop to put
the Knights up 81-79 with 1:15 remaining. VandePol tied the game back
up at 81-81 on a layin of his own with 55 seconds left, setting up the
last-second heroics by Dykstra and Foltice.
Krosschell led Calvin in scoring with 17 points including 12 in the
second half while Foltice came up with 16 points. Both players were
named to the all-tournament team with Foltice earning tournament MVP
honors. Freshman Chris Prins (Escondido, CA) and Veenstra were also in
double-figures as Prins had 15 points and Veenstra 13 points.
Cornerstone was led by VandePol who tallied 20 points while senior Mark
Zichterman had 13 points and Edwards 11.
Calvin finished with a 45.2 percent (33-of-73) field goal clip but
struggled at the free throw line, converting just 14-of-23 (60.9) at the
charity stripe. Cornerstone shot 52.8 percent (28-of-53) overall
including 57 percent in the second half. The Golden Eagles were
particularly affective from three-point range, hitting 7-of-10 (.700)
attempts from beyond the arc. Calvin outrebounded Cornerstone 38-37
with Veenstra coming up with a game-high seven boards. Calvin also
forced 22 Cornerstone turnovers while Calvin turned the ball over just
10 times.
Calvin returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts long-time Division
III rival Wheaton at 7:30 pm at the Calvin Fieldhouse. The national
championship Calvin men's cross country team will be honored at halftime
with a post-game reception for the cross country team to follow on the
Fieldhouse floor.
-end-
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