DAILY SPORTS REPORT FOR JANUARY 3, 2000
MEN'S BASKETBALL
OLIVET, MI - A key to winning the MIAA championship has always been the
ability to win on the road.
On Wednesday night, the defending MIAA champion Calvin men's basketball
team got its league campaign off on the right foot with a hard-fought
79-72 victory at Olivet.
Ranked sixth in this week's D3hoops top-25 national poll, Calvin
improved to 10-2 overall with the victory and snapped Olivet's four-game
winning streak as the Comets (5-6 overall) were attempting to climb
above the .500 mark for the first time all year.
Calvin is now 5-0 in MIAA openers under head coach Kevin Vande Streek.
Calvin took a 37-24 lead on a three-point play by senior Brian
Krosschell (Grand Rapids Christian) with 5:59 left in the first half.
Olivet would answer with a 13-4 run to close out the half however with
senior Ajamian Gardner draining a three-pointer with five seconds left
to allow the Comets to close the halftime score to 41-37.
Calvin extended its lead to double-digits again in the second half,
using a 20-10 run to build a 62-49 lead with 11:56 left to play. Olivet
fought back with a 20-8 spurt over the next nine minutes with senior
Bruce Lawrence draining a pair of free throws to bring the Comets to
within a point at 70-69 with 2:17 left to play.
Calvin sophomore Jeremy Veenstra (Kalamazoo Christian) then stepped up
with a clutch jumper seconds later and freshman Chris Prins (Escondido,
CA) followed with a steal and a pair of free throws to put the Knights
up 74-69 with 1:23 left. After a defensive stop, Calvin went up 76-69
on a putback by Prins with 28 seconds remaining. The Knights then
closed out the game with three free throws in the final 20 seconds.
Veenstra led Calvin with 19 points and seven rebounds, connecting on
9-of-17 attempts from the floor. Senior Josh Tubergen (Holland
Christian) was also superb for Calvin off the bench with 10 points, nine
rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots. Freshman Rob Holleman
(Chandler, MN) added nine points off the bench while Krosschell, Prins
and sophomore Bryan Foltice (Tri-unity Christian) chipped in with eight
points apiece.
Lawrence led all scorers with 21 points and 17 rebounds while John
Coleman had 11 points and Brian Johnson 10.
Calvin's bench outscored Olivet's reserves 29-18. Both teams finished
with 40 rebounds with Prins leading Calvin's rebounding attack with
eight boards. Calvin shot 47.5 percent overall (29-of-61) while holding
Olivet to 39.7 percent (25-of-63) field goal shooting.
OTHER MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL SCORES WED. NIGHT
Adrian 71, Alma 64
Hope 93, Kalamazoo 84 (OT)
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin got over the .500 mark for the first time since December 1 with
an 80-50 victory over Olivet in the MIAA opener for both teams Wednesday
night at the Calvin Fieldhouse.
Calvin (6-5) used 16 first half points from sophomore Emily Mejeur
(Kalamazoo Christian) and a 20-4 game-opening run to build a 43-25
halftime lead as the Knights shot 48.6 percent from the floor in the
first half including 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from three-point range.
The Knights continued to build their lead in the second half as the
Comets would get no closer than 17 points the rest of the way.
Mejeur finished with a career-high 16 points to lead a balanced Calvin
scoring attack as 12 Knights got into the scoring column. Junior Tara
Bergsma (Calvin Christian) was also in double-figures in scoring for the
Knights with 14 points off the bench while freshman Kim Wolthuis (South
Christian) added nine points off the bench.
Olivet was led by senior Amy Strouse who collected 13 points while
Christine May had 12. Olivet shot just 25.0 percent (13-of-52) overall
including just 15.4 percent (4-of-26) in the second half. Calvin's
reserves scored 42 of its 80 points as the Knights finished with a 47.0
percent (31-of-66) field goal clip.
The two teams combined for 62 turnovers, 52 fouls and 61 free throw
attempts. Olivet finished with 32 turnovers with Calvin turning the
ball over 30 times. Olivet was 23-of-37 (62.2 percent) at the free
throw line while Calvin was 12-of-24 (.500) at the charity stripe.
Calvin also finished the evening with a season-high 21 steals with
sophomore Tricia Dyk (Western Michigan Christian), Bergsma and sophomore
Emily Beard (Southfield Christian) collecting four steals apiece.
OTHER MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCORES WED. NIGHT
Alma 60, Adrian 56
Hope 69, Kalamazoo 67
St. Mary's 61, Albion 52
-end-
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