FEBRUARY 23, 2001
MEN'S BASKETBALL
For the second straight year, Calvin will play for an automatic berth
in the NCAA III Tournament in front of a home crowd at the Calvin
Fieldhouse.
The Knights advanced to the MIAA Tournament Championship game for the
second straight year with a 91-74 victory over Olivet Friday night in
the MIAA Tournament semifinals. Top-seeded Calvin (21-4) will face
sixth-seeded Adrian (14-12) in the MIAA Tournament Championship game at
7:30 pm at the Fieldhouse. The winner will received the MIAA's
automatic bid to the NCAA III Tournament. Adrian advanced to its
first-ever MIAA Tournament Championship game with a 94-88 overtime
victory over second-seeded Hope in Friday's first semifinal game.
Calvin used the hot hand of sophomore Bryan Foltice (Tri-unity
Christian) to break open a tight game in Friday's semifinal win over
Olivet. With Calvin leading 29-27, Foltice drilled a three and followed
with a coast-to-coast layup to put the Knights up 34-27. The sudden
burst gave the Knights new energy as Calvin went on to take a 43-34
halftime lead.
Calvin then used a 25-9 run early in the second half to put the game
out of reach.
Foltice led the Knights with a game-high 19 points as he connected on
4-of-5 attempts from three-point range and 6-of-8 attempts overall.
Sophomore Jeremy Veenstra (Kalamazoo Christian) added 16 points and six
rebounds while senior Josh Tubergen (Holland Christian) had 15 points,
eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Freshman Phil Visser (Unity
Christian) also came up with a career-high 11 points off the bench.
Olivet (12-12) was led by senior Ajamian Gardner who had 13 points
while seniors Brian Johnson and Derric Paige and freshman Travis
Schellmammer added 11 points each.
Calvin held a commanding edge on the boards, outrebounding the Comets
44-26 while the Knights also shot 48.5 percent overall including 40.9
percent (9-of-22) from three-point range.
Friday's first semifinal game also featured three-point shooting as
Adrian matched an MIAA Tournament record with 15 three-pointers. The
Bulldogs finished the evening with a 50 percent (15-of-30) three-point
clip with sophomore Steve Brooks leading the way with 32 points on the
strength of seven triples. Sophomore Dan Walter added 24 points,
connecting on four trifectas. Brooks and Walter both hit key triples in
overtime with Brooks putting the Bulldogs up 90-88 on a three-ball and
Walter later connecting from the right wing to put Adrian up five.
Adrian led 48-45 at halftime but Hope came back to take a second-half
lead before the Bulldogs were able to retake the lead at 82-80 on a
three-pointer by freshman Brad Maska with three minutes left to play.
Hope senior Ryan Klingler then tied the game at 82-82 with a pair of
free throws with 2:49 left with neither team scoring again in
regulation.
On the evening, Hope (16-10) connected on two more field goal attempts
than Adrian but finished with nine less three-point field goals as the
Flying Dutchmen were 6-of-25 from beyond the arc. Hope was led by
Klingler who scored 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds and picked up four
assists and four steals. Sophomore center Don Overbeek also had 17
points, seven boards and six blocked shots for the Dutchmen.
-end-
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