February 25, 2001
Calvin to host Defiance in first round NCAA III Tournament Game
Thursday night
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - The Calvin men's basketball team will be facing a
familiar opponent when it opens first round NCAA III Tournament play
Thursday night. Calvin (22-4) will host Defiance (17-10) -- a former
member of the MIAA - in a first round game Thursday night at 7:30 pm at
the Calvin Fieldhouse. The winner of Thursday night's first round game
will play number-one ranked Ohio Northern (24-2) Saturday night in Ada,
Ohio.
Now a member of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC),
Defiance finished in a three-way tie for the HCAC regular season title
with Anderson and Manchester at 7-5 in the conference and then earned
its second NCAA III Tournament bid in the last three years by winning
the HCAC Tournament last weekend. Defiance defeated host Manchester
104-97 in the HCAC Tournament Championship game Saturday night.
A year ago, Calvin and Defiance met in the MIAA Tournament Championship
game with Calvin recording a 95-82 victory over the Yellow Jackets to
advance to the NCAA III Tournament. Calvin then went on to win its
second NCAA III National Championship as the Knights defeated Franklin
(IN), Wooster (OH), McMurry (TX), Franklin & Marshall (PA) and
Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the NCAA's.
Thursday night's game will be the 10th meeting between Calvin and
Defiance with Calvin holding a 7-2 series lead. Calvin has won five of
the last six meetings including the last three. The last Defiance
victory over Calvin came in 1999 as the Yellow Jackets defeated Calvin
75-72 in the MIAA Tournament semifinals on a last-second three-point
shot. Defiance went on to capture the MIAA Tournament and make its
first-ever NCAA III Tournament appearance where it was defeated by
Otterbein in the first round.
"We're looking forward to Thursday night," said Calvin men's basketball
coach Kevin Vande Streek. "We've have some great games with Defiance
over the last few years and I expect another one Thursday. We have a
great deal of respect for (Defiance head coach) Tom Palombo and his
program."
Defiance is led in scoring by 6-2 senior guard Gavin Sever who averages
17.9 points and 4.5 reounds a game. The left-handed Sever is also
shooting 43.9 percent from three-point range this year as he has
connected on 54 of 123 attempts from beyond the arc. Junior guard Eric
Viney is close behind, averaging 17.8 points and 4.8 rebounds a game.
As a freshman, Viney connected on the game-winning triple to defeat
Calvin in the 1999 MIAA Tournament semifinals. Senior center Frank Kill
and junior forward Jason Hervey also average double-digits in scoring as
Kill is averaging 13.8 points a game and Hervey 12.0 points a game.
Kill leads Defiance in rebounding with an average of 7.2 boards a game
while Hervey has connected on a team-high 58 three-point field goals.
As a team, Defiance is averaging 84.5 points a game on offense while
giving up 79.5 points a game on defense. Defiance has won its last five
games including six of its last seven.
Calvin is led by sophomore forward Jeremy Veenstra who averages 19.0
points and 7.7 rebounds a game. Sophomore guard Bryan Foltice is next
for Calvin, averaging 14.3 points a game while connecting on 41.9
percent of his three-point field goal attempts. Senior center Josh
Tubergen is next, averaging 10.2 points and 6.3 rebounds a game. As a
team, Calvin is averaging 85.8 points a game on offensive and allowing
72.0 points a game on defense. Calvin has won its last seven games
including 10 of its last 11.
Calvin is making its 13th NCAA III Tournament appearance. The Knights
are 22-13 in NCAA III Tournament play, advancing to the NCAA III Final
Four three times and the NCAA III Quarterfinals five times. The Knights
are 9-1 in NCAA III Tournament games played at the Calvin Fieldhouse
with Wittenberg handing Calvin its only NCAA III Tournament defeat at
the Fieldhouse, defeating the Knights 70-69 in 1987.
-end-
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