REPORT FOR December 4, 2001
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin and Cornerstone gave a a standing room only crowd its money's worth and
then a little more Tuesday night at Cornerstone's Mol Arena.
In a much anticipated rematch, Cornerstone claimed round two of the Battle of
the Beltline, nipping Calvin 82-79 in overtime before an estimated crowd of
2,300 fans. Ranked third in the latest NAIA Division II national poll,
Cornerstone (11-1) jumped out to a 22-17 lead with 9:39 left in the first half
before Calvin (5-3) ripped off a 12-3 scoring run with sophomore Rob Holleman
(Chandler, MN) putting the Knights up 27-25 on a turnaround jumper and junior
Jeremy Veenstra (Kalamazoo Christian) following with a back-door layup to put
the maroon and gold up 29-25 with 2:24 left in the first half.
Junior Rob Dykstra (Tri-unity Christian) then allowed the Knights to take a
34-31 lead into the halftime lockerroom as he swished Calvin's only
three-pointer of the first half on a shot from the left wing with 33 seconds
left in the half.
Ranked 14th in the latest D3hoops.com poll, Calvin then built a 46-38 lead five
minutes into the second half on the strength of a 12-7 scoring run with
sophomore Kevin Broene (Grand Rapids Christian) connecting on his first four
shots of the second half in the five-minute stretch.
Cornerstone answered with a run of its own, rattling off 13 unanswered points
to take a 51-46 lead with 12:32 left in regulation. Calvin came back to chip
away at the Cornerstone lead and pulled to within two points at 68-66 on a layin
by Veenstra with 2:57 left on the clock. A basket by Cornerstone's Andrew
Swadling put the Golden Eagles up 70-66 but Calvin got to within two again as
sophomore Chris Prins (Escondido, CA) converted a drive in traffic with 1:03
left. Calvin then came up with a defensive stop on Cornerstone's ensuing
possession and proceeded to use a pair of timeouts to set up a game-tying play.
Calvin's strategy out of its last timeout paid off as Veenstra was able to
penetrate to the basket, pull up from 10 feet and bank a shot in off the glass
with 4.8 ticks left on the clock to tie the game at 70-70. A last second shot
by Cornerstone was off the mark, sending the contest into overtime.
In the extra session, Calvin took control early, building a 74-70 lead on
jumpers by Broene and Holleman. Cornerstone's Keith Wurn answered with a clutch
triple moments later however to bring the Golden Eagles to within one at 74-73.
Cornerstone would then take the lead at 76-75 on a baseline jumper from Bryan
Foltice with two minutes left only to see Veenstra answer with a high-arcing
jump shot in the lane that put Calvin up 77-76 with 1:22 to go.
Cornerstone junior Bryan Edwards then put the Golden Eagles up for good as he
scored on a drive in traffic and after a Calvin turnover, Edwards lofted in a
three-point shot from the right side of the key with time ticking down on the
shot clock to put the Golden Eagles up 81-77 with 22 seconds remaining.
Veenstra quickly brought the ball down the floor and converted a layup with 15
seconds left to cut the gap to 81-79. Calvin then fouled Cornerstone's Brad
Gray with 13 seconds left. Gray split the pair of free throws to give
Cornerstone a three-point lead while also allowing the Knights a chance to tie.
Veenstra then put up a three-pointer from the top of the key that came up just
short with five seconds left and Prins followed with a desperation three at the
buzzer that rimmed in and out, allowing Cornerstone to pull out the
pulse-pounding victory.
Calvin was led in scoring by Veenstra who dropped in a game-high 21 points
along with nine rebounds and five assists while Broene popped in 20 points.
Prins was next for Calvin with 10 points while senior Jon Potvin (Gladstone)
came up with an inspiring effort, scoring nine points and dishing out six
assists against just one turnover in 34 minutes of play. Dykstra also had nine
points and grabbed seven rebounds while Holleman added seven points and three
rebounds.
Cornerstone was led by senior Mark Zichterman and junior Bryan Edwards with 20
points apiece while Foltice added 15.
Calvin shot 50 percent (35-of-70) from the field but converted just 2-of-16
(12.5 percent) attempts from three-point range. Calvin did come up with one of
its best assists-to-turnover ratios of the year as the Knights picked up 22
assists and turned the ball over just 14 times.
Cornerstone shot 46.2 percent overall and 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from
three-point land. The Golden Eagles struggled at the charity stripe however,
converting just 60.9 percent (14-of-23) of their free throw attempts.
Cornerstone also held a slight edge on the boards, outrebounding Calvin 42-39.
Calvin returns to action Friday night to face its second straight
Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference opponent as the Knights will host the
Cougars of Spring Arbor College at 7:30 pm. A year ago, Spring Arbor handed
Calvin its first defeat of the year, using a last-second shot to defeat the
Knights 73-72 in Spring Arbor, Michigan.
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