MEN¡¯S BASKETBALL
Calvin 93, Hannibal-LaGrange 59
WEST PALM BEACH, FL ¨C Calvin closed out its Florida tour with a
flourish, handing Hannibal-LaGrange (MO) a 93-59 defeat at the Palm
Beach Atlantic Sailfish Holiday Tournament Saturday afternoon.
Calvin extended its winning streak to four games and improved to 9-3
overall with its victory over the Trojans and will now prepare for its
MIAA opener January 3 at the Calvin Fieldhouse against Olivet.
After connecting on just 3-of-18 attempts from three-point range in a
74-61 win over Milawukee School of Engineering the night before, Calvin
broke loose in the first half against Hannibal-LaGrange (3-11), hitting
seven-of-14 attempts from beyond the arc to vault into a 49-21 halftime
lead.
Calvin sophomore Phil Visser of Unity Christian High School led the
three-point assault in the first half as he splashed in three
consecutive triples off the bench, allowing the Knights to build a
double-digit lead in the opening 10 minutes that they would hold the
rest of the game. Visser finished the afternoon with a career-high 14
points as he was 5-for-9 from the field including 4-for-8 from
three-point territory.
¡°Phil is the type of outside shooter who can really give our team a big
lift when he is on from the outside,¡± said Calvin men¡¯s basketball
coach Kevin Vande Streek. ¡°I challenged him a few weeks ago to take a
bigger role in our team rotation and he has really responded to the
challenge. Over the last three games, Phil has stepped up his play in a
big way and has given our team a big lift in the process.¡±
Visser was the beneficiary of a number of passes from former Unity
Christian High School teammate Josh Berghuis as the sophomore point
guard came off the bench to hand out a career-high 10 assists against
just two turnovers.
Junior forward Jeremy Veenstra (Kalamazoo Christian) also continued his
stellar play for the Knights as he pumped in 19 points along with eight
rebounds to extend his double-figure scoring streak to 30 games dating
back to last year. Veenstra was 8-of-10 from the floor including a
perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range. Sophomore forward Chris Prins
(Escondido, CA) was also in double-figures for the Knights with 15
points and eight rebounds.
As a team, Calvin shot a blistering 54.2 percent (39-of-72) from the
floor including 40 percent (10-of-25) from three-point range. The
Knights also forced Hannibal-LaGrange into 18 turnovers and held the
Trojans to just 35.8 percent (19-of-53) field goal shooting.
Individually, Calvin limited 6-7, 240 pound senior center Tim McAuliffe
to just 10 points after the Hannibal-LaGrange senior had exploded for 27
points and 10 rebounds the night before in a win over host Palm Beach
Atlantic College. Marty Smyser led the Trojans in scoring with 12
points while Nick Carroz also had 11.
¡°We had an excellent team performance, particularly on defense,¡± said
Vande Streek, ¡°I thought our guys played with a lot of excitement and
energy. Our goal now is to carry over that same excitement and energy
into our MIAA schedule.¡±
Thursday night¡¯s game with Olivet will begin at 7:30 pm at the Calvin
Fieldhouse. The Knights are the three-time defending MIAA champions.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
SPRINGFIELD, OH ¨C Calvin closed out the Wittenberg Kiwanis Classic with
a hard-luck 54-52 loss to the College of Mount St. Joseph to fall to 5-5
on the year.
Calvin trailed 32-25 at the halftime break but mounted a second half
comeback that came up just short.
Junior center Emily Beard (Southfield Christian) had a strong game for
Calvin in defeat as she tallied a double-double with 16 points and 12
rebounds while also collecting three steals. Sophomore forward Liz
Sietsema (Grand Rapids Christian) was next with 10 points and four
boards while senior forward Tara Bergsma (Calvin Christian) and
sophomore forward Katie Corner (Catholic Central) chipped in with eight
points apiece. Junior guard Tricia Dyk (Western Michigan Christian)
also picked up a game-high seven steals along with six points and four
rebounds.
Kori Strange led the Lions (6-8) with a game-high 17 points while
dishing out four assists and collecting four steals.
Despite being outsized by a Mount St. Joseph squad that featured five
starters 6-0 or taller, Calvin finished with a 38-33 rebounding
advantage.
Calvin was hurt by turnovers and poor shooting however as the Knights
committed 25 turnovers and shot just 37.7 percent from the field
including just 33.3 percent in the first half.
Calvin will now prepare for its MIAA opener when it journeys to Olivet
Wednesday night for a 7:30 pm contest.
DECEMBER 28 RECAP written by Calvin Sports Information Student Assistant
Ross Weener
SPRINGFIELD, OH ¨C An opening round matchup with Marian College (IN)
proved to be too much for Calvin as it fell in the opening round of the
Wittenberg Kiwanis Holiday Classic 58-40. Marian dominated the Knights
in almost all statistical categories on its way to the win at the
Wittenberg HPER Center.
Calvin kept the game close early, using a jumper from sophomore Kim
Peterson (Ludington) to knot the score at 9-9 with 12:36 left in the
half. Marian (9-5) closed out the first half on a 17-6 scoring run
however to bump its halftime lead to 26-15.
In the second half, Calvin fell behind by as many as 22 points and never
got closer than 15 as Marian closed out the win.
¡°It was not what we had hoped for from a first game back from break,¡±
said Calvin women¡¯s basketball coach Kim Gall. ¡°It was evident that
we had not played a game in 23 days. We were out of synch virtually
from start-to-finish.¡±
Calvin was led in defeat by junior center Emily Beard (Southfield
Christian) who tallied eight points and eight rebounds while junior
guard Tricia Dyk (Western Michigan Christian) added eight points, four
rebounds and three steals.
The Knights (5-4) committed 19 turnovers in the defeat and were
outrebounded by Marian 45-33. Marian finished with a 40.8 percent field
goal clip while the Knights shot just 27.1 percent from the floor.
¡°When you lose a game the way we did tonight, the very next game you
play serves as kind of a gut check,¡± said Gall. ¡°Your next game shows
what a team has inside, to see if it can come back and overcome the
adversity of the previous day.¡±
Calvin will face Mount St. Joseph in the consolation game Saturday
afternoon at 1:00 pm. Host Wittenberg topped Mount St. Joseph 62-52 in
Friday¡¯s other first round game.
-end-
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