FEBRUARY 9, 2002
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Playing on an injured ankle, Albion senior guard Brett Quayle saw only four
minutes of playing time in Saturday's contest at Calvin including only three
seconds of time in the second half. Quayle's three-second effort in the
second half made all the difference however as the sharpshooter drilled a
three-pointer at the buzzer to lift Albion to a dramatic 65-64 victory over
Calvin, leaving the bulk of Calvin's 4,004 homecoming fans in stunned
silence.
The Albion victory over Calvin was significant in more ways than one as it
allowed the Britons to snap a four-game losing streak while snapping Calvin's
six-game win streak. The Albion win also allowed the Britons to break
Calvin's 17-game homecourt win streak dating back to last year. Albion in
fact, had been the last team to defeat the Knights at the Calvin Fieldhouse.
In addition, Albion gained a regular season sweep of Calvin for the first time
since the 1983-84 season and became the first opponent to spoil Calvin's
homecoming since Adrian achieved the feat with a 69-62 win over Calvin in 1988.
Finally, the Albion victory dropped Calvin (17-6 overall, 7-3 MIAA) out of a
tie for first place in the MIAA standings with Hope as the Flying Dutchmen
improved to 8-2 in the conference standings with an 82-78 win over Alma Saturday
afternoon. Calvin did remain a half-game ahead of third place Kalamazoo as the
Hornets fell to 7-4 in the MIAA standings with a 78-66 loss at Adrian Saturday.
Calvin and Hope will meet for the 148th time next Wednesday in a game scheduled
to begin at 7:30 pm at the Calvin Fieldhouse. The contest will be one of high
stakes as Hope can clinch its first outright MIAA title since 1998 with a
victory while Calvin can move back into a share of the league-lead with a win of
its own. Both teams will close out the MIAA regular season next Saturday on the
road as Hope will journey to Albion while Calvin will travel to Alma.
In Saturday's game against Albion, Calvin threatened to blow the game open in
the first half as the Knights jumped out to a 21-8 lead with 8:11 remaining,
using an 11-0 spurt midway through the half to bolt into the double-digit lead..
Albion (14-8 overall, 5-5 MIAA) was forced to burn three timeouts in the
opening 12 minutes of the first half and would use four timeouts in the first
half.
Calvin then held a 26-15 advantage on a three-pointer by sophomore Chris Prins
(Escondido, CA) with 6:18 left in the half but like the first meeting, Calvin
wilted in the closing minutes of the half as the Britons outscored the Knights
12-4 over the final six minutes to creep to within 30-27 at the break.
Albion then took a 31-30 lead on a fast-break layup by freshman guard Michael
Thomas but Calvin would come back to take a 37-35 lead on a bucket by Prins at
the 16:55 mark. Calvin would then build a 49-40 lead on a fadeway three-pointer
by junior forward Jeremy Veenstra (Kalamazoo Christian) with 11:59 remaining,
only to see the Britons outscore the Knights 9-3 over the next three minutes to
close the gap to 52-49. With 4:01 left, Calvin sophomore Josh Berghuis (Unity
Christian) nailed a pair of free throws to put the Knights up 60-52 but again,
Calvin's offensive attack slowed while Albion clawed back. With 1:28
remaining, Albion freshman Travis DuPree nailed a jumper in close to pull the
Brits within 62-60. Albion followed with a defensive stop and knotted the score
at 62-62 on a pair of free throws by senior Andrew Neidlinger with 35 seconds
remaining.
Calvin then played for a final shot and with time ticking down, Veenstra drove
to the basket and was fouled with three seconds remaining on the clock.
Veenstra stepped up and nailed both free throws, sandwiched around an Albion
timeout. During the timeout, a gimpy Quayle was inserted into the game, setting
up the dramatic finish.
After Veenstra's second free throw, Albion advanced the ball up floor on a
pass to Thomas near midcourt. Using a spin-dribble, Thomas was able to split a
pair of defenders where he was able to find Quayle standing open beyond the arc
to the left of the top of the key. Quayle took the pass from Thomas and made no
mistake, swishing in his only field goal of the game as time expired.
Quayle's final shot allowed Albion to finish with a 48.9 percent overall
field goal clip including 58.3 percent in the second half. The Britons were
just 5-of-18 (27.8) from three-point range but converted 14-of-20 (70.0) of
their attempts at the free throw line. Neidlinger led Albion in scoring with 15
points while seniors Ben Feeney and Eric Serges had 12 points apiece and Thomas
10 points, five assists and four steals.
Calvin was led in scoring by Veenstra who finished with a game-high 23 points
along with seven rebounds and three blocked shots as he extended his
double-figure scoring streak to 40 games. Prins also notched double-digits in
scoring with 13 points while junior Rob Dykstra (Tri-unity Christian) added
seven points and three steals.
Calvin will now prepare for a Hope team that will carry a six-game win streak
into the Calvin Fieldhouse. Calvin leads the all-time series with Hope 76-71
and has won the last five meetings against the Flying Dutchmen
MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-9 GAMES
Hope 8-2
Calvin 7-3
Kalamazoo 7-4
Albion 5-5
Adrian 5-6
Olivet 4-6
Alma 0-9
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
(written by Calvin sports information student assistant Ross Weener)
A low scoring contest saw Calvin come up with its third straight win and fifth
in its last six tries as the Knights knocked off Albion, 48-45. Calvin's win
coupled with an Adrian loss to Kalamazoo on Saturday moves the Knights into a
tie for third place in the MIAA title race.
Poor shooting plagued the Knights as they were held to only 19 first half
points, as they could only muster two points in the opening ten minutes. Scoring
nine of Calvin's 19 first half points was reserve center Andrea MacDonald,
(Allendale HS) as she tallied a great first half, also adding eight rebounds.
MacDonald finished the game with a career high 11 points, 10 rebounds, three
blocks, and two steals as she recorded her first ever double-double.
With 1:50 remaining in the second half and Calvin trailing 44-45, it once again
looked to Calvin junior Tricia Dyk (Western Michigan Christian) to deliver the
go ahead basket. Right on cue, Dyk took a pass top of the key and drove the lane
finishing the move with a turn around jumper that hit nothing but net, giving
the Knights a 46-45 advantage. After a pair of missed Albion free throws Calvin
was able to capitalize by getting the ball into the hands of Dyk. Dyk was then
fouled and nailed both free throws giving the Knights the lead, 48-45. Albion
had a look a potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer but the
three-point attempt from well beyond the arc came up short.
Also helping out on the offensive side was Dyk who netted 10 points, six
rebounds, and four steals. Sophomore Katie Corner (Grand Rapids Catholic
Central) chipped in with six rebounds. Stacey Supanich led the Britons with 10
points.
Calvin will return to action on Wednesday, February 13 as they travel to
Hope's Dow Center to take on the nationally-ranked Flying Dutch. Tip off is
7:30 PM.
OTHER MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCORES SATURDAY
Hope 71, Alma 68
Kalamazoo 85, Adrian 61
St. Mary's 65 Olivet 61
MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-9 GAMES
Hope 11-1
Kalamazoo 9-3
Adrian 7-5
Calvin 7-5
Albion 5-7
St. Mary's 4-8
Alma 3-9
Olivet 2-10
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
A large group of Calvin track and field athletes opened up their indoor season
at the Laker Challenged hosted by Grand Valley State Friday evening.
In the shot put competition, Calvin had a strong showing as junior Mandy
VanDenBosch (Grand Rapid Christian) returned from a year's absence due to
injury to post a mark of 39-6, just six and a half inches short of matching her
own school record. In the men's shot put, Calvin junior Nick VanderPlas
(McBain Christian) recorded a career-best throw of 44-8.
In the women's 200 meters, junior Annie VanderLaan (Grand Rapids Christian)
recorded a blazing time of 27.07 while freshman Sue Abbring (Highland, IN) was
close behind with a time of 27.22. VanderLaan also sparkled in the 55-meter
hurdles, clocking in with a second place time of 8.48. In the men's 200
meters, freshman Chris Friebel powered his way to a time of 23.14 while also
posting a time of 6.75 in the 55 meter dash.
In the women's pole vault, Calvin senior Rachel Veltkamp (Grand Rapids
Christian) picked up from where she left off from her junior campaign that saw
her earn All-American honors as she captured first place with a first place
vault of 11-6.
Senior Keith VanGoor (Midland Park, NJ) was another Calvin individual who
sparkled as he clocked in with a third place time of 51.24 in the 400 meters.
In the jumps, Calvin junior Francis Ikwueme and sophomore Jeremy Knoester (Grand
Rapids Christian) had strong season-opening efforts as Ikwueme took third in the
long jump with a mark of 22-4 ¾ while Knoester was second in the triple jump
with a mark of 40-11. Junior Cameron Baron (Lake Stevens, WA) was also fifth in
the high jump with a mark of 6-4.
In the women's triple jump, sophomore Sarah Weeda (Manhattan, MT) took third
with a jump of 32-5 ½.
Calvin's distance crew was also superb Friday evening, particularly in the
men's 3,000 meter run as the Knights placed four runners in the top five led
by senior David Ritsema (Denver, CO) who clocked in with a second place time of
8:54. The Calvin women's distance crew flashed its mettle in the 5,000 meters
as the Knights took three out of the top four spots led by senior Erinn Boot
(Kalamazoo Christian) took first place with a time of 18:26 while sophomore
Jessie Lair (West Bloomfield) was close behind with a second place time of
18:30. Sophomore Jodi VerMeulen (Holland Christian) added a third place time of
10:48.6 in the women's 3,000 meter run.
The Calvin track and field teams will return to action next Friday when the
Knights compete at an indoor invitational hosted by the University of Michigan.
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