From: Jeff Febus (jfebus@calvin.edu)
Date: Sat Jan 18 2003 - 20:36:02 EST
CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR January 18, 2003
MEN'S BASKETBALL
GRAND RAPIDS - With the 150th men's basketball meeting between Calvin and Hope
on center stage Saturday afternoon at the Calvin Fieldhouse, it was only fitting
that the game provided yet another storied chapter to the history books..
In a scintillating contest between the two storied rivals, Calvin pulled out a
74-70 victory over Hope in front of a sell-out crowd of 4,500 fans at the Calvin
Fieldhouse.
The victory lifted Calvin right back into the MIAA title chase as the Knights
improved to 10-6 overall and to 3-1 in the MIAA. Ranked eighth in the latest
D3hoops.com poll heading into the afternoon, Hope dropped to 12-3 overall and to
2-1 in the MIAA. The Knights are now a half-game back of league-leading Albion
(3-0 MIAA) while Hope is a game behind the Britons with a Wednesday night
matchup at Albion on deck.
Neither team led by more than six points in Saturday's thriller with the lead
changing hands 13 times and the score tied on five occasions.
With time ticking down in the closing seconds and Calvin holding a 71-70 lead,
Hope had a chance to retake the lead but a missed 10-foot jump with 20 seconds
remaining rimmed out. Calvin senior Jeremy Veenstra (Kalamazoo Christian HS)
corralled the rebound and was quickly fouled with 18 seconds left. Veenstra
then stepped up and nailed both ends of a bonus opportunity to put the Knights
up 73-70.
Hope then misfired on a three-point shot with four seconds left and the miss
was rebounded by Calvin junior Kevin Broene (Grand Rapids Christian HS). Fouled
with one second remaining, Broene provided the clinching free throw on the front
end of a bonus situation with one second left on the clock.
Playing in his last regular season game against Hope at the Calvin Fieldhouse,
Veenstra stepped up in a big way in Saturday's triumph as he poured in 25
points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked one shot. The Kalamazoo Christian
High School graduate was 7-of-13 from the floor including 4-for-6 from beyond
the three-point arc while also swishing 7-of-8 free throw attempts. Veenstra's
point total also allowed him to move past former Calvin standout Chris Knoester
and into fifth place on the all-time Calvin scoring list as he boosted his
career scoring total to 1,766 points, 10 points ahead of Knoester.
Veenstra was one of several heroes for the Knights as freshman point guard
Jeremy Burgin (Chisago Lakes, MN) came off the bench to toss in 12 points on the
strength of four three-point shots, a handful of which came from deep beyond the
arc. Playing on a badly sprained ankle that had him on crutches just 24 hours
before, Broene came off the bench to provide 11 points including a pair of
three-balls.
Also clutch was the play of junior Chris Prins and sophomore Joel Hoekstra
(Unity Christian HS) as Prins had 11 points including four in the final two
minutes of the game while Hoekstra had eight points and three rebounds off the
bench in his first appearance in a Calvin-Hope game.
A native of Escondido, California, Prins connected on 15-foot pull-up jumper
with 1:29 remaining to put the Knights up 69-67. Only moments before, Hope
freshman Jeff Carlson had nailed a huge triple on the break that had tied the
score at 67.
After a Hope miss, Prins gave the Knights a four-point lead at 71-67 on a
driving layup in traffic with 50 seconds remaining.
"In games like this you always wonder who will step up for you in the closing
minutes and Chris really stepped to the forefront there," said Calvin men's
basketball coach Kevin Vande Streek. "I can't say enough about that kid. He
battled through some things earlier in the game and kept his focus to the end."
Calvin finished the game with a blistering 61.9 percent three-point clip as the
Knights converted 13-of-21 attempts from beyond the three-point arc.
Several of Calvin's three-point shots came at crucial junctures of the game.
With Hope leading 55-51 and threatening to take the momentum, Broene nailed a
triple from the left wing to bring the Knights within one. With the Knights
down 59-54 with just over six minutes remaining, Burgin nailed a 23-footer from
just the right of the Calvin bench to close the gap to two points. Veenstra
then swished a three-pointer from the right wing to give the Knights a 60-59
lead and moments later, Burgin delivered his fourth triple of the game to put
the Knights up 63-59 and sending the Fieldhouse crowd into a frenzy.
"A three-point shot may only be worth one more point than a two-point field
goal but it also is the kind of shot that can really get a crowd excited and the
momentum back on your side," said Vande Streek. "Obviously the three-point shot
was a big part of victory this afternoon."
Calvin's victory on Saturday boosted its record at home this year to 6-0. It
also marked the first time Calvin has trailed at halftime this year and come
back to win as the Flying Dutchmen held a 37-35 halftime advantage.
Hope was led in scoring by Overbeek who picked up 16 points and seven rebounds
while also blocking three shots. Freshman Jeff Carlson was next with 10 points
while former Hudsonville High standout Greg Immink had nine points as did
freshman forward Andy Phillips.
As a team, Hope shot 39.3 percent (22-of-56) from the floor and actually had
more success from beyond the arc as the Dutchmen hit 50 percent (8-of-16) of
their attempts from three-point territory. In addition, Hope connected on
18-of-21 attempts at the charity stripe for an 85.7 percent clip.
Calvin shot 46.2 percent overall and 13-of-16 (.813) from the free throw line.
The Knights also held a slim 31-30 rebounding edge. Both teams also struggled
with turnovers with Calvin turning it over 18 times and Hope 16.
The victory was Calvin's seventh in its last eight tries against Hope with the
Knights now leading the all-time series 78-72.
Calvin will now break until next Saturday when it travels to Alma for a 3:00
p.m. MIAA contest while Hope's game at Albion Wednesday night will begin at 7:30
p.m.
OTHER MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL SCORES Saturday
Adrian 67, Kalamazoo 65
Olivet 95, Alma 75
MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-18
Albion 3-0
Calvin 3-1
Hope 2-1
Kalamazoo 1-2
Adrian 1-3
Alma 0-4
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
HOLLAND - Ranked fifth in the latest d3hoops.com national poll, Hope
lived up to its billing, thumping the visiting Knights in the Dow
Center, 89-51. The loss dropped Calvin to 10-5 overall and 1-3 in the
MIAA while the Flying Dutch improved to 15-0 overall and 4-0 in the
MIAA.
Calvin led early, but it was all Hope after that as the Knights have
dropped three of their last four games.
Calvin was led in defeat by Kristen McDonald (West Catholic) as she
tallied 11 points which included an 8 of 10 performance from the free-
throw line. Junior Kim Peterson (Ludington) notched eight points and
five rebounds while senior guard Tricia Dyk (Western Michigan
Christian) had six points.
Calvin will return to action on Wednesday when it hosts St. Mary's at 7:30
p.m. at the Calvin Fieldhouse.
OTHER MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCORES Saturday
Kalamazoo 70, Adrian 64
Olivet 75, Alma 70
Albion 58, St. Mary's 48
MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-18 GAMES
Hope 4-0
Albion 3-1
Kalamazoo 3-1
Alma 2-2
Adrian 1-3
Calvin 1-3
Olivet 1-3
St. Mary's 1-3
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