CSR (Calvin Falls to Grand Valley in Select Bank Classic Final)

November 29, 2003

MEN'S BASKETBALL

The eighth annual Select Bank Hall of Fame Classic provided plenty of
excitement Saturday evening as both games went down to the wire.

In the consolation game, Cornerstone (6-2) recorded a come-from-behind 75-71
victory over Hope (3-2). In the championship game, Grand Valley State (6-1)
used the same tactic in recording a 76-74 come-from-behind win over Calvin
(2-3).

Grand Valley State has now won more tournament titles (3) than any school in
the eight-year tournament history with Calvin and Hope both having two
tournament titles each to their credit. Calvin and Grand Valley were both
making their fifth appearance in the tournament championship game Saturday
evening.

The championship game was a game of runs as the momentum swung back and forth.
 Grand Valley opened the game by vaulting into a 16-6 lead but Calvin fought
back, whittling the Laker lead down to three points at 23-20 with 8:54 left in
the first half. The Knights then exploded, ripping off a 24-11 run to take a
44-34 halftime lead. Calvin used four three-point field goals in the spurt
with two coming from junior Dan Aultman, one from senior Kevin Broene (Grand
Rapids Christian HS) and one from senior Mike Natelborg (Highland, IN). The
Natelborg triple came a step beyond the old CBA arc and splashed through the
net with 46 seconds left in the first half to give the Knights a 44-34
advantage.

The Natelborg triple was Calvin's eighth of the half as the Knights
connected on 53.3 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc in the opening
20 minutes.

After falling behind 48-36 in the opening two minutes of the second half, the
Lakers turned the tables behind a suffocating full-court pressure defensive
attack. Over the next 11 minutes, Grand Valley forced Calvin into 11 turnovers
while outscoring the Knights 21-6 to take a 67-54 lead with just 7:41
remaining.

Calvin fought back once again however, outscoring Grand Valley 9-2 over the
next five minutes to creep to within 69-63. A three-pointer by Broene and a
layup by senior Chris Prins (Escondido, CA) enabled the Knights to close to
within a point at 69-68 with 1:49 left.

After a Grand Valley turnover, Calvin had a chance to take the lead but missed
a shot with just over a minute remaining and was then whistled for an
intentional foul as junior Marcus Wallace was breaking free for an uncontested
layup. Wallace split the pair of free throws and moments later, senior Melvin
White was fouled attempting a three-point shot. White hit all three free
throws to give the Lakers a 75-70 lead. Grand Valley then added an additional
free throw with Prins converting a layup with 14 seconds remaining and Broene
tapping in a rebound at the buzzer to provide the final margin of victory.
        
Grand Valley was led in scoring by junior Marcus Wallace who pumped in 18
points and was named the tournament's MVP. Although his younger brother
Jerry Wallace only scored six points on the evening, his contribution on
defense was one of the keys of the game.

Also scoring double figures for the Lakers was freshman Michael Hall of with
15 points with White scoring 12 points and sophomore Courtney James tossing in
10.
        
In the second half, Grand Valley limited Calvin to just one three-point field
goal and forced the Knights into 12 turnovers including a total of 19 overall.

"I thought we did a good job battling back when we got behind in the first
and second half," said Calvin coach Kevin Vande Streek. "We could have
hung our heads in both situations but we fought back. I also give Grand Valley
a lot of credit. They used their strength and athleticism in the second half
to wear us down."

A transfer from Grand Valley State, Aultman led Calvin with 17 points and nine
rebounds against his old teammates. Broene was next with 15 points with Prins
and Natelborg adding 10 points apiece.

Joining Marcus Wallace (Grand Valley) on the all-tournament team were Michael
Hall (Grand Valley), Dan Aultman (Calvin), Kevin Broene (Calvin), Keith Wurn
(Cornerstone) and Andy Phillips (Hope).
        

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sun Nov 30 00:15:25 2003