CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2003
MEN'S BASKETBALL
EL CAJON, CA -- A spirited comeback effort was not enough to keep Calvin from
dropping a 77-71 decision to nationally-ranked Christian Heritage College in a
game played late Saturday night in the suburbs of San Diego.
Ranked 14th in the latest NAIA Division I Top 25 poll, the host Hawks of
Christian Heritage held a 16-point lead with just over 10 minutes remaining but
a valiant Calvin comeback effort allowed the Knights to take a one-point lead
with just over two minutes to play. A pair of clutch three-pointers by
Christian Heritage down the stretch proved to be the difference however as the
Hawks avoided the upset bid by Calvin.
Christian Heritage (10-2) scored the final six points of the first half to take
a 36-28 halftime lead and then used a 17-7 second half run to build a 58-42
edge with just over 10 minutes remaining. The Christian Heritage run was
capped by the sixth three-point field goal of the game by senior guard Brad
Rogers.
Calvin (4-5) fought back with three-point shooting of its own moments later as
sophomore forward Andy Draayer (Denver, CO) connected on three triples in a
one-minute span with the final three-pointer resulting in a four-point play and
capping a 14-0 Calvin run that allowed the Knights to close to within 58-56
with 7:53 remaining.
Christian Heritage continued to hold the lead until Calvin scored five straight
points with junior Dan Aultman (Mason Country Central HS) converting a layup
inside, Draayer nailing a free throw and junior guard Ricky Shilts (Kalamazoo
Central HS) converting a drive in traffic. The layup by Shilts with 2:15
remaining gave Calvin a 66-65 lead -- its first of the game since the opening
five minutes of the game.
Rogers then stepped up and connected on his seventh three-pointer of the game,
rolling in a shot from well beyond the three-point arc that gave the Hawks a
68-66 lead with exactly two minutes to play. A Calvin steal and a free throw
by sophomore Kyle Trewhella (Rockford HS) pulled the Knights to within one at
68-67 with 1:13 to go but Heritage stepped up again. This time the clutch play
went to freshman Daniel Wall who drilled a fadeaway three-pointer with just two
seconds left on the shot clock and 40 seconds left on the game clock to put the
Hawks up 71-67.
Christian Heritage then proceeded to connect on all six of its free throw
attempts in the final 28 seconds to seal the win.
"Christian Heritage is the best team we have played all year," said Calvin
coach Kevin Vande Streek after the game. "They had us down for awhile in the
second half and we lost our composure a little bit. To the credit of our guys,
they refused to hang their heads and the mounted a terrific comeback. We
really thought we had a great chance to pull out a win at the end but Christian
Heritage just hit some huge shots in the final two minutes. We had defenders
in their face but they found a way to knock those shots in."
Calvin was led in defeat by Draayer who pumped in a career-high 17 points
points off the bench while Aultman tossed in 16 points to extend his
double-figure scoring streak to nine games. Christian Heritage was led by
Rogers who poured in 29 points. Senior Jason Cook was next for the Hawks with
19 points while 6-9 freshman center Rowan Gray had 12 points and junior forward
Tim Brown 10 points.
Calvin's loss Saturday night was its 16th in 21 attempts as the Knights are now
just 5-16 in games played in the state of California. Calvin's first trip to
California came during the 1961-62 season when it split a pair of games in a
tournament hosted by Orange County College.
Calvin returns to action on Tuesday, December 30, when it travels to
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps for a game scheduled to begin at 10:30 p.m. (ET). The
game will be broadcast locally by WFUR 102.9 FM.
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sun Dec 28 01:08:26 2003
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Sun Dec 28 2003 - 01:08:27 EST