CSR (Hope Captures 32nd MIAA title with Win Over Calvin)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2004

(Written by Calvin Sports Information Student Assistant David Buursma)

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Calvin will not share the MIAA title in 2004 and Hope College can lay claim to its second-straight MIAA regular-season championship. The Dutchmen (20-4, 9-2 MIAA), ranked 12th in the Nation, can finish no worse than tied for 1st in the league after bringing Calvin's offense to a halt in a 75-64 win before a sellout crowd of 4,500 at Knollcrest Fieldhouse. The loss also drops the Knights (15-9, 8-4 MIAA) into third place, a half-game ahead of Adrian (7-4).

The 154th addition of the Rivalry had a much different feel than the 96-75 drubbing handed to the Knights in the first meeting between the two teams this year.
With the MIAA title on the line, both teams came out with intense man-to-man defensive pressure, and things were promising early on for the Knights. Hope was ice-cold from the field, misfiring on its first five shots from the field. Early foul trouble also plagued the Dutchmen, as Travis Spaman was sent to the sidelines after picking up two quick fouls in the opening 2 minutes. Calvin also suffered a huge blow when junior Dan Aultman (Mason County Central) was forced to leave the game after an elbow to the mouth knocked one of his teeth loose. He returned a few minutes later, but only spent 10 minutes on the floor in the first half.

Hope did not miss Spaman, however, as freshman Scott Richardson came off the bench and sparked an 18-6 run over a 9 ½ minute span to turn things around and give Hope a 10-point advantage. A Chris Prins (Escondido Calvin Christian) three-pointer with 8-minutes left brought the Knights to within five at 18-13, but Calvin would struggle from the field the rest of the half, going just over 8-minutes without a field goal.
  
An arsenal of free-throws kept Calvin in the game, as the Knights went 11-15 from the charity strip in the final 8 minutes. A pair of made attempts by Chris Prins narrowed the Hope lead to six at 30-24, but Spaman answered with lay-in with two ticks left to give the Dutchmen an eight point lead heading into the locker room.

The story of the first half was Hope's ability to utilize their post players, as they enjoyed a 16-6 advantage on points in the paint. Calvin also committed 10 turnovers while forcing the Dutchmen into six.

It didn't take long for Calvin end its eight-minute field-goal drought, as Aultman opened the second half with an arched turn-around jumper to cut the Hope lead to six just 15 seconds in. Hope answered the Aultman bucket with a 21-7 run and extended its lead to twenty at 53-33 with 12 minutes left.

Calvin then took a number of trips to the charity stripe again in the second half and slowly chipped away at the lead. At one point, a senior Kevin Broene (Grand Rapids Christian) free-toss brought the margin to 12 with just under ten minutes to go. Hope answered with a jumper by Daane Griffeth, but Prins came right back with a lay up on the next possession and two minutes later Broene shook off his defender and splashed in a deep three-pointer to make it a nine point game at 55-46 with 6:40 left. Unfortunately for the Knights, that was as close as they would get. Hope closed out the game with a 20-18 run.

After hitting only 25% (6-24) of their shots in the first half, the Knights connected on 39% (9-23) in the second half to end up with a 32% clip on the game. Hope shot 39% (14-36) in the first half and heated up in the second stanza, hitting 57% (13-23) to end the game at 46%. Three-pointers were a rarity for both teams as the Knights made just three of thirteen (23%) and the Dutchmen connected on just three of fifteen (20%). Calvin was good on 31 of its 40 (78%) free-throws, while Hope went 18-26 (69%).

The bigger Hope squad used its height to pull down 10 more boards, outrebounding the Knights 40-30.

Aultman had a game-high for the Knights, pouring in 20 points, including 10-14 from the line. Two other Knights reached double-figures, as Prins chipped in with 14 and Broene added 11 points to go along with 4 steals.

Four of Hope's five starters reached, as center Kyle Kleersnyder led the Dutchmen with 13 points. Greg Immink and Griffeth added 12 points apiece, while Andy Phillips netted 11 and Scott Richardson came of the bench with 10.

The Knights return to action next week, when they host a first-round MIAA tournament game.

Other 2.18.04 Scores
Albion 79, Alma 52
Adrian 74, Kalamazoo 71
Tri-State, Ind. 102, Olivet 97 (non-league)

League Standings 2.18.04

Hope 9-2
Albion 8-3
Calvin 8-4
Adrian 7-4
Olivet 4-7
Kalamazoo 2-9
Alma 1-10

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Thu Feb 19 00:14:58 2004