CSR (Knights Come From Behind in Victory at Aquinas)

SPORTS REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 30, 2004

MEN'S BASKETBALL
By Jeff Febus with reporting from Annalise VenHuizen and Abby Zylstra

A strong second half effort propelled Calvin to its second victory over Aquinas
in five days as the Knights gained an 86-74 triumph at the Aquinas College
Fieldhouse Tuesday night.

Unlike its 87-62 victory over Aquinas last Friday, Calvin had to play from
behind for the majority of Tuesday night's contest.

A 13-0 run midway through the first half allowed Aquinas (5-5) to build an
12-point lead at 31-19. Calvin (4-2) roared back to within four at 39-35 but
the Saints fought back with a 10-2 run to take a 49-37 halftime lead.

Junior guard Jeff Jayson was the catalyst in the first half Aquinas surge as he
fired in 21 points including five triples in the opening 20 minutes.

"Aquinas dictated both offensively and defensively in the first half,"
said head coach Kevin VandeStreek. We really did a 180. In the second
half, we dictated both ends of the court."

Calvin then scored the first eight points of the second half to close to within
four and stayed within striking range but was unable to get over the hump until
junior Ricky Shilts ripped in a three-pointer to put the Knights up 69-68 with
just over six minutes to play.

Calvin would never trail again as it received clutch buckets inside the final
two minutes from forwards Dan Aultman and Josh Meckes to secure the win.

"We knew we had to play hard and dig deep in the second half, and we
came out hard after half time," said junior Andy Draayer [Denver,
Colo.] who finished with 16 points which included a trio of three-point
baskets. Over his last three games, Draayer has connected on 12 of 19 (.631)
from three-point range.

Junior Kyle Trewhella [Rockford] led the team with a game high 21 points
and grabbed a team high four rebounds. Shilts [Kalamazoo]
put up 19 points on the board, brought down three rebounds, and dished
out three assists. Aultman added 16 points on 7 of 10 shooting.
Shilts was five for six from beyond the three-point line.
 Meckes [Bay City] also grabbed a team high four rebounds
and a team high two steals.

Calvin out-rebounded Aquinas, 29-25. The Knights also connected on 11 of 15
three-point attempts (.733) including a sizzling 86 percent clip in the second
half.

"I knew if I kept shooting, they would fall. The big thing was waiting
for the shots to come to me," said Shilts. "It's always better not to
force it, but to look for the open shot."

"I was really disappointed in our passion in the first half," said
VandeStreek. "I told the boys it was about passion and how bad we
wanted to play."

"Heart and passion were huge for us in the second half," said Shilts

The Knights continue their nine-game away streak this weekend at the
MIAA/CCIW Classic hosted by Wheaton College in Illinois. Calvin will
face 14th-ranked Wheaton, Friday night at 9:00 (EST) at Wheaton's King Arena
with Hope slated to face 21st-ranked Carthage at 7:00 p.m. (EST) in the game
preceeding.

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Tue Nov 30 23:42:08 2004