CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR FEB. 8, 2006
Men's Basketball Upsets Hope On Veldhouse Triple;
Women's Basketball Rolls to Win Over Thunder - Showdown With Hope Next
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 59, Hope 58
(Written by Drew DeVries '08)
GRAND RAPIDS - As usual, stakes were high for both teams as the Flying Dutchmen of Hope made their annual visit to the Calvin Fieldhouse Wednesday night. As both teams stood at 9-1 and tied for lead in the MIAA, the winner of the game would claim sole leadership of the conference. Ranked 25th in the latest D3hoops.com Top-25 poll, Calvin edged out fourth-ranked Hope 59-58 to gain that sole leadership as Hope fell a game behind. Only seven points had separated the two teams over their previous 158 meetings so this game had every implication of going down to the wire since Calvin was looking to rebound from an 18 point loss in Holland last month.
Calvin began the game shooting poorly and committing costly turnovers which allowed Hope to gain a lead. Midway through the first half, Calvin found themselves down 18-9 but managed to stay in the game despite shooting a dismal 33.3 percent. Neither team could sustain any kind of scoring run but at the end of the half the score read 31-24 in Hope's favor but with Calvin still very much in the game.
The second half proved much better for the Knight's shooting woes. Calvin began the second half with a 10-3 scoring run to tie the game at 34 apiece but quickly found themselves behind again as Hope put together a little scoring run of its own. But Calvin managed to hang around and gave itself a chance to win after junior center Josh Meckes came up with a steal with 20 seconds remaining and the Knights trailing just 58-56. After a series of timeouts, Calvin put the ball in the hands of freshman Caleb Veldhouse (Sioux Falls, SD/Sioux Falls Christian) who broke free from his defender with a pump fake at the top of the key and launched a three-pointer that found the bottom of the net with just 1.7 seconds left on the clock. The Veldhouse triple also gave Calvin its only lead of the game. Meckes then intercepted a baseball pass by Hope, allowing the clock to run out.
Veldhouse led the Calvin scoring attack with 14 and was followed by Kyle Snoeyink (Grandville/Calvin Christian) who poured in 13 while grabbing a team high 8 rebounds. Seniors Kyle Trewhella (Rockford/Rockford) and Andy Draayer (Denver, CO/Denver Christian each added seven points.
Defense was a main reason why the Knights came out victorious in the end said Hope head coach Glenn VanWieren. "They defended well. They put a lot of pressure on the ball and we weren't aggressive enough down the stretch."
Calvin head coach Kevin Vande Streek had the same kind of praise for his defense. "I thought defensively we were outstanding which is why we were able to hang in the game."
When Veldhouse was asked about taking the final shot, he expressed confidence; "I thought 'I have to make this shot,' and I'm thankful it went in. It feels great. There's not a whole lot of words to describe it other than we played our tails off. It just so happened that I was open so I shot it."
Vande Streek had instructed Veldhouse in the huddle to take the three if it was there. "Caleb is the best we have at creating his own shot," said Vande Streek. "I thought in that situation, he could do it."
Hope was led by junior Stephen Cramer (Akron/Unionville-Sebewaing) who had 16 points while Greg Immink (Hudsonville HS) added 9. Hope out rebounded Calvin 37-35 and shot a better percentage ending at 40.4 percent with Calvin at 38.7 percent.
Calvin now leads the all-time series with Hope 81-78 but Hope still holds a six-point lead in the total points scored between the two teams in the 159 meetings.
On Saturday, Hope (20-2 overall, 9-2 MIAA) will travel to Adrian while Calvin (17-5 overall, 10-1 MIAA) makes their way to Olivet. Both tip-offs are at 3 p.m.
OTHER MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL SCORES WEDNESDAY
Kalamazoo 69, Tri-State 64
Albion 82, Alma 57
Adrian 62, Olivet 60
MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-8-06 GAMES
Calvin 10-1
Hope 9-2
Albion 8-3
Kalamazoo 6-5
Tri-State 6-5
Adrian 2-9
Olivet 2-9
Alma 1-10
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 87, Tri-State 30
(Written by Annalise VenHuizen '08)
GRAND RAPIDS * In a conference game against visiting Tri-State (2-21, 1-13 MIAA) this evening, the Calvin Knights came out victorious with an 87-30 win. The victory brings Calvin to 19-2 overall and 12-1 in the MIAA.
Highlights of the first half included 10-3 Calvin run that started the game and great Knight defense that only allowed one Tri-State point in seven minutes of play. Calvin shot 63.3 percent from the floor during the half, and 85.7 percent from the free-throw line. The Knights outscored Tri-State 46-14 in the first half.
Sophomore Charis Larson (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian) started off the second half with a three-point goal, and sophomore Lindsey Peuler (Grandville/Grandville) soon followed suit and added a layup, giving the Knights the 54-16 lead. Tri-State went on a 7-0 run that spanned one minute and included 4 free-throw shots. The Knights soon made up the difference, however, with freshman Kristi Brummel (Grand Rapids/South Christian) and Larson putting together back-to-back three-pointers. The Knight offense continued to capitalize on shooting opportunities, steadily distancing themselves from Tri-State. Calvin held its largest lead with 3:30 left, a 57 point advantage. The game closed with this same gap, the Knights winning 87-30.
Leading Tri-State were Dana Dunham with nine points and Kayla Cheesman with eight points.
For the Knights, Lisa Winkle (Grand Rapids/South Christian) scored 22 points, Peuler followed with 14 points, including two three-pointers, and freshman Marcia Harris (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian) scored 10 points.
Calvin will face Hope this Saturday in Holland. The game will start at 3:00 p.m.
OTHER MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCORES WEDNESDAY
Alma 70, Adrian 55
Hope 70, Olivet 56
Albion 70, Kalamazoo 64 (OT)
MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-8-06 GAMES
Hope 13-0
Calvin 12-1
Olivet 8-5
St. Mary's 8-5
Albion 7-7
Alma 6-7
Adrian 3-11
Kalamazoo 2-11
Tri-State 1-13
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Thu Feb 9 00:33:51 2006
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