CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 24, 2006
Calvin/Hope Matchup Set For Select Bank Championship Game
MEN’S BASKETBALL
For the first time in the 11-year history of the Select Bank/Hall of Fame Classic, Calvin and Hope will not only meet, but also face each other in the championship game. The two rivals will meet for the 162nd time this Saturday night in a storied rivalry that spans 84 years.
Calvin and Hope advanced to the championship game with first round victories on Friday night at the Calvin Fieldhouse. Hope defeated Cornerstone 80-76 while Calvin defeated Aquinas 81-65. Saturday's championship game is scheduled to tip off at 8:00 p.m. Saturday's championship game will mark the first time since the 1980-81 season that Calvin and Hope will meet in a non-conference game, preceeding the MIAA regular season. The two teams met in December of 1980 at a tournament hosted by Central College in Pella, Iowa. Calvin won the game 85-66.
Calvin holds an all-time series lead of 81-80 against Hope but the Flying Dutchmen are coming off a 2005-06 campaign where they defeated the Knights in three out of four meetings.
The following are game recaps written by Calvin Sports Information Student Assistant Drew DeVries ‘08
Game 1: Hope 80, Cornerstone 76
The eleventh annual Select Bank Tournament kicked off this evening at the Calvin Fieldhouse in which a pair of exciting games took place.
The first game started off a little sloppy with each team committing their share of turnovers. Cornerstone (4-4) turned the ball over six times in the first five minutes which led to a bundle of Hope three pointers as the Flying Dutchmen hit five of their first six attempts and took an early 16-6 lead.
But Cornerstone clawed its way back by limited its turnovers not committing one over the last eight minutes of the first half. First game jitters showed for Hope as the Flying Dutchmen (1-0) were unable to maintain their lead and watched it vanish as they went into halftime down 38-37.
In the second half, both teams came out scoring but the game soon slowed down as the foul calls became prevalent. 53 total fouls were called and Cornerstone was into the bonus already with over fourteen minutes left. The Golden Eagles were able to assemble a nine point lead but Hope fought back behind junior Derek Van Solkema who scored twelve of his seventeen points in the second half. Hope took a 67-65 lead with just over six minutes to go and kept that lead for the rest of the game by hitting their free throws down the stretch. Cornerstone had some costly turnovers towards the end which proved too much for the Golden Eagles to overcome and eventually fell 80-76.
Hope head coach Glenn Van Wieren was happy with the way his team shot the ball. “We are a good shooting team. Our three point shooting saved the game for us. We had some bumps and bruises on offense but we were able to establish a rhythm. It was just a really nice win for us.”
Van Wieren stressed that rebounding was key in this game and after losing the rebound battle in the first half, Hope came back to edge the Golden Eagles with a 38-33 advantage.
Van Solkema led the Flying Dutchmen with 17 points while John Jonker headed Cornerstone’s scoring attack with 20.
Cornerstone will square off with Aquinas in the consolation game Saturday at 6:00 while Hope will face Calvin for another epic rivalry match-up with the Select Bank Title on the line at 8:00.
Game 2: Calvin 81, Aquinas 65
GRAND RAPIDS - Calvin opened up the tournament with a convincing win over Aquinas College Friday night in the second of two games. The Knights came out firing three pointers and took an early 11-7 lead. Both teams shot the ball well and had a tough time stopping each other in the first half. Aquinas was able to take several high percentage shots inside the paint early on and put together a 39-38 lead with thirty seconds to go. Calvin (3-0) held the ball for the last possession and sophomore Caleb Veldhouse nailed a three pointer as time ran out to give the Knights a halftime edge of 41-39. That was the closest Aquinas would get for the remainder of the game.
The Knights started the second half on a 13-2 run. Their offense was clicking and along with good defense, Calvin was able to start pulling away. Aquinas got within ten with about ten minutes to go but then watched Calvin go on an 8-0 run that put Aquinas away for good. The Knights were able to maintain their lead and finished with the 81-65 lead.
Aquinas head coach Dave Hammer gave a lot of praise to the Knights. “Their experience, bulk, and size just wore us down. They are quite the physical ball club. Their experience showed and the more they play, the better they are going to get.”
Derek Griffin was the high scorer for the Knights scoring 17 with Veldhouse not far behind scoring 14. For Aquinas, Jeff Jayson was the leading scorer with 16.
Calvin head coach Kevin Vande Streek had a few thoughts on an early Calvin-Hope match-up. “There is a downside to playing Hope. They are a really good team and will present our team with a significant challenge. Regardless of the outcome, we need to enjoy tomorrow’s game and learn from it.”
Since this year the tournament was held at the Fieldhouse instead of downtown, the coaches talked about there being a much better college atmosphere.
“I was a little concerned about our guys getting too excited because the crowd was so loud during the first game,” said Vande Streek. “I’m sure there will be quite the atmosphere here tomorrow night.”
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Fri Nov 24 23:23:26 2006
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