CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR DECEMBER 30, 2006
Men's Basketball Falls to Top-Ranked Wooster -- MIAA Season Next
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Wooster 98, Calvin 82
WOOSTER, OH -- A youthful Calvin men's basketball team found out why the
College of Wooster has been ranked number-one in Division III basketball for
the last month as the Knights fell to the top-ranked Scots 98-82 in the
consolation game of Wooster's Mose Hole Classic Saturday night.
Despite a much more spirited effort than the night before when Calvin fell to
Wisconsin-LaCrosse 87-77 in the first round, the Knights were unable to match
the speed, quickness and experience of Wooster as the Scots rolled out to a
56-40 halftime lead and never allowed Calvin to get closer than 13 points the
rest of the way.
Shaking off the affects of a 91-84 upset loss to seventh-ranked Ohio Northern
on Friday night, Wooster (9-2) shot 53.5 percent from the field against Calvin
including 58.3 percent in the first half. The Scots also shot 40 percent from
three-point range including 58 percent (7 of 12) in the first half.
"To be honest, I thought our defense was much better tonight," said Calvin
men's basketball coach Kevin Vande Streek. "Wooster is just that good. We were
in the right positions and made the correct rotations but they were just more
athletic and more skilled at times and flat-out beat us. Wooster is an
extremely talented team - certainly one of the top teams in the country. When
you play a team like Wooster, you find out quickly what your strengths and what
your weaknesses are."
A strength for Wooster was its inside-outside tandem of senior forward Tom Port
and junior point guard James Cooper who were both named Division III
All-Americans a year ago. Both players flashed their All-American form against
the Knights as Cooper tossed in a game-high 27 points on 11 of 17 shooting
while Port had 20 points along with four assists and three steals. The Scots
also received 41 points off the bench led by Marty Bidwell who popped in a
career-high 20 points while Devin Fulk had 14 points in a reserve role. Fulk
and Bidwell were both 4 of 5 from beyond the three-point arc.
Calvin (5-5) was led by sophomore guard Caleb Veldhouse (Sioux Falls, SD) who
scored 22 points on the strength of five three-point field goals while freshman
Matt Veltema (Calvin Christian HS) had a career-high 13 points off the bench.
Veltema was 3 of 3 from three-point land and 4 of 4 from the field. Junior
Derek Griffin (Whitehall HS) and senior Josh Meckes (Bay City) added nine
points apiece while sophomore Dustin Smith (Hamilton HS) and freshman John
Mantel (Chelsea HS) had eight points each.
After hitting 14 of 17 from the line in the first half, the Knights were just 5
of 13 at the stripe (.385) in the second half, finishing the game with a 63.3
percent (19 of 30) clip from the charity stripe overall. Calvin also misfired
on several shots in close in the second half.
"We did not shoot well from the line in the second half and we missed way too
many easy shots in the second half," said Vande Streek. "When you play a team
like Wooster, you have to take advantage of your opportunities. If we could
have made a few more free throws and hit some of our layups, we could have made
it a little bit different of a game.
Wooster also held a 44-32 rebounding advntage on the Knights. Calvin's top man
on the boards was senior Eric DeVries (Unity Christian HS) with six caroms.
Wooster was led on the glass by Tim Vandervaart who ripped down a game-high 14
rebounds.
In Saturday's championship game, Ohio Northern held off 21st-ranked
Wisconsin-LaCrosse 73-70.
Calvin returns to action on Wednesday when it opens its MIAA campaign when it
hosts Tri-State (5-4) at 7:30 p.m. at the Calvin Fieldhouse.
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Dec 30 22:22:26 2006
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