CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR JANUARY 6, 2007
Men’s Basketball Uses Quick Start to Roll at Alma
Women’s Basketball Dodges Upset Bullet at Saint Mary’s
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin 79, Alma 61
ALMA * A strong first half and a strong opening five minutes to the second half lifted Calvin to a 79-61 victory at Alma Saturday afternoon as the Knights improved to 7-5 overall and to 2-0 in the MIAA.
Calvin junior Derek Griffin (Whitehall HS) continued his strong outside shooting by connecting on four three-point field goal attempts while finishing with a game-high 21 points. Griffin was 7 of 9 from the floor including 4 of 5 from three-point range and also hit 3 of 4 at the free throw line. Griffin scored nine of his 21 points in the opening minutes of the second half as he connected on three straight three-pointers that lifted Calvin into a 55-29 lead.
Calvin was able to stretch its lead to 31 points later in the second half before a late Alma run cut the Calvin lead down to 19.
Calvin shot 48 percent from the floor in the first half in sprinting out to a 46-29 halftime lead. More importantly, the Knights limited Alma (1-11 overall, 0-2 MIAA) to just 35.3 percent shooting in the first half.
“I thought our first half defense was very good,” said Calvin men’s basketball coach Kevin Vande Streek. “I was pleased with our all-around effort today. I think we took another step forward with this game.”
Griffin was one of four Calvin players to notch double-digits in scoring as senior Josh Meckes (Bay City, Mich.) had 18 points and four rebounds while freshman John Mantel (Chelsea HS) had 12 off the bench and sophomore Caleb Veldhouse (Sioux Falls, SD) 11.
Meckes and Mantel were able to combine for 18 first half points as the Knights were able to establish a strong low post presence. “We wanted to make a concerted effort to get the ball inside and I thought we executed that game plan very well in the first half,” said Vande Streek. “Josh Meckes has had a great senior year and John Mantel is just going to keep getting better and better.”
Alma was led in defeat by Isaac Smith who had 19 points while Matt Brown chipped in with 15.
Calvin held a 45-40 rebounding advantage with Mantel and senior Eric DeVries (Unity Christian HS) leading Calvin’s board brigade with nine and eight caroms respectively.
Calvin returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Adrian for a 7:30 p.m. contest.
OTHER MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES SATURDAY
Hope 99, Olivet 70
Tri-State 74, Albion 66
Kalamazoo at Adrian (night game)
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin 53, Saint Mary’s 52
NOTRE DAME, IN * Heading into Saturday’s game at Saint Mary’s, Calvin had never lost to the Belles in women’s basketball, having posted a 25-0 record against Saint Mary’s in a series that began in 1990.
Calvin’s unblemished record against Saint Mary’s came inches away from ending on Saturday however as the nationally-ranked Knights escaped with a 53-52 victory at the Angela Athletic Center.
A potential game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer by Saint Mary’s senior Allison Kessler bounced off the front of the rim, allowing the Knights to dodge an upset bullet.
Ranked 12th in the latest D3hoops.com Top-25 poll, Calvin (11-1 overall, 5-0 MIAA) is now tied with Hope for first place in the MIAA standings.
Calvin jumped out to a 27-19 halftime lead but the Knights were never able to get untracked from the perimeter, shooting just 2 of 8 from three-point range in the first half and just 3 of 14 overall from beyond the long line.
Behind 11 second half points from Kessler, Saint Mary’s (4-9 overall, 3-3 MIAA) began to claw its way back in and closed the gap to two points at 53-51 on a three-pointer by Kessler with 1:05 remaining.
Calvin missed a shot on the ensuing possession but got the ball right back on a steal by sophomore Marcia Harris (Grand Rapids Christian HS). Calvin missed two free throws however with 13 seconds remaining and then fouled Kessler with 2.8 seconds left on the clock. Kessler hit the first free throw but after a Calvin timeout, missed the second with Calvin senior Lisa Winkle (South Christian HS) grabbing the rebound. Winkle was fouled with just under two seconds remaining but missed both free throws. Saint Mary’s grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 0.9 seconds remaining.
The Belles were then able to throw a long pass to Kessler who launched a desperation three that was on-line but just short.
Calvin was led in scoring by Harris who tallied her first collegiate double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds. In three career games against Saint Mary’s, Harris has scored 63 points (21.0 ppg) and shot 21 of 32 (.656) from the floor.
Winkle also notched her 35th collegiate double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds while junior Lindsey Peuler (Grandville HS) had 10 points.
In addition to Kessler, Saint Mary’s received 11 points and nine rebounds from Erin Newsom and 10 points from Bridget Lipke. Anna Kammrath also had nine points and 13 boards for the Belles.
Saint Mary’s held a 45-31 rebounding advantage on Calvin but shot just 27.8 percent from the floor.
Calvin returns to action on Wednesday night when it hosts Tri-State at 7:30 p.m.
OTHER MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES SATURDAY
Albion 86, Tri-State 53
Adrian 65, Olivet 56
Kalamazoo 66, Alma 58
Hope 79, Rochester 33 (non-conference)
MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-6-7 GAMES
Calvin 5-0
Hope 5-0
Olivet 3-2
Saint Mary’s 3-3
Alma 2-3
Kalamazoo 2-3
Adrian 2-4
Albion 2-4
Tri-State 0-5
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Jan 6 18:36:14 2007
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