CALVIN SPORTS REPORT (PART TWO) FOR JANUARY 17, 2007
Calvin Men's Basketball Team Pulls Away for Win at Olivet Behind Second-Half Run
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 74, Olivet 58
(Written by Drew DeVries '08)
OLIVET - Coming off of a tremendous effort and emotional loss last Saturday against Hope, the Knights were looking to rebound and get a win when they traveled to Olivet this evening. In the 148th meeting of these two ball clubs, Calvin had won the previous 18 and desperately needed a win to get back on track. And the Knights did just that defeating Olivet 74-58 in a much closer game than the final score would indicate.
"We knew it'd be a real battle," said Calvin head coach Kevin Vande Streek. "The game was on the road and after an emotional tough loss, it's always hard to win. But I'm proud of our guys. We came out and played hard."
It took two minutes for the Knights to get on the board when junior Derek Griffin (Whitehall/Muskegon CC) laid it in for the first two of his 11 first half points. But then Olivet began knocking down three pointers. Griffin was able to answer with a pair of triples but the Knights found themselves down 25-19, part of a 7-0 Comet run.
So Calvin looked to their sophomore point guard, Caleb Veldhouse (Sioux Falls, SD/Sioux Falls Christian) who finally was able to end Olivet's run with a layup. After a Veldhouse triple following another Comet score, the Knights found themselves in a 28-24 deficit.
Olivet showed great defense in the first half causing the Knights to struggle offensively. Calvin looked lackluster at times and struggled to stop the Comets. But with his Knights trailing by three, Veldhouse took a pass from John Mantel (Chelsea/Chelsea) and fired from beyond the arc as the buzzer sounded to knot the game at 37 apiece.
“Olivet played great defense and we had a little lull in the first half,” said Vande Streek. “But when Veldhouse hit that triple to tie going into halftime, we felt a lot better.”
In the second half of play, the Knights jumped ahead early with another Veldhouse triple but soon fell behind again. But sophomore Dustin Smith (Hamilton/Hamilton) connected on a three pointer and after each team trading baskets for a few minutes, the score was tied at 52 with just under ten minutes to play. That tie would be the last time the Knights did not hold a lead.
Mantel answered with a three-point play followed by a huge triple from Griffin which were his first points of the second half. This was all part of an 8-0 run but Olivet would not go down easy. The Comets brought the game to within five with four minutes to go but then watched as Calvin slowly began pulling away.
The Knights ended the game on an 11-0 run with the dagger coming off a Veldhouse jumper to put the Knights up 69-58 with under three minutes to play.
Jeff Cooper for Olivet led all scorers with 22 while senior Josh Meckes (Bay City/Saginaw Valley Lutheran) led the Knights with 18, matching a career scoring-high. Veldhouse added 17 and Griffin poured in 16. Meckes finished the game with a double-double while also collecting 10 rebounds.
Vande Streek was especially pleased with the play from Meckes. "Meckes played great while doing a lot of things that don't show up in the box score. He's having a great senior season while all along becoming a more confident and assertive player."
The win put the Knights (8-7 overall, 3-2 MIAA) over .500 and was an important win for Calvin.
"This game was huge for us. After the strong finish to the first half, I was thinking that the second half could save our season. Sometimes you need that reward after hard work and we worked hard this game. Hopefully we can get on a little roll here now," said Vande Streek.
The Knights will look to get on that roll Saturday when Albion pays a visit to the Calvin Fieldhouse for a 3:00p.m. contest.
OTHER MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES WEDNESDAY NIGHT
Hope 81, Adrian 42
Tri-State 89, Alma 81
Albion 77, Kalamazoo 59
MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-17-07 4-1
Calvin 3-2
Albion 2-3
Alma 1-4
Olivet 1-4
Kalamazoo 0-5
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Wed Jan 17 22:29:08 2007
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