CALVIN HEADS TO HOLLAND WITH WIN OVER OLIVET
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin 69, Olivet 39
(written by Bruce VanBaren ’09)
GRAND RAPIDS -- Calvin cruised to victory Wednesday night defeating Olivet 69-39 in the first round of the MIAA tournament. The Knights will head to Holland to face Tri-State Friday at 6:00 p.m. in the DeVos Field house in an MIAA Tournament semifinal game. Calvin never trailed in the game and the 39 points the Knights allowed were the fewest ever allowed in an MIAA tournament game.
“I was really pleased with the way we played tonight,” Coach Kevin Vande Streek said. “We came ready to play and played intensely right from the start.”
The Knights have never lost a first round MIAA tournament game and defeated Olivet in last year’s opening round as well. They are now 11-0 in first round MIAA tournaments and stand at 16-9 on the season.
John Mantel (Chelsea HS) led Calvin with 11 points while also grabbing 5 rebounds and dishing out 3 assists. Dustin Smith (Hamilton HS) added 10 points and 6 rebounds. Kyle Snoeyink (Calvin Christian) led the Knights with 7 rebounds.
In the first half, two straight put backs allowed Calvin to jump to an 11-6 lead. The Knights picked up 10 offensive rebounds in the first half and out-rebounded the Comets 28 to 12.
“We have progressively done a better job of getting the ball inside,” Coach Kevin Vande Streek said. “Those three seniors (Josh Meckes, Eric DeVries and Kyle Snoeyink) are finishing their careers on a high level. They’ve been great and I’m happy for them.”
Brandon Way kept Olivet close for the first seven minutes of the game with two three pointers, but Olivet would be held without a field goal for seven and a half minutes and only hit one field goal in the final 13 minutes of the first half.
Brandon Way scored 9 of Olivet’s 10 points in the first half as the Knights led 38-10 at halftime. Olivet shot 12.5% (3-24) and Calvin scored 14 points off of 12 Olivet turnovers. All three Olivet field goals were Way three pointers.
Calvin was not only impressive on the defensive end, but also on the offensive end as the Knights spread the ball around with ten assists as eight players scored in the first half. Josh Meckes and Kyle Snoeyink led Calvin with five points each. John Mantel led Calvin with three assists. Calvin’s post players combined for 21 points and 18 rebounds in the first half.
In the second half, Olivet hung with Calvin as the Knights opened up to only an 11-8 run plagued with turnovers in the first 8 minutes of the second half. But the Knights were too strong as Dustin Smith drained a three pointer on a beautifully executed play to put Calvin up 54-18. Bryan Dutton and John Zenner hit back to back threes for Olivet, but the Comets could never really find their rhythm shooting just 25% from the field on the night.
Way led the Comets with 13 points and was 3 of 9 from three point range. Olivet finished with 25 turnovers. Calvin shot 46.3% from the field and out rebounded the Comets 42 to 33. The Knights finished with 16 assists and 18 turnovers.
Calvin game on Friday will feature its first-ever MIAA Tournament contest against Tri-State. The Knights split the season series with the Thunder, topping them 80-64 in their first MIAA game and losing 68-58 on the road January 27th.
“[Tri-State] has a couple of players that are really hard for us to guard,” Vande Streek said. “It’s very difficult to guard against [Tri-State] when Maurice Brookins is hitting the three0point shot. Hopefully we can defend and rebound well enough to keep us in the game at the end.”
Tri-State picked up its first ever MIAA tournament win Wednesday night defeating Kalamazoo 60-47 at home. Brookins led the Thunder with 18 points in the victory.
MIAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND GAMES
Adrian 66, Albion 64
Hope 89, Alma 49
Tri-State 60, Kalamazoo 47
MIAA TOURNAMENT SEMIFINAL PAIRINGS AT HOPE 2-23-07
Calvin (16-9) vs Tri-State (16-9) at 6:00 p.m.
Hope (22-3) vs Adrian (10-14) at 8:15 p.m.
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Wed Feb 21 22:27:03 2007
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