CALVIN SPORTS REPORT (PART ONE) FOR NOV. 17, 2007
Men' Basketball Upsets Top-Ranked Washington U.
(written by Bruce VanBaren '09)
GRAND RAPIDS -- The 17th ranked Calvin Knights hit ten three pointers and held
a pair of All-Americans to a combined 20 points, to knock off top-ranked
Washington University in the Calvin Tip-off Tournament Championship game 87-82.
The win was Calvin’s first over a number one team since the Knights beat
Wittenberg in the 1990 NCAA quarterfinals.
“It’s a huge win,” said tournament MVP Derek Griffin who led all scorers with
21 points. “The thing that made it so special is that we’ve been planning for
this game all summer and fall. We want to be at our best at the beginning of
the year so that we are peaking at the end of the year and can be the best team
in the nation.”
“This is a game we circled in our end of the season meeting last year,” said
Calvin Coach Kevin Vande Streek. “This is one of the things we were going to
work for all offseason, to beat the number one team in the country.”
Griffin knocked down five of nine three point shots as the Knights shot ten of
19 for 52.6% from beyond the arc. “It’s not something I look for, but if
teammates find me open in the corner, I like to knock it down,” said Griffin.
Washington University Pre-season All-American center Troy Ruths was held to 13
points, well below his average of 19.1 points per game, and fouled out with
6:02 remaining in the game. He shot only eight times in the game and had six
points in the first half. Ruths did grab nine rebounds, a game high.
“John Mantel and Josh Engelsma played a great game,” said Griffin. “We knew all
about [Ruths] and [we] were game planning for him. Mantel and Engelsma played
fabulous and battled with [Ruths].”
“We do things differently [defensively] than a lot of teams,” said Vande
Streek. “But doubling up on [Ruths] in the post really contained him. We really
just wanted to contain him.”
Ruths wasn’t the only All-American Calvin shut down. Washington University
guard Sean Wallis was held to only seven points and was two of seven shooting
from the field.
“That’s why we came here,” said Washington University Coach Mark Edwards. “We
knew [Calvin] was good team. We weren’t able to totally make adjustments and
they played a great game on both ends of the floor. We learned a lot; we’re
just lucky we didn’t get blown out.”
Calvin never trailed in the game and led by more than ten points most of the
second half, including its largest lead of 16 points, but the Bears didn’t go
away. A three pointer by Tyler Nading with 1:56 left cut the deficit to five
points. Nading led all scorers with 24 points on ten of 14 shooting and was one
point shy of his career high.
“We knew they wouldn’t go away,” said Griffin. “They’re a very smart, good team
and we knew they weren’t ever going to give up.”
The Bears got as close as four points when Aaron Thompson drained one of his
career high six three pointers and followed it up with a put back of his own
blocked shot after the Calvin inbound pass went off the bottom of the glass and
into his hands. Thompson shot 14 three pointers as the Bears went 11 for 31 for
35.5% from beyond the arc. Thompson also had a career high 20 points as he,
Nading and Ruths all scored in double figures.
“Any coach likes to see that his players always feel they have a chance to
win,” said Edwards. “These guys are never intimidated by opponents; they’ve
been beaten, but never intimidated.”
Washington University was ranked number one for the 13th week in school
history, and the second time in the pre-season. A year ago, the Bears finished
with a 25-5 record and were ranked third in the final d3hoops.com top-25 poll.
Washington University is now 1-1 on the season.
The Bears turned the ball over 20 times to Calvin’s 15 turnovers and failed to
hit clutch free throws down the stretch. Washington University was only 9 of 20
from the free throw line, including one of four in the final minute. Calvin, on
the other hand, shot eight of ten from the foul line over the final four
minutes and was 25 of 35 from the line in the game. Calvin went to the line 29
times in the second half.
At one point with less than five minutes to play in the second half, the Bears
had three consecutive turnovers capped off by a John Mantel dunk as Calvin led
by 14 after a Mantel foul shot with 3:15 remaining. For the second straight
night, Mantel scored in double figures with 18 points. Also for the second
straight night, at least four Knights put up double figures. Griffin had 21,
Caleb Veldhouse matched Mantel with 18 and led the team in rebounds with six,
while Josh Engelsma scored ten. Engelsma has now scored in double figures his
first two varsity games.
What really hurt Washington University was a 16-5 Calvin run to end the first
half. The Bears missed four three pointers and a lay up over the final 4:29 in
the first half, before a Ruths’ put back ended the more than three minute
scoring draught.
Griffin was named tournament MVP, while Mantel was also named to the
all-tournament team for the Knights. Ruths was named for Washington University,
while Grace Bible’s Matt Jamieson and Ohio Northern’s Kyle Gehle were also
named to the team.
Calvin wins its sixth Tip-Off tournament title and is now 13-1 all-time in the
tournament. Ohio Northern is the only other team to have won the tournament;
the Polar Bears won the tournament in 2003. Ohio Northern beat Grace Bible
74-58 in the consolation game as for the second consecutive night, every Polar
Bear who saw the floor scored. Ohio Northern moves to 1-1 on the season, while
Grace Bible falls to 0-2.
Calvin is now 97-27 when it connects on six or more three point field goals in
a game and is 1-0 against nationally ranked teams. The Knights were 3-6 against
nationally ranked opponents a year ago. Calvin is also 2-0 to start the season
for the third consecutive year.
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Nov 17 19:22:27 2007
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