CSR (Men's Basketball Falls to Keene State/Women's Basketball Topples Allegheny)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR DECEMBER 28, 2007

Men’s Basketball Tripped Up by Keene State/Women’s Basketball Topples Allegheny

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Keene State 73, Calvin 67
(written by Drew DeVries ’08)

MONTCLAIR, NJ - It was a game Calvin College had been looking forward to. One
could say the same for Keene State. In the first game of the Montclair State
Steve Adubato One-On-One Tournament in Montclair, New Jersey, the 24th ranked
Calvin College Knights fell to the Keene State Owls 73-67. The Knights had a
hard time adjusting to the Owl's style of play and it cost them in the end.

Friday’s game marked Calvin’s first trip to New Jersey since December of 1985
when the Knights also competed at a tournament held at Montclair State.

Calvin opened the game by scoring first but it would be the only time the
Knights would lead for the rest of the night. Keene State (6-2) used pressure
defense and timely three-point shooting in the first half to jump out to a
40-28 halftime lead as the Knights (5-4) struggled to adapt to Keene State’s
style of play early on.

"We played really inconsistent," said Calvin head coach Kevin Vande Streek.
"Keene State came out aggressive and we got knocked back on our heels."

Amongst first half struggles where Calvin shot thirty-one percent from the
field and hit only one three pointer, sophomore Johh Mantel (Chelsea/Chelsea)
was the lone offensive bright spot. He had eleven first half points.

The second half was a different story for the Knights. Calvin hung around a ten
point deficit and occasionally climbed closer. With about eleven minutes to go,
sophomore Matt Veltema (Grandville/Calvin Christian) came up with the steal,
ran down the court, and knocked down a three pointer to get his team within six
points. Behind 50-44, the Knights had a couple opportunities to close the gap
further. But it didn't happen which describes the aura of the game for the
Knights.

"We played a lot better in the second half," said Vande Streek. "But we'd make
a run and then lose focus with a bad play which would lead to two or three bad
possessions. Our mental discipline isn't where it should be right now. We took
too many poor shots. But I have to give credit to Keene State. They're a really
good team and they played great tonight."

The Knights refused to go down without a fight, however and found themselves
within three points with 28 seconds to go. Calvin trailed 70-67 after Caleb
Veldhouse (Sioux Falls, SD/Sioux Falls Christian) nailed a thirty-foot three
pointer. But there just wasn't enough time or enough possessions for Calvin to
get any closer.

Senior Nick Drouin for the Owls led his team with 16 points while three other
players also finished in double digit scoring. For the Knights, Mantel led the
way with 17 while Veldhouse and Veltema added 12 and 10 points respectively.

The win can also be credited to strong bench play by the Owls as its bench
outscored Calvin's bench 37-21.
But with a win or no win, Calvin still had strong support for its team, even
all the way over on the East Coast. "It's good for our guys to experience the
alumni support from around and across the country," said Vande Streek. "It's
neat for them to see how big Calvin College is in this country."

Calvin will probably see more of its supporters out for tomorrow's consolation
game to be played at 1:00 p.m. The Knights will take on host Montclair State in
the consolation game with Salem State facing Keene State in the championship
tilt. Salem State defeated Montclair State 94-84 in Friday’s second first round
game.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin 79, Allegheny 47

BEREA, OHIO -- Junior forward Marcia Harris scored a game-high 18 points and
grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds as 19th-ranked Calvin (Mich.) College women's
basketball team defeated Allegheny (Pa.) College, 79-47, today (Friday,
December 28, 2007) in the nightcap of the first round of the Baldwin-Wallace
College Holiday Invitational Tournament in the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium of
theIn the opening game of the tournament, host and 24th-ranked B-W improved to 9-1
overall with a 73-56 victory against Hanover (Ind.) College. Tomorrow,
Saturday, Dec. 29, Hanover, 7-4 overall, will play Allegheny, 4-6 overall, at
1:00 p.m. and B-W will play Calvin, now 7-3 overall, in the championship game
at 3:00 p.m.

In the first half, the Calvin Knights jumped out to a 10-2 lead at the 15:01
mark when sophomore forward Brook VanEck scored on a layup, was fouled and made
the free throw for a conventional three-point play. Calvin built its largest
lead of the first stanza at 21 points at 36-15 with 2:30 left before the
intermission when junior center Lauren Roodvoets made a jump shot. The Knights
also led at halftime, 37-19.

In the second half, Allegheny got as close as 16 points at 39-23 with 18:10
left when freshman guard Laura Magnelli scored on a layup. Calvin then
outscored the Gators 40-24 to build its largest lead of the game at 32 points
at 79-47 when sophomore guard Kelly Bennett scored on a layup.

In addition to Harris, Bennett had 12 points, junior guard Sarah Partridge had
11 and senior guard Nikki Zimmerman added 10. Allegheny was led by Magnelli’s
11 points. She was the only player in double digits for the Gators.

Saturday’s championship game between Calvin and Baldwin-Wallace can be heard
on-line via the Baldwin-Wallace student radio station. The broadcast link can
be found on-line at: www.wbwc.com<http://www.wbwc.com

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Fri Dec 28 21:52:26 2007