CSR (Calvin Saturday Sports Report for January 19, 2008)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR JAN. 19, 2008

Men's Hoops Falls to Albion;
Women's Hoops Rolls to Win over Kalamazoo;
Swim Teams Drop Meets at Wayne State

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Albion 73, Calvin 68
(written by Drew DeVries '08)

GRAND RAPIDS - Albion snapped Calvin's three game winning streak and gave the
Knights their first conference loss this evening at the Calvin Fieldhouse. In a
hard fought and physical game, it was the Britons who were left standing in the
end with a 73-68 victory.

Although Calvin led by two at the half, the Knights did not start out the way
Calvin head coach Kevin Vande Streek would have liked. Also, like almost every
other game this season, Calvin struggled to rebound the ball well.

"We didn't start out very well on defense and once again, the big issue was
our rebounding," said Vande Streek. "We've been working hard on that in
practice but it certainly was the difference tonight. I thought we played a
little better in the second half but I am at a loss to why we're not doing a
better rebounding job. We have the ability to be a good rebounding team."

Calvin went down early in the first half as they let the Britons open a 7-2
lead. But a 7-0 Calvin run later in the half gave the Knights their first lead
at 14-12. It was one of seven lead changes in the half. John Mantel
(Chelsea/Chelsea) started off strong contributing 13 first half points while
Caleb Veldhouse (Sioux Falls, SD/Sioux Falls Christian) added 11. The Knights
took a 36-34 lead into the locker room but it would be the last time they would
hold a lead in the game.

Calvin came out of the break struggling. The Knights failed to score over
their first seven possessions turning the ball over three times. Albion scored
seven straight points en route to a 13-2 run to open the half as Calvin did not
score until a Veldhouse lay-up four minutes in. By that time, Albion led
47-38.

The Britons led by as many as eleven at one point as they outscored the
Knights 20-7 over the first ten minutes. The Knights started crawling their way
back as Josh Engelsma (Walker/Covenant Christian) scored seven in a row for his
team and later after a Mantel jumper, Calvin trailed by only one point, 59-58,
with 4:28 remaining. But that was the closest the Knights would come in their
bid for a comeback.

Calvin fell behind 68-60 with two minutes to go but Veldhouse made it
interesting. He scored Calvin's final eight points and drew his team within two
with 14 seconds left. It was just a little too late, however, as Albion
prevailed and held on for the 73-68 win.

If the Knights were to find anything positive from the game, it was the play
of Mantel and Veldhouse.

"Mantel had a really nice game," said Vande Streek. "We kept looking to him to
score for us. In order to beat Albion, you have to score in the post. John had
the ability to shoot the ball well and showed us a lot today. He handled
himself well in the tough, physical game that it was."

Vande Streek also thought Veldhouse played well and shot the ball with
confidence. "Caleb had a rough couple of games where he was struggling with his
shot," he said. "But he's really come on well in the last couple of games and
has shot consistently. We try to get him the ball in different places and
situations."

Mantel finished the game with 22 and Veldhouse tallied 23. Jim Cash led the
Briton attack with 15 while two other Albion players also finished in double
figures.

With his 23 points, Veldhouse moved into 13th place on the all-time Calvin
scoring list, moving past Kim Campbell and Jim Timmer with his performance
Saturday night. Veldhouse now has 1,099 points in his Calvin career.

Calvin (8-6 overall, 3-1 MIAA) will look to bounce back on Wednesday when it
travels to Kalamazoo for a 7:30 game.

OTHER MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES SATURDAY
Hope 74, Adrian 70
Alma 65, Olivet 63
Tri-State 64, Kalamazoo 51

MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-19 GAMES
Hope 4-0
Calvin 3-1
Tri-State 3-1
Albion 2-2
Kalamazoo 2-2
Adrian 1-3
Alma 1-3
Olivet 0-4

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin 79, Kalamazoo 40
(written by Colin McWhertor ’08)

GRAND RAPIDS -- A great defensive effort and a second straight strong
offensive output led the Calvin women’s basketball team to a 79-40 victory
over Kalamazoo Saturday afternoon at the Calvin Fieldhouse. The win was the
second straight for the Knights and moved them into a tie for second place in
the MIAA at 5-3 (9-6 overall).

Calvin led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but Kalamazoo (1-6 MIAA,
4-10 overall) kept it close and used a 5-1 run in the last two minutes of the
half to climb within six points at 33-27.

After a layup by Kalamazoo center Nyemade Cooper brought the Hornets within
four to start the second half, Calvin went on a 17-0 run to break the game open
and coast to victory. The final score was Calvin’s largest lead of the game
as the Knights outscored the Hornets 46-13 in the second half.

“I think our defense is what we need to talk about in this win,” said head
coach John Ross. “We really stepped it up today and didn’t let Kalamazoo
have very much. That is what won the game today, we pressured defensively and
it led to a lot of points. I am really happy about the way we played
defensively.”

Calvin received another great effort from junior Marcia Harris (GR Christian)
as she scored 19 points and grabbed five rebounds to follow up her 18 point
performance Wednesday night against Olivet. Junior Sarah Partridge (East
Lansing) also preformed at a high level, scoring 14 points and collecting 4
rebounds. Partridge hit a three-point shot that started Calvin’s second half
run. Sophomore Brook VanEck led Calvin with seven rebounds to go along with
her five points.

The bench scoring was high for Calvin for the second straight game. Freshman
Kacy Cryderman (Holt) recorded her second double-digit effort in a row, scoring
10 points. Freshman Amber Bentham (McBain) added energy to floor again as she
scored seven points and five rebounds. In a glimpse of what may be in
Calvin’s future Benthem ran the court and dished the ball off the
Cryderman who hit a jumper from the right baseline midway through the first
half.

“Kacy and Amber are both starting to really contribute,” said Ross.
“This is two games in a row that they have played really well. We
recruited Kacy for this kind of performance. And it is such an asset to have a
5-9 guard like Amber who can do all sorts of things on the court.”

For the game, Calvin shot 53.8 percent from the field, including a blistering
54.3 percent from behind the arc on the strength of 7-13 shooting. Calvin held
Kalamazoo to only 27.5 percent from the field. The Knights also out rebounded
the Hornets 46-26.

For the second straight game, Calvin had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio
as the Knights dished out 17 assists and committed only 16 turnovers.

Calvin finishes its three-game home stand on Wednesday night when the Belles
of St. Mary’s College come to Grand Rapids for a 7:30pm tip-off at the
Fieldhouse.

OTHER MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES SATURDAY
Hope 64, Albion 62
Saint Mary’s 74, Tri-State 71
Olivet 53, Adrian 51

MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-19 GAMES

Hope 7-0
Albion 5-3
Calvin 5-3
Olivet 4-3
Saint Mary’s 4-3
Adrian 3-4
Alma 2-4
Kalamazoo 1-6
Tri-State 1-6

SWIMMING AND DIVING TEAMS FALL AT WAYNE STATE

DETROIT - The Calvin men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams dropped
non-conference dual meets at Wayne State on Saturday afternoon with the Calvin
men falling to the host Tartars 135-86 while the Calvin women fell by a score
of 132-103.

In the women’s competition, Calvin picked up victories from junior Cara
VanWoerkom (Calvin Christian HS) in the 100 freestyle (55.65), sophomore Emily
Roberts (Dekalb, IL) in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.92) and junior Erica Deur
(Holland Christian HS) on the three-meter diving board (265.59). Calvin’s 800
freestyle relay team of VanWoerkom, senior Stephanie Duncan (Long Grove, IL),
sophomore Laura Price (Warren, PA) and freshman Lindsay Huizenga (Rockford HS)
also won with a time of 8:14.16.

In the men’s competition, freshman Stephen Kruse (Northville HS) was a
double-winner, taking first place on the one-meter board (237.87) and
three-meter boards (216.30). Senior Lucas Seebeck (Grand Rapids Christian HS)
also won the 100 breaststroke (1:04.50) while Calvin’s 800 freestyle relay
team of junior Keith Conrad (Wheaton, IL), senior John Boumgarden (Naperville,
IL), senior Joe Gluvers (Rocklin, CA) and freshman Tyler Westman (Naperville,
IL) took first place with a time of 7:29.55.

Complete results can be found on-line at:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/mswimdiv/Results0708/CalvinWayneResults08.htm

The Calvin women’s team returns to action next Friday when it hosts Saint
Mary’s at 7:00 p.m. at the East Grand Rapids Aquatic Center. Both teams will
then travel to Hope for MIAA dual meets on January 26 with action slated to
start at 1:00 p.m.

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Jan 19 23:28:38 2008