CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 9, 2008
Men’s Basketball Picks Up Win in Final Homecoming Game at Calvin Fieldhouse;
Women’s Basketball Falls in Rivalry Game at Hope
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 63, Adrian 48
(written by Drew DeVries ’08)
GRAND RAPIDS - In their final Homecoming game at the Calvin Fieldhouse, the
Knights came out victorious against the Adrian Bulldogs 63-48. Behind a strong
first half which featured some of its best defensive play all season, Calvin
got its fourth consecutive win for its longest win streak of the year. Calvin
remains in second place still one game behind league leading Hope College.
Calvin closed out its homecoming slate at the Fieldhouse with a 38-5 record
all-time.
Calvin came out aggressive on defense in the first half collecting eight
steals and forcing several turnovers. The Knights were also able to win the
rebounding battle which is something Calvin head coach Kevin Vande Streek has
been stressing all season.
"Rebounding has certainly been a weakness for us this season," said Vande
Streek. "We found ourselves about sixth in the conference in rebounding earlier
in the season and I don't think we typically finish lower than second. But the
last two or three games we've gotten better. It's been great work by our
guys."
The Knights held a 21-9 rebounding edge in the first half and a 38-21
advantage for the game.
With a strong defensive effort in the first half came some scoring droughts
for each team. Calvin led 18-11 at the 11:30 mark and neither team scored over
the next four and a half minutes. Senior Derek Griffin (Whitehall/Whitehall)
finally ended the drought and went on to score Calvin's next five points. He
finished the half leading all scorers with 12 points. The Knights headed into
the locker room with a 35-21 lead.
A little bit of that defensive energy was lost in the second half as both
teams struggled with turnovers. Although the Knights forced 22 Adrian
turnovers, they committed 19 themselves.
"I thought that in the first half, we were outstanding on defense," said Vande
Streek. "It was probably the best we've played all season against a very
athletic team. We were very aggressive and had good anticipation which was fun
to watch. We were great on the boards and I couldn't have been more pleased.
But I was a little disappointed in the second half as we lost some energy on
defense but we'll take the win."
Even with a somewhat lackluster second half, Calvin finished the game with 15
steals, 8 of them coming from Dustin Smith (Hamilton/Hamilton) who also had 13
points. Griffin led the team with 16 while Caleb Veldhouse (Sioux Falls,
SD/Sioux Falls Christian) added 10 points. Desmond Young for the Bulldogs led
all scorers with 22.
With only four conference games left in the season, Vande Streek feels like
his team is still in a good position. "In the last two to three weeks, we've
played really good," he said. "It has taken a while for us to get to where we
are but it has been fun seeing us get here. I'm happy that we're here and that
we still have things to shoot for."
Calvin (13-7 overall, 8-2 MIAA) travels to Albion on Wednesday night in a game
that will have the feel of a conference championship. The game is scheduled to
begin at 7:30 p.m.
OTHER MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES SATURDAY
Hope 74, Kalamazoo 57
Tri-State 57, Alma 37
Albion at Olivet at 7:30 p.m.
MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-9-08 GAMES (as of 6:30 p.m.)
Hope 9-1
Calvin 8-2
Albion 7-2
Tri-State 6-4
Adrian 4-6
Alma 2-8
Kalamazoo 2-8
Olivet 1-8
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
HOLLAND – A strong first half effort was not enough to keep Calvin from
falling at top-ranked Hope on Saturday afternoon as the Knights suffered a
66-58 defeat at Hope’s DeVos Fieldhouse.
Calvin (12-8 overall, 8-5 MIAA) trailed just 29-24 at halftime but a 20-7 run
by Hope midway through the second half helped seal the fate of the Knights. The
scoring burst gave Hope (20-0 overall, 12-0 MIAA) a commanding 60-39 lead with
7:16 left to play.
Calvin continued to battle down the stretch however, using a 10-2 run over the
final five minutes to cut the final margin down to single digits.
Saturday’s meeting was the 94th meeting between the two teams with Calvin
maintaining a 61-32 series lead. During the decade of the 2000’s however,
Hope has won 17 of 22 from Calvin.
Despite Saturday’s defeat, Calvin remains in third place in the MIAA
standings, sitting a game-and-a-half ahead of Adrian and Olivet who are tied
for fourth with 6-6 conference records. Calvin will host Adrian on Wednesday
night in a key MIAA contest that will help determine positioning for the
upcoming MIAA Tournament.
In its loss to Hope on Saturday, Calvin shot just 32 percent overall including
just 20 percent in the first half. “We had several good looks in the first
half, we just didn’t knock them down,” said Calvin women’s basketball
coach John Ross after the game. “Against a team like Hope, 32 percent field
goal shooting isn’t going to get it done.”
Meanwhile, Hope shot 46.6 percent overall, hitting on 46 percent of its shot
attempts in each half. “We had some defensive lulls, particularly in the
second half which really cost us,” said Ross. “We had a few mental errors
where we didn’t cover our defensive assignments.”
Hope finished with a 36-35 rebounding advantage and forced Calvin into 23
turnovers.
“Hope is the top team in the country right now and they are extremely
difficult to beat at home,” said Ross. “It will take a tremendous effort
for anyone to beat them, particularly in their gym.”
Calvin was led in defeat by sophomore Brook VanEck (Lowell HS) with 16 points
while junior Sarah Patridge had 10 points and sophomore Emily Ottenhoff (Palos
Heights, IL) a career-high nine points off the bench.
“Ottenhoff has a lot of talent and potential,” said Ross. “Hopefully
this game was a real confidence booster for her offensively. She has the
ability to really help our team down the road.”
A bright spot for Calvin was its free throw shooting as the Knights were 20 of
25 from the line for an 80 percent clip.
Hope was led in victory by senior Lindsay Lange who tallied 16 points, five
rebounds and three blocked shots. Sophomore Philana Greene also had 14 points,
five rebounds and four steals for the Flying Dutch.
Wednesday’s game against Adrian is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. The game
will be broadcast via Stretch Internet broadcast with Bruce VanBaren and Chaz
Amidon calling all of the action.
OTHER MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES SATURDAY
Albion 78, Saint Mary’s 70
Adrian 76, Alma 70 (OT)
Tri-State 83, Olivet 77
MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-9-08 GAMES
Hope 12-0
Albion 10-3
Calvin 8-5
Adrian 6-6
Olivet 6-6
Alma 5-7
Saint Mary’s 5-8
Tri-State 3-10
Kalamazoo 1-11
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Feb 9 18:52:52 2008
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