CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 23, 2008 (PART TWO)
Men's Basketball Falls at Olivet -- MIAA Tournament Pairings Set
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Olivet 82, Calvin 65
(Written by Bruce VanBaren '09)
OLIVET -- Calvin fell by a double digit margin for the second straight game
Saturday afternoon, as Olivet knocked off the Knights 82-65 in what was both
teams’ regular season finale. It was the Knights first loss to Olivet in 22
meetings, snapping a winning streak dating back to 1999.
“You can go right down the line today,” said Calvin coach Kevin Vande Streek.
“I’m not sure that any of our [players] including me had a good day today.”
Calvin hit only six of 24 from three-point range and was out-rebounded 51-31.
Heading into the game the Knights were the league leader in rebounding margin
and had out-rebounded the opposition in six of its last seven games.
“It was a really nice win for Olivet,” said Vande Streek. “They came out ready
to play and played hard and really stuck it to us on the board and got the win.
That’s the name of the game right there. We had about 35 or 36% of the board at
half time and we talked about that. If you’re not going to [rebound] you’re not
going to win and that’s pretty much what it came down to.”
The Knights finish the regular season 14-10 overall and 9-5 in the MIAA. Calvin
was locked into third place in the league heading into the game and will host a
rematch with Olivet on Wednesday in the first round of the MIAA tournament.
“It’s been kind of a tough year for us,” said Calvin coach Kevin Vande Streek.
“We kind of have the same battle here all year of playing hard for a game or
two and then not. And then a stretch of hard and a stretch of not and that was
pretty evident again today.”
Jeff Cooper hit three three-point field goals in the final three minutes of the
first half to give the Comets a 38-34 halftime lead. That carried over to the
second half as Olivet started on an 11-0 run to take a 15 point lead just over
three minutes into the half. Calvin didn’t hit a field goal until sophomore
Josh Engelsma’s (Covenant Christian) layup with 14:19 to play.
A Caleb Veldhouse (Sioux Falls Christian) three-pointer cut the Comet lead to
nine with under thirteen minutes to play, but Olivet, responded with two of its
seven three-pointers on the afternoon to take what would be its largest lead of
17 points.
Calvin would never be able to cut the lead to single digits.
Michael McClary picked up his fourth straight double-double and tenth of the
season with 13 points and 17 rebounds. Brandon McClary also picked up a
double-double, his seventh of the season, with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Brandon Way led all scorers with 20 points and Cooper was the fourth Comet in
double figures, hitting three of four from beyond the arc for 14 points.
For Calvin, Engelsma had his fourth straight double-figure effort and sixth in
his last eight games, picking up a team high 15 points. Veldhouse also had 15
points and Matt Veltema (Calvin Christian) had ten points on three of five
shooting, including two of two from three-point range.
Calvin again struggled on the perimeter. Derek Griffin (Whitehall CC) was 2 of
14 from the field and 1 of 11 from three point range. Dustin Smith (Hamilton)
was 3 of 12 from the field and 2 of 6 from beyond the arc. Veldhouse with 15
points was 6 of 15 from the field and 1 of 5 from three-point range.
“It happens on the road and that’s why you have to defend and rebound well as a
team so you can make up for that,” said Vande Streek.
Of Calvin’s 10 losses, all but two of them have come when the Knights give up
70 or more points. In a loss to Wheaton they surrendered 68 and gave up 56 to
Albion earlier this month. It is also Calvin’s third two game losing streak of
the season.
The Knights will host a first-round MIAA tournament game on Wednesday, a
rematch with Olivet. The Knights beat the Comets 80-70 on January 30 at the
Fieldhouse. Hope locked up home-court tournament. With a 74-57 win at Tri-State, the Dutchmen picked up their second
straight MIAA Championship.
OTHER MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES SATURDAY
Adrian 79, Kalamazoo 74 (ot)
Albion 84, Alma 74
Hope 74, Tri-State 57
FINAL MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS
Hope 13-1
Albion 12-2
Calvin 9-5
Tri-State 6-8
Adrian 5-9
Olivet 5-9
Alma 3-11
Kalamazoo 3-11
MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS FOR FEB. 27 (1st Round)
#8 Alma (3-20) at #1 Hope (21-3)
#7 Kalamazoo (5-18) at #2 Albion (18-5)
#6 Olivet (9-15) at #3 Calvin (14-10)
#5 Adrian (10-14) at #4 Tri-State (9-15)
Friday Semi-Final Games at Highest Remaining Seed
Albion/Kalamazoo winner vs. Calvin/Olivet winner, 6 p.m.
Tri-State/Adrian winner vs. Hope/Alma winner, 8:15 p.m.
Saturday Championship Game at Friday Site
Friday winners, 7:30 p.m.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin will host a first round MIAA Tournament game on Tuesday night against
Adrian at 7:30 p.m. at the Fieldhouse. The two teams split a pair of regular
season meetings with Adrian winning at home 61-54 in January and Calvin winning
a week-and-a-half ago at the Calvin Fieldhouse 65-64.
OTHER MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES SATURDAY
Albion 82, Tri-State 67
Adrian 86, Kalamazoo 54
Hope 69, Alma 40
Saint Mary's 74, Olivet 56
FINAL MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS
Hope 16-0
Albion 13-3
Calvin 11-5
Saint Mary’s 8-8
Adrian 7-9
Olivet 7-9
Alma 6-10
Tri-State 3-13
Kalamazoo 1-15
MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS (1st ROUND)
Monday, Feb. 25
#9 Kalamazoo (4-20) at #8 Tri-State (6-18)
Tuesday, Feb. 26
Kalamazoo/Tri-State winner at #1 Hope (24-0)
#7 Alma (9-14) at #2 Albion (20-4)
#6 Adrian (9-15) at #3 Calvin (15-8)
#5 Olivet (9-15) at #4 Saint Mary’s (12-12)
Thursday Semi-Final Games
Albion/Alma winner vs. Calvin/Adrian winner at highest seed, 7:30 p.m.
St. Mary's/Olivet winner vs. Tri-State/Kzoo/Hope winner at highest seed, 7:30
p.m.
Saturday Championship Game
Hosted by highest remaining seed, 3 p.m
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Feb 23 18:20:11 2008
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