CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR FEB. 27, 2008
Men's Basketball Advances to MIAA Semifinals To Face Albion;
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 89, Olivet 67
(written by Drew DeVries '08)
For the third straight year in a row, Calvin knocked off Olivet in a first round MIAA Tournament game to advance to the MIAA Tournament semifinals.
Calvin will face Albion in a semifinal game at 6:00 p.m. on Friday at Hope's DeVos Fieldhouse with Hope set to take on Adrian in Friday's second semifinal game.
After a disappointing regular season finale loss to Olivet last Saturday,Derek Griffin Calvin turned it around and put on an impressive offensive effort on display in the final game Calvin's Fieldhouse will see. Calvin's 89-67 victory gives the Knights their 15th win of the season for the 24th season in a row.
Derek Griffin (Whitehall/Whitehall) stole the show for the Knights this evening scoring a career high 35 points after scoring just six points in his previous two games combined. He connected on eight three pointers shooting 10-17 from the field and 8-12 from behind the arc.
On top of Griffin's performance, Calvin head coach Kevin Vande Streek was proud of the way his team responded to Saturday's loss and enjoyed watching his team shoot 56 percent from the field. "This game was what we've been looking for," he said. "We had a great effort on defense and we shot the ball extremely well. Our two all-conference guards were impressive. I'm just very proud of my guys."
Griffin wasn't the only guard scoring. Caleb Veldhouse (Sioux Falls, SD/Sioux Falls Christian) added 21 points. Each guard got going right away with Griffin opening the game with a triple. Calvin built an early 12-5 lead behind back and forth scoring between Griffin and Veldhouse. The two guards connected on nine three pointers and accounted for 40 of Calvin's first half points. Calvin led by as many as 17 in the half and at the half, held a 53-38 lead.
In the second half, Josh Engelsma (Walker/Covenant Christian) set the tone right away after he stole an Olivet pass and scored on the breakaway. Olivet pulled to within 12 points a couple minutes in but Calvin soon broke away. Calvin showed hustle on both sides of the ball which helped them on its way to an 11 consecutive points en route to a 16-3 run in which the Knights led 83-54 with six minutes to go.
"It was a fun game to coach," said Vande Streek. "On offense, we've had a tendency to stand around which is not what we want to do. But we did an outstanding job tonight by moving around a lot and getting the kind of shots we wanted."
Vande Streek credits his team's win to having back its mental toughness that was lacking in last Saturday's loss. "We had a team meeting after the bus ride back from Olivet," he said. "I didn't even say anything. I just let my guys talk. They talked about our mental focus and toughness. Talk is cheap and we knew it was time to get out there and get it done."
Engelsma was the other Knight to finish in double figures chipping in 12 points while Josh Mantel (Chelsea/Chelsea) led Calvin's rebounding attack with seven as the Knights finished the game with a 32-24 rebounding advantage. Brandon McClary led the Comets in defeat with 20 points.
Vande Streek now will prepare his team for its next game on Friday. "We played how we wanted to tonight," he said. "Now, whoever it is that we play next will be a tough game but if we can play with this kind of intensity and passion like tonight, then I like our chances."
Calvin (15-10 overall) will take its chances and travel to the DeVos Fieldhouse in Holland on Friday night for second round MIAA action against Albion.
For a column on Derek Griffin's performance written by Calvin sports information student assistant Bruce VanBaren, please check out the Calvin web site at: http://www.calvin.edu/sports/releases/2007_08/GriffinColumn22708.htm
MIAA TOURNAMENT MEN'S BASKETBALL TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets to the semifinal games will be available on Thursday beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the Calvin Box Office. Reserved tickets are $7.00. A limited number of General Admission tickets are FREE for MIAA students.
General Admission tickets are $2.00 for any college faculty/staff and students, High School students and children, and $5.00 for all others. Tickets must be paid by either cash or check. One ticket is valid for both the 6:00pm and 8:15pm games.
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Thu Feb 28 00:03:00 2008
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