CSR (Basketball Teams Win Thrillers on Saturday)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR JAN. 17, 2009

Men's Basketball Wins Thriller Over Hope - Women's Basketball Wins Thriller
Over Adrian

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin 66, Hope 64

By Bruce Van Baren (Calvin Sports Information Student Assistant)

HOLLAND –The Knights snapped a four game losing streak to Hope with a 66-64
win Saturday before a sold-out crowd of 3,653 at DeVos Fieldhouse. Hope’s
Jesse Reimink missed a potential game winner with five seconds remaining to
give Calvin its sixth straight win and sole possession of first place in the
MIAA.

“This win is extremely exciting,” said Veldhouse, who led Calvin with 19
points in his 100th game as a Knight. “It feels great to pull out a victory
at their place. The most important thing is that we have sole possession of
first place in the MIAA.”

Calvin (9-5, 4-0 MIAA) sits atop the MIAA after knocking off consecutive
unbeaten teams in Adrian and Hope. Hope (10-5, 3-1 MIAA) takes possession of
second place with a 3-1 conference record and Adrian (5-9, 2-2 MIAA) slips into
a tie for third place with Olivet after losing 66-64 at Alma.

“It’s a huge rivalry and it’s a big deal, but in the end it’s just a
basketball game,” said John Mantel who had 17 points and 11 rebounds. “I
know that’s kind of weird to say, but it’s one of fourteen conference
games. We just want to win as many (conference games) as we can to put us in
position to win the (conference) championship.”

The win was also coach Kevin Vande Streek’s 254th win, tying him for the
most career wins at Calvin with Ed Douma. Vande Streek has led Calvin to five
MIAA titles, five MIAA tournament crowns, five trips to the NCAA III
tournament, two trips to the NCAA III Final Four and one national
championship.

“I honestly didn’t even know,” Vande Streek said. “I was just
fortunate to have a lot of good players. It’s been a pretty fun ride so
far.”

The win was Calvin’s first against the Flying Dutchmen since the 2007 MIAA
Tournament championship game, a 78-76 Calvin win at DeVos Fieldhouse. The
Calvin- Hope series now spans 85 years and 170 games with Hope still leading
the series 86-84. Hope has ended Calvin’s season the last three years, twice
in the NCAA III tournament and a year ago in the MIAA Tournament finals.

“As a senior I am fully aware that we had lost four straight (to Hope),”
said Veldhouse. “I am fully aware that we are 3-9 against Hope since I was a
freshman up until today. It just feels amazing to get a victory.”

Reimink, who led all scorers with 20 points, missed a jump shot that would
have given Hope a 66-65 lead with five seconds remaining.

“I was thinking it’s going in,” said Veldhouse of the Reimink shot.
“They ran a great play and he got a great look. Nine times out of ten that
will probably fall. It feels good to be on the other side of it.”

“Monday (in practice) we had run through all the possible screen exchanges
that exist,” said Vande Streek. “(In the timeout) I said there isn’t
anything they could do that we cannot defend.”

John Mantel’s clutch free throws with 1:17 left in the game were the
difference. Dustin Smith added the finishing touch hitting a free throw with
one second remaining.

Hope shot just 3 of 24 (12.5%) from three-point range and came into the game
averaging 76 points per game.

“You just have to say it fell our way today,” said Veldhouse. “We want
to make it as difficult as possible for them to get a shot. They had some open
looks that they missed. They had some looks that we were guarding them that
they missed.”

The Knights committed 16 turnovers that allowed Hope to over come two 10 point
deficits. Calvin led 42-32 two minutes into the second half, but Hope tied the
game 49-49 with 9:19 remaining. The Knights held a 63-53 lead with 4:38
remaining, but a Will Bowser layup gave Hope a 64-63 lead with 1:47 remaining,
it’s first lead since six minutes into the first half.

 “They made a great run,” said Veldhouse. “That’s college basketball
right there. It’s a game of runs. Hope’s a great team especially at home.
I’m just really proud of the way we responded (to those runs).”

After Hope’s 17-7 run tied the game 49-49, Tim Katt converted a three-point
play to spark a 6-0 Calvin run. Veldhouse’s three gave Calvin its second 10
point lead. Bowser’s go ahead layup capped the ensuing 11-0 run, giving Hope
the one-point lead.

“I’ve been saying all week that it’s going to be a typical Hope-Calvin
game,” said Vande Streek. “I was hoping when we got to about four and half
minutes with a seven point lead that we could hold onto that. But their defense
rose to the occasion and took it away from us a couple times. We really
responded and had a couple good possessions defensively to hold on.”

Hope’s David Krombeen fouled Mantel with 1:17 to play as Calvin’s 6-9,
240-pound center attempted a game tying layup. Mantel knocked down both free
throws to give the Knights the win.

“The key was keeping our composure and keeping our focus,” said Veldhouse.
“It’s really easy to get rattled in a situation like that. It’s a huge
game, the place is going crazy. But you have to put all that stuff aside. You
have to do what you need to do to win the game.”

Veldhouse scored Calvin’s first 12 points as the sell-out crowd fueled both
high octane offenses. Calvin and Hope kept pace with the other early in the
game each shooting 58.8-percent through the first nine minutes.

Calvin took the lead after Mantel’s three-pointer eight minutes into the
first half and didn’t relinquish it until Bowser’s go ahead layup with 1:47
remaining.

“I haven’t been shooting well so it felt awesome to knock down some shots
(early),” said Veldhouse. “Against Hope, especially (at DeVos Fieldhouse),
the first five minutes of each half are most important. I came out focused and
got some open looks and knocked them down.”
Calvin led 36-32 at halftime and shot 15 of 30 (50%) from the field. Hope was
just 1 of 12 from three-point range in the first half and shot 43.8%.

“Coach always says we play the first half to get to the second so we felt
good where we were at,” said Veldhouse. “A four point lead against Hope at
their place is something to be proud of at halftime.”

Since starting the season with a 3-5 record, the Knights have won six straight
games dating back to Calvin’s win over Geneva College on December 29. The six
game winning streak is Calvin’s longest since winning eleven straight games
in the 2005-2006 season.

“(This win) is a big stepping stone for us,” said Veldhouse. “We have to
keep working towards the conference title and this is another step.”

NOTES: Saturday’s meeting was the first time the teams met with undefeated
conference records since 1997… Vande Streek is now 14-21 against Hope in his
13-year career… Calvin outrebounded the Flying Dutchmen 37-31 and have done so
in each conference win this season…Calvin’s JV team lost 93-84 to Hope in the
early game… Varsity call-ups Matt Capel had 20 points and Lincoln Fox scored 10
points.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin 72, Adrian 66 (OT)
By Chaz Amidon

GRAND RAPIDS – Calvin coach John Ross was hoping his team wouldn’t have to
rely on Sarah Partridge’s last-second heroics to beat Adrian at home –
again.

But after the Knights’ 14-point lead suddenly evaporated late in the second
half, it was Partridge who provided a game-tying 3-pointer with 31 seconds left
in regulation to force overtime, where Calvin outscored the Bulldogs 12-6 en
route to a 72-66 victory at Van Noord Arena.

“I was going to pass it to Brook (Van Eck) but I couldn’t get it into her,
so I just shot it,” said Partridge of her long ball that knotted the game at
60-60. “I knew we were down by three, but I didn’t necessarily want to
shoot the 3.”

Partridge, who registered a team-high 14 points, lifted the Knights to a 65-64
win over the Bulldogs on Feb. 13, 2008, with a buzzer-beating lay-in to
punctuate the regular season finale at the old Calvin Fieldhouse.

This time around, Partridge shook off a forgettable first half – she was
0-of-3 from the field and 2-of-4 from the line – and tallied 12 points after
the break. She also gave Calvin a four-point lead in overtime with a
coast-to-coast lay up that induced an Adrian time out.

“Today was a relief for us,” said Partridge. “We needed to get the
confidence back.”

Coming off a 73-59 loss at Hope on Wednesday, the Knights received a pair of
12-point performances from Van Eck and Amber Benthem and shot 69 percent from
3-point range.

Instead of falling behind early, a recurrent trend for Calvin during the MIAA
season, the Knights bolted out to a 19-8 lead with 10:50 remaining in the first
half. The Bulldogs would climb back from double-digit deficits in both halves,
but Calvin engineered runs of 6-2 and 6-0 in the second half and overtime,
respectively.

“We just brought a lot of energy today,” said Benthem. “We let down at
the end (of the first half) but we got it right back and gave the fans
something to watch.”

Leading 49-35 with 12:35 left in regulation, Calvin saw its largest lead of
the game vanish when Adrian’s Anita Stamps headed a Bulldog comeback by
swiping three steals and converting a trio of fastbreak lay-ups. Stamps capped
a 10-0 Adrian run with 2:19 remaining when she intercepted a Kristi Brummel
pass at the top of the key and finished with a lay-in on the other end.

“Some of those turnovers were just totally uncharacteristic,” said Ross.
“We’re just really fortunate to get out of here today with a win.”

With only 42 seconds left, Adrian’s Jenn Headley put the Bulldogs up 60-57
with a turnaround jumper following two missed free throws from Van Eck.

Partridge buried the game-tying 3-pointer from the right corner just seconds
later, then forced Stamps to turn the ball over as time expired.

In overtime, Calvin took a quick 66-60 lead off baskets from Partridge, Emily
Ottenhoff and two free throws from Courtney Kurncz. And despite shooting only
55 percent (17-of-31) at the free throw line throughout, the Knights’ drained
5 of their last 6 attempts from the charity stripe to seal the win.

“We felt a little more comfortable on offense and at the end we got some big
stops and a couple turnovers,” said Partridge. “I think we felt better but
we still have a lot of work to do. It was a good win.”

The Knights (8-6, 3-4) are now 2-0 at Van Noord Arena, where they have played
in a pair of overtime thrillers so far this January. Calvin squeezed out a
double-overtime win over Trine in the home opener on Jan. 7.

In both home games, the Knights have committed an average of 13.5 turnovers
per game while knocking down nine 3-pointers in each contest. On Wednesday,
Calvin surrendered a season-worst 32 turnovers and shot only 4-of-12 from the
perimeter against Hope.

Somehow, someway, we’ve got to get back where we were our first five
games,” said Ross, whose team started the 2008-09 season with a 5-0
record. “Nobody saw us our first five games. We played phenomenal basketball
and, in my opinion, we were one of the top 25 teams in the country.”

Calvin will now travel to Olivet on Jan. 21 before returning back to Grand
Rapids for a four-game home stretch that begins Jan. 24.

MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-17-09 GAMES
Hope 6-1
Saint Mary’s 6-1
Adrian 4-3
Albion 4-3
Trine 4-4
Alma 3-4
Calvin 3-4
Olivet 2-5
Kalamazoo 0-7

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Jan 17 20:47:24 2009