CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR JANUARY 21, 2009
Women's Basketball Wins at Olivet Behind Three-Point Blitz;
Men's Basketball Drops First-Ever Game Inside Van Noord Arena - Win Streak
Snapped
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 81, Olivet 63
OLIVET – The Calvin women’s basketball team used a three-point blitz to
secure an 81-63 victory at Olivet’s Cutler Event Center. The Knights (9-6
overall, 404 MIAA) connected on 14 of 28 from three-point range including 11 of
19 in the first half as the Knights jumped out to a 46-23 halftime lead.
Six different Calvin players connected on three-pointers led by senior Kristi
Brummel (South Christian HS) who scored a season-high 17 points on five
three-points and a pair of free throws. Senior Sarah Partridge (East Lansing
HS) also had a pair of trifectas as she scored 11 points along with five
assists.
Junior Brook Van Eck (Lowell HS) also notched her third double-double of the
season with 11 points and 10 rebounds while freshman Courtney Kurncz (St. Johns
HS) had eight points and six rebounds.
Freshman Leah Mattson (Cadillac HS) and senior Kelly Trewhella (Rockford HS)
added seven points apiece.
The win lifts Calvin into a three-way tie for fourth place in the MIAA
standings with Trine and Adrian. Calvin returns to action on Saturday when it
hosts Kalamazoo at 3:0 p.m. inside the Van Noord Arena.
OTHER MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES WEDNESDAY
Saint Mary’s 81, Kalamazoo 63
Albion 51, Alma 26
Hope 65, Adrian 52
MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-21-09 GAMES
Saint Mary’s 7-1
Hope 7-1
Albion 5-3
Adrian 4-4
Calvin 4-4
Trine 4-4
Alma 3-5
Olivet 2-6
Kalamazoo 0-8
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Olivet 60, Calvin 57
(for a story on Mike Zwier written by Bruce VanBaren, please visit the Calvin
website at:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/news/comments/mike-zwier-emerges-as-key-member-of-calvin-mens-basketball-team/)
By Chaz Amidon
GRAND RAPIDS – The Knights misfired on four straight 3-pointers in the final
37 seconds and their late-game comeback surge was halted, falling 60-57 to
Olivet in their first home loss at the Van Noord Arena.
Calvin missed its first six field goal attempts after the break and shot just
27 percent in the second half as head coach Kevin Vande Streek was denied his
255th win – a victory that would have made him the school’s all-time
winningest coach.
“You get to a one-possession game, and you hate to be in that because
everything has to go right,” said Vande Streek.
It was the Knights’ first conference loss of the 2008-09 season, where
Calvin registered four consecutive league wins before withering against a
Comets squad that has now won two straight against the Knights.
Before a 82-65 Olivet win on Feb. 23, 2008, Calvin had boasted a 22-game win
streak against the Comets.
“The bottom line is, we didn’t show up,” said Matt Veltema. “We
didn’t play a full 40 minutes and that’s what it comes down to. Olivet
was basically the better team today. They deserved to win that game.”
Veltema led all Calvin scorers with 15 points off the bench. With under 4:00
remaining, he engineered a 7-0 run himself to chisel Olivet’s lead to 58-55,
but the Knights converted on only more basket when Mike Zwier drove down the
lane for a lay-in with 1:40 left.
On the final possession, Veltema missed one 3-pointer, Caleb Veldhouse failed
to connect on two attempts, and John Mantel’s try with 0.8 seconds remaining
veered left.
Veldhouse and Mantel – Calvin’s top two scorers at 14.0 and 13.8
points-per-game, respectively – combined to shoot just 7-for-32 from the
field throughout.
“We got four chances,” said Dustin Smith, who led all starters with 12
points. “You can’t ask for anything more than that in 30 seconds. They were
all tough shots. Frankly, it shouldn’t come down to one last shot.”
Olivet’s Andre Evans tallied a game-high 19 points, dialing in five
3-pointers and sparking a 10-0 Comets run late in the second half. He drilled
consecutive long balls with 6:10 left, then Michael McClary, who poured in 16
points and 11 rebounds, capped the scoring drive to give Olivet a 56-48 lead.
“We knew we lost to them before and that it was our home court – we just
didn’t show up,” said Smith. “We gave up some offensive rebounds and
didn’t get stops when we needed to.”
Calvin jumped out to 6-0 and 7-0 scoring spurts in the first half after
trailing 6-2 early, but Olivet cobbled together a 12-2 run right before the
half. Evans gave the Comets momentum heading into the break when he nailed a
pull-up 15-footer as the buzzer sounded.
Only four Knights – Veltema, Veldhouse, Mantel and Smith – recorded points
before halftime as the rest of the team combined to shoot 0-for-4 in the first
20 minutes.
“First half, right off the bat, when we missed two put backs from point
blank I have a hard time explaining that,” said Vande Streek.
“We certainly waited to play with passion until about 10 minutes left in the
game. It was very disappointing. To not come out enthusiastically or
passionately is very disappointing.”
Calvin (9-6, 4-1) will now travel to Albion to take on the Britons this
Saturday, game time 3:00 p.m.
OTHER MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES WEDNESDAY
Adrian 79, Trine 53
Hope 81, Alma 64
Albion 64, Kalamazoo 32
MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-21-09 GAMES
Calvin 4-1
Hope 4-1
Adrian 3-2
Albion 3-2
Olivet 3-2
Alma 2-3
Kalamazoo 1-4
Trine 0-5
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Thu Jan 22 00:39:58 2009
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