CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 11, 2009
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin 63, Hope 62
(For a feature story on Caleb Veldhouse written by Bruce VanBaren, please
visit the Calvin web site at:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/news/comments/veldhouse-adds-another-chapter-to-calvin-hope-rivalry/)
By Chaz Amidon
GRAND RAPIDS - Three seasons ago, with a Hope defender glued to his hip, Caleb
Veldhouse dialed in a buzzer-beating 3 to give the Knights a historic win over
their archrivals at the old Calvin Fieldhouse.
He was then a freshman, playing in only his second Calvin-Hope game,
attempting a shot that, at the time, was risky. Maybe even impossible for a
freshman.
This year, in Calvin’s new home, he made a last-second play against the
Dutchmen look easy.
Driving the lane and drawing a double-team, Veldhouse found Matt Veltema for a
wide-open lay-in with 2.7 seconds remaining to lift Calvin to an electrifying
63-62 win over Hope on Wednesday.
It was the first match-up between the two schools in the newly built Van Noord
Arena, where the Knights completed their first regular season sweep of Hope
since 2001-02.
“Caleb’s just done it over and over in his career,” said Calvin coach
Kevin Vande Streek. “Sometimes it’s to take a three-point lead to a
five-point lead with a minute left. It’s not always the game-winner, but
he’s awfully clutch.”
Veldhouse, Calvin’s seventh all-time leading scorer, paced the Knights with
19 points and connected on all three of his attempts from beyond the arc -
including a deep long ball with 51 seconds left to narrow Hope’s four-point
lead to one.
On Feb. 8, 2006, he drilled a 3-pointer over Hope’s Greg Immink - as time
expired - to provide for one of the more scintillating finishes between the two
teams, who are now separated by only one game in the all-time series that began
in 1920-21.
Wednesday, facing a deficit in the dwindling seconds once again, Veldhouse had
room for one more unforgettable ending.
“It’s exactly what I came to Calvin for,” said Veldhouse. “That’s
what you come here for, that’s what you play here for. You compete with the
best.
Trailing the Dutchmen 62-61 with 15 seconds remaining, Veldhouse repaired a
broken play by driving middle to find an open shot. Instead, Hope’s interior
collapsed, and Veltema slipped down to the right block for an uncontested
lay-up.
“We just give him the ball and get out of the way,” said Vande Streek.
“Caleb said right before we went out, ‘If they come trap me or
something, someone’s got to step up and win the game.’ It’s hard to
defend it, especially when you’ve got a great player you can just give the
ball to.”
Calvin’s Dustin Smith immediately committed a foul on the ensuing inbound
pass, which positioned the Dutchmen near mid-court to run their final play with
1.3 seconds left. Hope’s Peter Bunn hoisted a fall-away 3 that nearly banked
in as the final horn sounded.
Then, a record crowd of 4,632 stormed the floor in the Van Noord Arena for the
first time.
“We’ve just said it so many times, it comes down to the last shot,” said
Vande Streek. “How many close games in the history of this? It’s not always
a game-winner, but it’s always tight and we know each other well, and baskets
are hard to come by. I’m just happy we had one more.”
John Mantel was one of two Knights to record a double-double, compiling 17
points and 10 rebounds. The double-double was his seventh of the year. Smith
chipped in with 12 points and 10 boards for his second double-double of the
season.
Calvin took only its second lead of the game with 12:24 left in regulation.
The Knights trailed Hope 27-13 with five minutes remaining in the first half, a
juncture where Calvin was 4-of-26 (15 percent) from the field. Veldhouse was
0-for-6 with no points.
He fired in a pair of 3-pointers shortly before the break and scored 12 of his
team-high 19 points after halftime.
“You can’t say enough,” said Veltema of Veldhouse. “You don’t see a
lot that goes on in practice, just the leadership skills that he’s got.
He’s got to step up and make those plays all the time.”
Bunn paced the Dutchmen with a game-high 21 points, and Jesse Reimink, the
MIAA’s leading scorer (22.0 points-per-game), was limited to one second-half
field goal en route to totaling 17 points.
Calvin now trails Hope in the all-time series 86-85, though Veldhouse and his
fellow seniors are 5-9 against the Dutchmen since the 2005-06 season. The
Knights are 14-15 against Hope since 2000.
“Our whole offseason, our motto was ‘Prove it,’” said Veldhouse.
“’What are you going to do over the offseason and through next season
that’s going to prove what kind of player you are? What kind of team you’re
going to be?’
“I think that tonight, and down in Holland, we proved it. We made a big step
tonight.”
The Knights, who shot an average of 39 percent at home coming in, finished
just 33 percent from the floor. They shot 26 percent in the first half, where
Hope committed only one turnover.
NOTES: In 2005, ESPN ranked the Calvin-Hope series as the fourth-greatest
college basketball rivalry behind Duke-North Carolina, Connecticut-Tennessee
(women) and Louisville-Kentucky, respectively…Vande Streek is now 15-21
all-time against Hope…Over the last 25 years, the visiting team that won Round
One of the rivalry has gone on to sweep the regular season series 12 out of a
possible 13 times…In 171 games, Hope has outscored Calvin by a combined 88
points, a difference of just 0.515 points-per-game.
OTHER MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES WEDNESDAY
Albion 73, Trine 67
Adrian 77, Alma 62
Kalamazoo 70, Olivet 65
MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-11-09 GAMES
Calvin 10-1
Albion 8-3
Hope 8-3
Olivet 5-6
Kalamazoo 4-7
Adrian 4-7
Alma 3-8
Trine 2-9
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin 91, Rochester College 61
AUBURN HILL, MI - The Calvin women’s basketball team stretched its win
streak to three games and improved to 13-8 overall with a 91-61 victory at
Rochester College in a game that was played at Oakland Christian High School.
Calvin placed 12 players in the scorebook led by senior Marcia Harris who
dropped in 19 points off the bench while junior Brook Van Eck had 15 points to
go with a team-high nine rebounds.
Senior Marissa Walker also tallied nine points on the strength of 3-of-5
shooting from three-point range. Senior Sarah Partridge and freshmen Courtney
Kurncz and Jill Thomas all had eight points apiece.
Calvin led 39-23 at halftime and shot 43.8 percent overall. Calvin connected
on 9-of-19 from three-point range and was credited with 19 assists.
Calvin returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Olivet at 3:00 p.m. in an
MIAA contest at Calvin’s Van Noord Arena.
OTHER MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES WEDNESDAY
Hope 69, Trine 52
Saint Mary’s 77, Adrian 71
Albion 66, Kalamazoo 38
Alma 61, Olivet 56
MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-11-09 GAMES
Hope 12-1
Saint Mary’s 12-2
Trine 8-6
Calvin 7-6
Adrian 6-7
Albion 6-7
Alma 6-7
Olivet 3-10
Kalamazoo 0-14
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Thu Feb 12 02:03:22 2009
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