CSR (Men's Basketball Defeats Ohio Northern 70-67 in Overtime)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR DEC. 29, 2009

Men's Basketball Stretches Win Streak to Three With Overtime Victory Over Ohio Northern

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 70, Ohio Northern 67 (OT)

PHOENIX, AZ -- The Calvin men's basketball team picked up its first victory over Ohio Northern since the 1991-92 season and stretched its win streak to three games in the process with a 70-67 overtime victory over the Polar Bears Tuesday afternoon at the Grand Canyon Cactus Jam.

Heading into Tuesday's game, Ohio Northern had won the last three meetings against Calvin, winning in 1993, 2001 and 2003 with the victories in 1993 and 2001 coming in NCAA III Tournament play. Calvin's last victory over Ohio Northern had been a 65-50 decision on Thanksgiving weekend of Calvin's 1991-92 national championship season.

Senior center John Mantel also reached a milestone in the victory for the Knights (5-5), scoring 13 points to become the 19th player in Calvin men's basketball history to surpass the 1,000 point plateau in a career. Mantel also grabbed 13 rebounds in the win to notch his 10th career double-double.

Senior Matt Veltema led alvin in scoring with 15 points including a clutch triple with under a minute to play in overtime that gave the Knights a 66-63 lead. Junior Danny Rodts then connected on four free throws in the closing seconds of overtime to help the Knights hold on the win. Rodts had 14 points and was 7 of 7 at the free throw line. Junior Brad Schnyders added 12 points off the bench.

Freshman Bryan Powell also had nine points on the strength of three triples while also grabbing a career-high six rebounds.

Senior Kyle Meyer had 31 points for Ohio Northern (5-6) including 17 points in the second half.

Calvin led 29-26 at halftime and fell behind on two brief occasions in the second half. Ohio Northern tied the game at 56 on a free throw by Meyer with 18 seconds remaining in regulation . The Knights then misfired on a three-point shot in the closing seconds, sending the contest into overtime.

In overtime, Calvin gained a 63-60 lead on a layup and free throw by Mantel but Ohio Northern tied the game at 63 on a triple by Meyer at the two minute mark. The Knights regained the lead however on a triple by Veltema with 43 seconds left on the clock. Ohio Northern then closed to within a point on two occasions but Rodts held off the Polar Bear charge with four free throws down the stretch.

The contest was the sixth of the year for Calvin that has been decided by six points or less. Calvin is 3-3 in those games including 3-1 in its last four decided by six points or less.

Mantel now had 1,012 career points and now sits in 17th place on the all-time Calvin career scoring list.

Calvin returns to action on Wednesday when it faces Loras (IA) at 4 p.m. (EST) on the third and final day of the tournament.

Calvin 2,000-point Club
1. Steve Honderd (1993) 2,469
2. Mark Veenstra (1977) 2,251
3. Bill Sall (1990) 2,063

Calvin 1,000-point Club
4. Jeremy Veenstra (2003) 1,947
5. Aaron Winkle (2000) 1,802
6. Chris Knoester (1994) 1,756
7. Caleb Veldhouse (2009) 1,627
8. Tom Newhof (1958) 1,372
9. Mickey Phelps (1970) 1,365
10. Chris Prins (2004) 1,355
11. Duane Rosendahl (1952) 1,330
12. Kyle VanderBrug (1985) 1,130
13. Dan Davis (1989) 1,121
14. Jim Timmer Jr. (1990) 1,097
15. Kim Campbell (1967) 1,095
16. Kevin Broene (2004) 1,043
17. Bill Wolterstorff (1961) 1,015
18. John Mantel (2010) 1,012
19. Dan Aultman (2005) 1,005
Received on Tue Dec 29 21:59:11 2009