CSR (Men's Basketball Opens MIAA Play With 84-75 Victory Over Hope)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR JAN. 6, 2010

Men's Basketball Opens MIAA Campaign with Win Over Hope

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 84, Hope 75
(written by sports information student assistant Derek Neice)
With the New Year underway, the great rivalry of Calvin Hope basketball now
enters its 10th decade of play, with Hope leading the series total 88-86 over
Calvin.
But Wednesday’s game, the 174th game between the two schools, was a night for
the Knights as they defeated the Flying Dutchmen by a score of 84-75. Led by
strong play from the seniors on the team and clutch shooting from freshmen
participating in their first ever Calvin Hope game, the Knights had fans
leaving Calvin’s Van Noord Arena happy after the win.
The Knights are now 14-0 in MIAA openers under Vande Streek thanks to an 84-75
victory over rival Hope College Wednesday night in front of 4,468 fans at
Calvin’s Van Noord Arena.
Wednesday’s game marked the first time Calvin and Hope had met in men’s
basketball in an MIAA opener since 1988.
Senior John Mantel (Chelsea, MI) notched another double-double to his belt in
scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 total boards. Fellow senior Matt Veltema
(Grandville, MI) poured in 13 second half points, and the Knights got plenty of
help off the bench as the Knight bench outscored the Dutchmen bench 25-7.
Freshman Bryan Powell (Wyoming, MI) scored nine points off of three huge
three-pointers, an offensive threat that ultimately thwarted all of Hope’s
attempts at taking control of the game.
“I get a lot of open looks because of my teammates,” said Powell. “I’ve been
working on my shot in practice and when I got some space to shoot tonight, I
took the open looks.”
The first half could have doubled as a giant game of Horse between the two
teams as both went back and forth with the scoring. Calvin took a 7-4 lead
early on and would hold that lead until midway through the second half.
Brent Schuster (Denver, CO) scored eight big points of his eventual 10 in the
first half, sparking the Knights offense on multiple possessions. Trent Salo
(Rudyard, MI) also scored eight first half points, six coming from a couple of
big three pointers.
The Calvin lead was as much as nine at one point in the first half, but Hope
used an 8-0 run to climb back into the game. But despite Hope’s comeback, the
Knights offense exploded again in the final minutes, highlighted by a Danny
Rodts (Niles, MI) 3-pointer that went in with about 20 seconds to go. The
Knights led 45-36 at the break.
In the opening minutes of the second half, Calvin’s 9 point lead evaporated in
an instant. The Dutchmen used another 8-0 run to climb back into the game,
cutting the lead to 45-43, and Calvin didn’t score until about 2 minutes in
when Rodts drew a foul and hit one of the free throws. With Hope biting the
heels of the Knights for much of the game, Calvin still would not relinquish
control of the lead.

Hope would take the lead midway through the half but it was only for a very
brief stretch of time. Trailing 55-54 with 9:55 left to play, Hope’s Logan
Neil hit a three-pointer to give Hope the two-point advantage.
But Powell then received the inbound pass, dribbled up the court, and
immediately released one of his three huge shots when he was in range to give
Calvin back the lead. And as if this wasn’t enough for the eager freshman, on
Calvin’s very next possession, with the score still the same, he did the exact
same thing in launching in another long three-pointer, giving him six straight
points on the court and essentially icing the game for the Knights. The
Dutchmen pulled within four points a few minutes later trailing 63-59, but
Powell was still hot from his previous two shots, and he popped in one more for
good measure to give Calvin a seven point lead, bringing his total point spread
to nine on the night.
The Knights then put the game on cruise control as they rolled to an eventual
victory over their rivals.
“When we had Brent Schuster and John Mantel in together, it gave us a lot of
length on defense,” said Calvin men’s basketball coach Kevin Vande Streek of
his post tandem that combined to block six shots. “I thought they did a great
job of getting their hands on balls and helping our defense. Down the stretch,
Hope scored only seven or eight points and I think our depth had something to
do with that.”
With the win, Calvin starts out conference play on an excellent note at 1-0
and Hope falls to 0-1. Hope will definitely be ready for the next battle, with
that game set to be played in the Dutchmen’s home arena. But for now the
Knights have the bragging rights, and Wednesday night’s win shows just how
dangerous this squad can be.
“Obviously this is a big win but we can’t dwell on it,” said Vande Streek. “We
have a very challenging game on Saturday against an Olivet team that is
extremely talented. We will certainly have our hands full when they come to our
building this weekend.”
Saturday’s game against Olivet is slated to start at 3 p.m.
OTHER MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL SCORES Wednesday

Kalamazoo 57, Alma 52
Adrian 71, Trine 65
Albion 84, Olivet 71
 
Received on Thu Jan 7 00:44:50 2010