CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR January 21, 2010 (Part One)
Men's Basketball Builds Two-Game Lead In MIAA Standings With Win Over Albion;
Women's Basketball Opens Second Half of League Schedule With Win Over Olivet
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 80, Albion 70
(written by sports information student assistant Derek Neice)
Clutch shooting in a basketball game is what separates good teams from the
rest of the pack.
Saturday night, in what could be called Calvin’s most vital game thus far in
the season, the Knights took on the Britons of Albion and both teams showed why
they are at the top of the MIAA standings.
The Knights were carried by the three players on the team in the form of 21
points from Matt Veltema (Grandville, MI) on 6 of 9 shooting including 3 of 6
from three-point range and 16 points from both John Mantel (Chelsea, MI) and
Danny Rodts (Niles, MI). Mantel connected on 3 of 6 from the field and also
made 10 of 13 free throws and Rodts scored his points on 4 of 5 shooting
including a pair of triples. Rodts and Veltema additionally were both perfect
at the charity stripe, hitting 6 free throws each.
Mantel also grabbed nine boards, one shy of notching another double double to
his belt.
“These guys have made a lot of big shots in their career already whether it’s
free throws or threes,” Calvin coach Kevin Vande Streek commented on his
offense’s clutch shooting after the game, “and we did a nice job finding those
players when they were open.”
Albion controlled the majority of the game and brought out that clutch
shooting early with white-hot perimeter shooting in the first half, connecting
on 8 of 14 bombs from three-point land.
But the word for Calvin was resiliency as it took Albion’s momentum away in
the second half. Calvin showed its own clutch shooting ability down the
stretch, hitting three key triples in the second half to seal its sixth league
win this season and in the process adding a two-game cushion in the MIAA
standings.
The Knights were also phenomenal from the charity stripe in the game, hitting
37 of 42 free throws over the course of a very physical game on both ends.
“Calvin versus Albion is always very physical,” Vande Streek said of the level
of physicality the game showed. “It always has been in every game we’ve played
them in my fourteen years here.”
The game opened with a pair of scoring runs by both teams as Albion jumped out
quickly to a 7-0 lead and Calvin responded by scoring 7 straight of their own
to tie. Scoring spurts would mostly sum up the rest of the half with Albion
distancing themselves on the scoreboard and Calvin making a continual
comeback.
Calvin managed to stay close in the opening frame by pulling to within four
points at the break, but the half was definitely not the kind of basketball
Calvin wanted to have played. The Knights shot solidly from the floor, hitting
on 10 of 25 attempts, but they also committed 10 turnovers in the half,
allowing Albion more looks on offense than they would’ve had otherwise.
Albion also shot 57.1 percent from beyond the arc in the first half, hitting
three’s like they were free throws in a half that had to have many Calvin fans
uneasy as the teams went into the locker room with a 34-30 Albion lead.
“The big thing with the first half was that we were really passive,” Vande
Streek said. “We seemed to go over the half line and just stop, and we did
turn it over more than we would want to.”
“But coming into the second half we definitely did a much better job of that,”
he continued, “and we set the tone by being more aggressive.”
Albion opened the second half on another quick spurt of points as they scored
six straight to jump out to a 10 point lead early on at 40-30, but Calvin
slowly made their way back into the mix of things, tying the game at 49 with
ten-and-a-half minutes left in the game and later taking its first lead of the
game on a triple from Veltema with just under five minutes left, giving the
Knights a 62-60 advantage.
That three from Veltema to gain the lead was the second of three big shots in
the half from beyond the arc ultimately being what got Calvin in the position
to win the game.
Rodts drained a big shot from the corner at 6:05 to play to bring the Knights
within one point, and Veltema later dropped another bomb at 3:48 to push his
team up by seven, a lead Calvin would hold on to.
“Tommy [Snikkers] did a nice job of finding Danny [Rodts] on that one,” Vande
Streek commented. “He looked hard at John [Mantel] and when Albion bit on it
he kicked it out and Danny knocked it in and it was clutch.”
“And Veltema’s was a set thing that we saved for the situation we were in late
in the game with that lead and he delivered a clutch basket,” Vande Streek
continued. “Those were a couple of big daggers right there.”
Daggers is right, and once Calvin took the lead, Albion went more or less into
desperation mode as the Britons tried to score early on offensive possessions
and fouled more on defense.
But no miracle comeback would occur in the final minutes of this game though
as the Knights took care of business and won their 11th overall game this
season by an eventual score of 80-70.
“Two significant things of where we are right now is Wednesday going to Alma
we have a chance to get through the first round [conference play] undefeated,
and I don’t know the last time we’ve done that,” said Vande Streek.
“And that’s a pretty neat thing just to have that extra motivation,” he
continued. “And to have a two-game lead this early is good but we know it’s a
long road to go yet.”
The Britons landed three players into double-digit scoring as Chris Hutton
poured in 17, J.C. Cruse (Detroit, MI) scored 16 and freshman Kolin Kazen
(Holland, MI) dropped 15 and grabbed 7 boards.
With the win Albion falls to 4-2 in conference play this season and Calvin
remains perfect with a 6-0 mark. With a perfect record going forward, Calvin’s
confidence can only take a boost knowing they’ve beaten nearly every team in
the MIAA thus far, but a tough road schedule remains for the Knights as they
hit the road for their next three games, including tough match-ups at Hope and
Olivet.
“The old saying is ‘Take one game at a time,’ and that’s exactly right,” said
Vande Streek of Calvin’s upcoming schedule. “We had an emotional game today
and a big rivalry game Saturday, so Wendsday [at Alma] could really be a trap
game.”
“So you got to take them one game at a time and be ready,” he continued, “and
the one thing I want from this group is to continue to get better every day.”
Calvin is back on the court on January 27th as it travels to Alma for another
conference duel in which the Knights seek their seventh league victory. That
game is set to commence at 7:30 p.m.
Kevin Vande Streek Post-Game Audio Interview:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/audio/Men%27sBasketball/KVSPostGame012310.mp3
OTHER MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL SCORES Saturday
Trine 71, Kalamazoo 63
Olivet 74, Alma 57
Hope 79, Adrian 63
MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-23-10 GAMES
Calvin 6-0
Albion 4-2
Hope 4-2
Adrian 3-3
Olivet 3-3
Trine 2-4
Kalamazoo 2-4
Alma 0-6
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 63, Olivet 46
(written by sports information student assistant Mitch Blankespoor)
Looking to build off of a win against Alma in which the Knights had 22
turnovers, the Calvin women’s basketball team took on the Olivet Comets on
Saturday. The Knights remained undefeated this year at Van Noord Arena winning
the contest 63-46.
Both teams started out shooting hot from the floor. Olivet (5-13, 4-5 MIAA)
hung with favored Calvin (16-2, 8-1MIAA) for the first ten minutes of the game.
With Calvin leading 15-8 with 11:59 remaining in the first half, the Knights
half court defense stepped it up a notch. Olivet would only score eight more
points the entire half. Calvin ended the half on a 17-8 run to lead 32-16 at
the half.
Calvin had a balanced scoring attack at the half. Freshman Carissa Verkaik led
Calvin at the half with eight points. Amber Benthem, Brook VanEk, and Courtney
Kurncz had five points each. Olivet was led by Olivia Yarrell with six points.
The Knights shot 37% from the field and from three point range. The Comets,
on the other hand shot 29%. The rebounds were about even with Calvin holding a
slight edge 17-14. The biggest difference in the first half was the free throw
shooting. While Olivet was perfect from the stripe, they only got there four
times. Calvin shot 75% from the line, but took 12 shots.
The beginning of the second half was all about runs. Olivet opened up with a
5-2 run. Calvin responded with an 11-3 run of their own to take a 20 point
lead: 45-25. Olivet’s Alison Focht hit a jumper that stopped the Knights run.
Calvin just went on another run. This one was an 11-5 run. This put Calvin
ahead by 24, its biggest margin. Olivet was able to cut Calvin’s lead to 17
points, which is what the final game spread was.
Calvin had two players in double digit scoring. Carissa Verkaik, a freshman
from Holland Christian scored her tenth double-double. She finished with 12
points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks; a stat she is 5th in nationally averaging
3.7 blocks per game. After being introduced into the 500 rebound club earlier
this week, senior Brook VanEck led the Knights with 13 points and grabbed six
boards. Kaitlyn Oleksyn and Olivia Yarrell had 12 points to lead the Comets.
Olivet only shot 28% for the game while Calvin shot 41% from the field. The
big difference in the game was the fouls. Olivet was whistled for 36 fouls in
the game to Calvin’s 20. Because of this, the Knights lived at the line. They
were 26 of 38 from the line for 68%.
“Our defensive goal was to play the gaps. We were still playing a man-to-man
defense, but it worked kind of like a zone,” Calvin head coach John Ross said
after the game. “Carissa has played well this year. We expected some zone
from Olivet in order to stop Carissa. We didn’t see it though. Our guards
continue to knock down shots when Carissa gets double teamed.
The Knight will go to Saint Mary’s next week, a team they defeated 64-58 at
Van Noord Arena earlier this year. “ Saint Mary’s always gives us fits. They
beat us three times last year and twice at home. They will be hungry for
revenge.” John Ross.
POSTGAME AUDIO INTERVIEW WITH JOHN ROSS:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/audio/Women%27sBasketball/JohnRossPostGame012310.mp3
OTHER MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCORES Saturday
Trine 62, Saint Mary's 57
Albion 61, Kalamazoo 42
Adrian 76, Alma 59
MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-23-10 GAMES
Hope 8-0
Calvin 8-1
Saint Mary's 5-4
Adrian 4-5
Albion 4-5
Olivet 4-5
Trine 4-5
Alma 2-7
Kalamazoo 1-8
Received on Sat Jan 23 23:30:29 2010
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