CSR (Calvin Basketball Teams Stung by Hope in MIAA Tournament Title Tilts)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR FEB. 27, 2010

Calvin Basketball Teams Stung by Hope in MIAA Tournament Title Tilts
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Hope 78, Calvin 74
(written by sports information student assistant Derek Niece)
The Calvin Hope rivalry never ceases to provide excitement, the kind of
excitement that can only be found in collegiate sports. On Saturday night,
February 27th, 2010, another chapter was added to this great rivalry, but it is
a chapter Calvin fans would probably skip over rather than read after the
result of Saturday night’s duel.
Hope won the game 78-74, a thriller right down to the last seconds, and only
by making some clutch free throws did the Dutchmen manage to maintain a
two-possession four point lead.
The loss for Calvin signals the second time in two straight years where the
Knights have won hosting rights for the MIAA tournament and lost the
championship game at home to Hope.
In addition, Hope gains the MIAA's automatic bid to the NCAA III Tournament.
The Flying Dutchmen also lead the all-time series 80-76.
“The first four minutes of the game were really poor for us and really good
for Hope,” Vande Streek commented. “And the last three minutes of the game I
thought were about the same.”
“Defensively I thought we just didn’t get it done to start with,” Vande Streek
continued, “and it’s tough to come back, but down the stretch defensively we
did a pretty nice job. We had some shots but just didn’t make them.”
Calvin senior John Mantel, in probably his last game as a Knight, put up the
best game of his four-year varsity career by scoring a career-high 29 points
and pulling down 9 rebounds. His performance was what brought the Knights back
into the game after falling behind early, and it was what kept the lead for
Calvin as they battled to control the game in the final minutes.
Junior point guard Trent Salo also played a tremendous game in connecting on
all five of his first five shots, four of those coming from three-point land.
He finished with 14 points
“It’s never fun to lose to them [Hope], especially in the last game most
likely in your season and career,” said Mantel of the loss. “They’re an
outstanding program, and you have to give a lot of credit to them.”
“I’m really proud of John [Mantel],” said Vande Streek when asked about his
senior center and his Calvin career. “From a maturity standpoint and an
example standpoint, he’s just a quality young man and then you throw in the
fact that he’s such a talented basketball player.”
“I would say that John is definitely one of the best players I’ve coached,” he
continued, “and I would say we relied on him more than we’ve ever relied on
anyone since I’ve been here for so many things.”
In the first half, the basketball that was played in the Van Noord was
Dutchmen basketball. Hope rattled off a 17-5 run in the first four minutes of
the game, and they built on that lead as the half progressed, going up by as
much as 14 [27-13] at one point.
But Calvin used a nice scoring run of ten straight points to close that gap
thereafter, and so with just under eight minutes to play in the half and
trailing only 27-23, the Knights were certainly back in the game.
The two teams went in to the half with Hope leading by a slim three points at
41-38. Calvin had clawed their way back into the thick of things, and once the
second half got underway they went right back to work.
The Knights took their first lead of the game only two and a half minutes into
the second period on a put-back layup from freshman Tommy Snikkers, and they
managed to build on that lead somewhat as the half went on.
Calvin led by as much as seven on two different occasions, the last being with
about ten and a half minutes to play. Hope then did to Calvin what the Knights
had done to them in the first half, and they started to climb closer and
closer, tying the game at 66 apiece and then again at 72 apiece, and then
taking a lead on free throws by junior Peter Bunn, who finished the game with
24 points and 6 boards for the Dutchmen.
“He’s a really good athlete,” said Mantel of Bunn. “He’s a great player and
he’s going to have a great rest of his career.”
The key moment of the game could be pinpointed in a number of places, but one
of the biggest moments for the Knights was just after Hope had tied the game at
72-72.
The Knights went down the court, with the clock clicking away at around two
minutes left in the game, and missed three attempts from beyond the arc, all on
the same possession. On the third miss, Calvin grabbed the rebound but missed
a contested layup and on the ensuing rebound grabbed by Hope, the Knights were
charged with a foul.
“We were up there and we had the lead, and it seemed to me that any one of
those (three-point shots) would’ve sealed it because then we would’ve been
shooting free throws,” said Vande Streek on that sequence of offensive chances.
 “We needed a big one there, and we didn’t get it.”
Another play that will be remembered occurred with the Dutchmen leading 74-72.
 Bunn had just hit two free throws after being fouled as a result of Campbell’s
missed lay-up, and Calvin looked to Salo again to hit a clutch three. His
attempt was off and Mantel came down with an offensive rebound. Mantel
immediately tried to go back up for a lay-up but was stripped of the ball in
heavy traffic. Bunn came away with the ball and the subsequent fouls saw him
sink four more free throws to seal Calvin’s fate.
Again, the game marks the second straight tournament championship loss that
Calvin has suffered at home in the past two years, both defeats coming at the
hands of the Dutchmen.
But nevertheless, the level of excitement that a game such as this brings to
Division III basketball shows exactly why this rivalry is one of the greatest
in collegiate sports.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Hope 68, Calvin 49

(written by sports information student assistant Derek Neice)
The Hope College women’s basketball team has won 68 straight games in the
DeVos Fieldhouse in Holland as they defeated the Knights Saturday afternoon in
the MIAA tournament finals 68-49.
Calvin managed to take a four point lead late in the first half at 21-17 with
the best basketball they would play all game, but the Dutchmen turned it up a
notch and rattled off fifteen straight points to end the half, taking a 32-21
lead into the break.
“We’re a simple team and our plan was to take care of the ball and take good
shots, and we only got to the foul line one time in the first half, and that’s
very uncommon for us,” said Calvin coach John Ross after the game. “And we
gave up a lot of offensive rebounds, and there was just a stretch there where
we stopped playing well.”
“The momentum just switched,” said Calvin freshman Carissa Verkaik, the winner
of this season’s MIAA scoring title. “They were really aggressive, and also
whenever they get a steal, our confidence goes down, and that’s what hurts
us.”
Verkaik led the Knights with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals, and
senior Brooke VanEck finished with 10 points and 4 boards. Senior Amber
Benthem hit a couple of big first half three’s and finished with 8 points, and
senior Emily Ottenhoff chipped in 5 as well.
For Hope, junior Carrie Snikkers poured in 12 points, junior Rachel Kuttney
added 9, senior Philana Greene scored 7 points with 4 assists and 5 steals, and
freshmen Liz Ellis and Meredith Kussmaul both finished with 7 apiece.
The first half was where the Knights played their best ball of the game,
although they did start out in a bit of a rut, falling behind early 8-2.
Calvin battled back and took their first lead of the game at 16-15 with just
over eight minutes to play in the half. They built on that lead in the next
few minutes of the game, going up by as much as four at 21-17, but that’s when
Hope took complete control.
The Dutchmen dominated on the boards, both offensively and defensively, and
they poured in 15 straight points before halftime, including a big
three-pointer by Kussmaul in the closing seconds. At 32-21, Calvin needed a
big spark in the second period to have a chance to come back and win the game.
“When the momentum changed we started playing how they [Hope] wanted us to
play, and they play a fast game,” said Verkaik. “Our game needs to be more
settled down, we need to move the ball and get our good shot, so when we
started playing their game we weren’t playing relaxed.”
That spark would never come. Hope outscored Calvin 36-28 in the second half,
a half where Calvin really never made their presence known since they trailed
by so much going into the break. Playing in such a tough environment is hard
enough on a team when they lead a game, coming into the second half trailing 11
is a near impossible obstacle to overcome. Hope gets the automatic bid to the
national tournament with the win, but Calvin is still hoping for an at-large
(Pool C) bid to the big dance.
Received on Sun Feb 28 00:12:36 2010