CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 27, 2010
Men's Basketball Captures Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame Classic Title;
Women's Basketball Drops Overtime Contest to IU-South Bend
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 81, Cornerstone 76
Calvin's 10-year drought is over. On Saturday night, Calvin captured its first
Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame Classic title since 2000, defeating East
Beltline rival Cornerstone 81-76 in the championship game at the Aquinas
College Sturrus Sports and Center. The tournament crown is Calvin's third
overall. The Knights previously won in 1999 and 2000.
Cornerstone (7-1) came into Saturday's game undefeated and ranked fourth in
the most recent NAIA Division II poll but Calvin came out dictating the pace,
jumping out to a 21-13 lead. Cornerstone roared back with 12 unanswered points
to take a 25-21 lead but Calvin regained the momentum with a 13-3 run over the
final five minutes of the first half with sophomore Tom Snikkers (Unity
Christian HS) scoring 10 of Calvin's 13 points in the stretch. The late scoring
spurt gave the Knights a 46-39 halftime lead.
The Golden Eagles slowed the tempo in the second half and regained the lead at
61-58 on a three-pointer by Kelvin DeVries with 8:51 remaining. Cornerstone
then went up 64-60 on a triple by Justin Yoder but the Knights fought back with
10 unanswered points with seniors Brent Schuster (Denver, CO/Denver Christian
HS) and Danny Rodts (Niles/Niles HS) swishing clutch three-pointers in the
Calvin comeback bid.
Snikkers followed with a clutch triple of his own with time ticking down on
the shot clock and just 2:14 left on the game clock that put Calvin up 75-68.
Cornerstone later clawed back to within three at 79-76 but a pair of Schuster
free throws with nine seconds remaining helped seal the win for the Maroon and
Gold.
"I thought we had a very determined effort, played with a great deal of energy
and really got after things," said Calvin men's basketball coach Kevin Vande
Streek. "One of the things that was a point of emphasis before the game tonight
was our rebounding and our guys really responded to the challenge."
Indeed.
Calvin finished the game with a 39-22 rebounding advantage led by Snikkers and
Schuster with eight and seven rebounds respectively. Snikkers finished with a
game-high 20 points and was named the recipient of the Ray McCahill Tournament
Most Valuable Player trophy. He was joined on the all-tournament team by
Schuster who also scored 14 points in the win.
Freshman Jordan Brink (Dyer, IN/Illiana Christian HS) also had an outstanding
game with 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals while Rodts and
senior Brad Schnyders (Unity Christian HS) had 10 points apiece.
Calvin shot 50 percent overall and 83.3 (15 of 18) from the free throw line.
"We'll enjoy this one for the next day or so, that's for sure but on Monday,
it's back to work," said Vande Streek. "We played well tonight but we still
have a long way to go which is encouraging because this team has a high ceiling
and can get much better."
Cornerstone was led in defeat by Ronald Bates with 15 points while Yoder had
14 points off the bench. The Golden Eagles were proficient from three-point
range, connecting on 13 of 22 (.591) from long range but were outscored by
eight points at the free throw line as Cornerstone was 7 of 12 at the charity
stripe including a pair of critical misses on the front end of bonus situations
late in the contest.
Snikkers and Schuster were joined on the all-tournament team by Bates, Yoder,
Will Bowser of Hope and A.J. Schmidt of Aquinas. Hope defeated Aquinas 92-69 in
Saturday's consolation game.
Calvin is now 12-12 all-time in the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame
Tournament including 5-5 against Cornerstone. Snikkers is the third Calvin
player to receive tournament MVP honors as Aaron Winkle was so honored in 1999
and Bryan Foltice in 2000.
Calvin returns to action next Friday and Saturday when it competes in the
CCIW/MIAA Challenge, scheduled to be hosted by Carthage College this year.
Calvin will face Wheaton on Friday (December 3) and host Carthage on December
4.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
IU-South Bend 64, Calvin 63 (OT)
OLIVET - The Calvin women’s basketball team dropped a 64-63 overtime decision
to the Titans of Indiana University-South Bend Saturday afternoon at the Olivet
Thanksgiving Classic to dip to 3-2 on the year. IU-South Bend scored the
winning basket with 11 seconds left in overtime with a three-pointer by Calvin
at the buzzer just off the mark.
A lack of perimeter shooting proved to be Calvin’s undoing as the Knights were
just 3-of-24 from three-point range in the defeat. Sophomore Carissa Verkaik
(Holland Christian HS) was a bright spot for the Knights, just missing a
triple-double with 26 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocked shots. Courtney
Kurncz (St. Johns HS), Jill Thomas (West Catholic HS) and Ally Wolffis
(Muskegon-Mona Shores HS) added eight points each for the Knights in defeat.
For her efforts, Verkaik was named to the all-tournament team.
Calvin led 28-26 at halftime but IU-South Bend moved out to a 40-32 second
half lead. Calvin rallied with a 20-9 scoring run to take a 52-49 lead with
5:32 remaining but could not pull away as the Titans (5-3) hung tough, tying
the game on a jump shot with 1:48 remaining. Neither team was able to score the
remainder of regulation with Calvin missing a potential go-ahead three-pointer
with 10 seconds remaining.
In overtime, Calvin (3-2) went up 61-57 but the Titans scored the next five
points included a triple by Kimmy Hummer to take a 63-62 lead with 1:13
remaining. Verkaik put Calvin back on top 63-62 with a pair of free throws with
1:13 remaining. The Knights then got a defensive stop and the ball but turned
the ball over, giving IU-South Bend a chance to retake the lead which the
Titans did on a layup with 11 seconds remaining by Ashley Hummer. Calvin then
pushed the ball up floor but misfired on a three at the buzzer.
Katie Hacker had a huge game for IU-South Bend with 26 points and nine
rebounds. The Titans also hit on 8 of 28 attempts from three-point range.
IU-South Bend also held a 39-37 rebounding advantage.
Calvin returns to action on Wednesday when it opens its MIAA campaign with a
road contest at Adrian slated to start at 7:30 p.m.
Received on Sat Nov 27 23:56:23 2010
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