CKSR (Basketball Teams Split Exhibition Games vs Ferris State)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Basketball Teams Split Exhibition Games vs Ferris State
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
 
BIG RAPIDS - The Calvin women's basketball team traveled to Ferris State for
an exhibition game Tuesday night and came away with a 75-73 overtime loss.
 
Calvin led 34-29 at halftime but Ferris State came back to take a 65-64 lead
on a layup with nine seconds left in regulation. Calvin junior Carissa Verkaik
(Holland Christian HS) tied the game up on a free throw with five seconds
remaining, helping send the contest into overtime.
 
in overtime, Ferris State scored the first five points and held the lead the
rest of the way. Calvin had a chance to tie in the closing seconds but could
not get off a shot.
 
Verkaik led all scorers with 24 points to go with 11 rebounds, three assists
and three blocked shots. Senior Jill Thomas (West Catholic HS) added 12 points
on the strength of four three-point field goals while junior Ally Wolffis
(Muskegon-Mona Shores HS) had eight points and freshman Kayla Engelhard
(Saginaw Valley HS) had seven points.
 
Calvin will officially open its season next Wednesday when it travels to
Manchester for a 6 p.m. contest.
 
MEN'S BASKETBALL
 
(By Sports Information Student Assistant Derek Neice)
 
In a home exhibition contest Tuesday night, Calvin came out and impressed as
the Knights took down Division II foe Ferris State in a thrilling 79-72
victory. Leading by a mere two points with under two minutes to play, the
Knights managed to hold on and get the win.

Leading the way for the Knights was junior Tommy Snikkers, who led all scorers
with 20 points on 6 of 13 shooting despite getting into some foul trouble early
on. Junior Bryan Powell hit on 5 of 10 shots for 12 points on some clutch
shooting, and sophomore Tyler Kruis also added 10 points with 6 rebounds as
well.

“I feel like we played really hard and I’m excited about that,” longtime
Calvin coach Kevin Vande Streek said after the game. “We had a really nice
spark from a lot of guys, and they all contributed in a really positive
fashion.”
Ferris State got out to an early lead when the game started, but never were
able to build a lead more than 7 points.

Once Calvin got settled down, the Knights began to control the pace of the
game. Thanks to some sparkplug plays by Powell offensively and some powerful
blocks defensively by freshman Tyler Dykstra, Calvin would take the lead with
just over a minute to play in the half at 31-30, and it would hold that to the
break, leading 33-30 at halftime.

In the second half, the score went back and forth as the Knights tried to
build their lead but Ferris State was tough and hung close. The Bulldogs would
briefly retake the lead 42-41 on an impressive alley-oop dunk, but Calvin
fought back and jumped ahead again, but it would not last as Ferris State again
went up with under ten to play.

The Bulldogs ran out again to another 7 point lead at 63-56 with under seven
minutes to play, but Calvin managed to claw back and again jumped out in front
at 66-65. Both teams traded points as the minutes wound down, and Calvin led
by a slim margin before icing the game with good shooting from the free throw
line.

“This year we have a really young team and we still have a long way to go,”
Vande Streek said. “But some of the major concepts we’re much further ahead
than we were a year ago so I think the ceiling is pretty high for this group.”

As a team Calvin shot well at 48.3 percent from the field on 28 of 58
shooting, but struggled from beyond the arc as the Knights only hit on 3 of 20
attempts. Calvin was solid from the charity strip at 76.9 percent on 20 of 26
shooting.
The next game for the Knights will come next week Tuesday as Calvin travels to
take on Anderson College.
 

 
Received on Wed Nov 9 00:26:51 2011