CKSR (Basketball Teams Claim Tournament Victories)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR NOV. 23, 2012

Basketball Teams Claim Tournament Victories

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin 84, Thomas More 75 (OT)
By Mark DeHaan

Traveling to Crestview Hills, Kentucky to face Thomas More in the first round
of the Julie Costello Memorial Classic, Calvin played against host and
in-region foe Thomas More. The Knights came into the match at 2-1 overall and
ranked No. 5 in the nation, while the Saints were twelfth nationally and 3-0
overall.

The Knights jumped out to an 8-3 lead with four points apiece from senior Ally
Wolffis and sophomore Kayla Engelhard.

The Saints recovered with a 14-7 run to take the lead 17-15 with just over
eight minutes left in the opening half.

Calvin retook the lead on a pair of Engelhard field goals and held the lead
for the remainder of the half, taking a 30-25 advantage into the intermission.

Engelhard had 14 points at half, while Wolffis had six and senior Carissa
Verkaik had five points and nine rebounds.

Out of the break, Calvin pushed its lead to as much as twelve points at 44-32
before the Saints mounted a comeback.

Thomas More then went on a 22-3 run, led by Devin Beasley who scored ten
points during the run, to take the lead 54-47.

Calvin cut the Saints advantage to 58-54 before Thomas More opened up its lead
to 65-54 with three minutes remaining.

With the game seemingly in the hands of the Saints, Calvin mounted a furious
comeback. Down 69-60 with 1:31 remaining, the Knights scored nine straight
points capped by a Kelsey Irwin 3-pointer with seven seconds remaining to send
the game into overtime.

Entering overtime, Calvin held all the momentum and responded with a 9-3 run
to take the 78-72 lead.

The Knights then did what the Saints could not and held the lead for the
remainder of the period, fending off Thomas More and earning the thrilling
84-75 come-from-behind victory. Calvin outscored the Saints 15-6 in the extra
period.

The Knights were led on offense by Engelhard, who scored a career high 37
points and grabbed seven rebounds, shattering her previous high of 21 points.
Verkaik chipped in a near triple-double with 16 points, 17 rebounds and eight
blocks. The double-double was the 40th of Verkaik's career. Irwin added 11
points off the bench including the game-tying triple with less than ten seconds
remaining in regulation.

The Saints were led by Beasley who scored 27 points. Guards Allison Long and
Katie Kitchen added 18 points and 15 points, respectively.

“I think both teams came out very sluggish in the first half. We got a good
lead in the second half, and before you know it, we're down by ten,” said head
coach John Ross. “We couldn't get the ball inside, we weren't hitting shots,
and we weren't defending. Then, we went to a press, picked up a little energy,
and Kelsey Irwin hit a big three at the end. Kayla had a career game from an
offensive scoring point, it was good to see her do that. Give our team a lot of
credit for battling and battling.”

Both teams now move to 3-1 on the season. Calvin has a quick turnaround as it
faces Centre College tomorrow at 3 p.m.

MEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin 58, Aquinas 55

HOLLAND - The Calvin men’s basketball team opened play in the Grand Rapids
Sports Hall of Fame Tournament with a 58-55 victory over Aquinas College at
Hope’s DeVos Fieldhouse.
 
Aquinas took advantage of a slow Calvin start and led early 8-2. The Knights
took their first lead at the 9:53 mark and never lost it.
 
A clutch Tyler Dykstra three-pointer extended the Calvin lead to 58-50 with
1:43 remaining but Aquinas battled back and cut the deficit to three with 0:44
left in the game. The Saints secured a rebound with six seconds remaining and
called a timeout. Calvin then fouled and put Aquinas’ Brandon Walker at the
line with two seconds left. Walker missed the first free throw attempt but
teammate Joe Ferrici grabbed the rebound. Ferrici then missed a desperation
field goal attempt as time ran out.
 
Aquinas had won seven of the prior eight meetings with Calvin but the Knights
were able to hold on for the win. Junior Tyler Kruis had 13 points to lead the
Knights with sophomore Jordan Brink and senior Tom Snikkers adding 11 and 10
points respectively. Calvin shot 41.4 percent from the floor in each half.
 Calvin is off to a 4-0 start for the first time since the 2001-02 season. The
Knights will face Cornerstone University at 6 p.m. on Saturday on the second
day of the tournament. Cornerstone defeated Hope College 87-80 in the other
matchup on Friday evening.
Received on Sat Nov 24 00:01:48 2012