CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR JAN. 13, 2013
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 75, Hope 49
Story by Mitch Blankespoor
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The Calvin men’s basketball team had not beaten rival Hope
in five games. The last time the Knights defeated the Flying Dutchmen at Van
Noord Arena was an 84-75 win during the 2009-10 season.
All streaks eventually come to an end. In front of 4,503 fans, Calvin
defeated Hope 75-49 to improve to 14-2, 5-0 MIAA on the season.
The Knights jumped all over the Flying Dutchmen during the opening minutes.
Three pointers from sophomore Jordan Brink (Dyer, Ind./Illiana Christian) and
senior Bryan Powell (Wyoming/Wyoming Park) gave Calvin a 12-2 lead four minutes
into the game.
“Most of the time, the team that comes out stronger in the first couple
minutes goes on to win,” Calvin head coach Kevin Vande Streek said after the
game. “We came out with great intensity tonight.”
Hope tried to cut into Calvin’s lead by attacking the basket. Calvin junior
Mickey De Vries (Lansing/Lansing Christian) would have none of it. De Vries
blocked Hope junior Colton Overway (Holland/West Ottawa) at the 14:45 mark in
the first half.
The Knights stretched their lead to 13 points with nine minutes to play on an
emphatic dunk from junior center Tyler Kruis (Grandville/Calvin Christian).
Hope could not get any closer, and a layup from Brink with six seconds left in
the half gave Calvin a 43-19 lead at the break.
Calvin shot 62.1 percent from the field in the first half including 6-11 from
beyond the arc. Hope shot a mere 21.7 percent and made just field baskets the
entire first half.
Brink led the way for Calvin with 12 points followed by Powell and sophomore
forward Tyler Dykstra (Holland/Holland Christian) who each had eight points.
Hope showed some fight in the second half. The Flying Dutchmen went on a 12-2
run in five minutes sparked by four Calvin turnovers. Calvin led by 14 with,
45-31, with 14:17 to play.
That was as close as Hope would get. Calvin responded with a 14-1 run of its
own. All of a sudden, the Knights lead had blossomed to 27, 59-32 with 10:18
to play.
Calvin emptied its bench with four minutes to play, and cruised to the
victory.
Brink led the way for Calvin with 16 points. Snikkers and Powell chipped in
13 apiece.
“I don’t think anyone expected this to be such a big win,” Brink said in a
postgame interview. “We are a good team, and they are a good team. We just
played better tonight.”
Calvin shot nearly 50 percent from the floor, 49.2, and exactly 50 percent
from three-point range (10-20).
De Vries came off the bench to give Calvin six points, 11 rebounds and two
blocks in 22 minutes.
Hope head coach Matt Neil praised De Vries for his rebounding efforts.
“I thought {Mickey] De Vries played very well tonight,” said Neil. “His
efforts on the glass really made it tough on our guys.”
The loss is Neil’s first MIAA conference loss on the road (18-1). His Flying
Dutchmen were held to just 31.3 percent shooting from the field. The lone
bright spot was Overway, who finished with 15 points and four assists.
The win for Calvin was its biggest margin of victory against Hope since a
95-68 win in March of 1990.
Calvin will travel to Trine University on Saturday, Jan. 19, to face the
Thunder in a 3:00 p.m. contest.
MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-16-13 GAMES
Calvin 5-0
Hope 4-1
Trine 4-1
Olivet 2-3
Adrian 2-3
Kalamazoo 2-3
Alma 1-4
Albion 0-5
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 85, Adrian 62
ADRIAN - It was quite a night for the Calvin women's basketball team and
Carissa Verkaik.
Calvin used a 37-point performance from the senior All-American to pick up an
85-62 victory at Adrian College Wednesday night. With her 37-point performance,
Verkaik (Holland/Holland Christian HS) becomes the all-time career scoring
leader in MIAA history for conference games. Verkaik now has 1,055 career
points in conference play, surpassing the previous MIAA record of 1,051 points
set by Saint Mary's graduate Allison Kessler. Verkaik established the new mark
in 56 games while Kessler did so in 64 games from 2004-to-2008.
The 37-point effort by Verkaik is also the third-highest of her collegiate
career. She scored 39 points in a December 5 win over Purdue-Calumet in 2009
and later scored an MIAA single-game record 46 points against Adrian on
February 17, 2010.
She is also nearing the 2,000 point plateau as she has 1,986 career points
heading into a non-conference game against Rochester College Saturday afternoon
at Van Noord Arena. Verkaik also snared 11 rebounds to record the 42nd
double-double of her Calvin career. She also blocked three shots and collected
three steals.
Calvin (14-1 overall, 8-0 MIAA) led 39-25 at halftime and used a 15-6 run to
open the second half to put the game on ice.
Sophomore Breanna Verkaik (Holland/Holland Christian HS) - the younger sister
of Carissa - also notched double-digits in scoring with 12 points.
Senior Julia Hilbrands (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) added six
points and 10 rebounds as Calvin held a 52-36 rebounding advantage.
Adrian was led in scoring by Casey Fougerosse with 16 points while Lauren
Rhoads and Rachael Walker had 13 points apiece.
Saturday's game with Rochester College is slated to start at 3 p.m.
MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-16-13 GAMES
Calvin 8-0
Hope 7-1
Olivet 6-2
Alma 4-4
Trine 3-5
Adrian 3-5
Saint Mary's 3-5
Albion 2-6
Kalamazoo 0-8
Received on Thu Jan 17 01:10:18 2013
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