CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR NOV. 29, 2013
Men’s Basketball Falls to Cornerstone in Hall of Fame Classic
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Cornerstone 85, Calvin 66
By Mark DeHaan
Calvin men's basketball returned to work on Friday evening after a short Thanksgiving break, hosting the Grand Rapids Hall of Fame Classic at Van Noord Arena this weekend.
The Knights faced off against the Golden Eagles of Cornerstone University, playing in the second matchup of the evening as Hope College took a come-from-behind win from Aquinas College, 69-67, in the tournament opener.
Friday night's game was the 24th meeting between the Knights and Golden Eagles, with Calvin holding a 16-7 series advantage.
Cornerstone added a win to its end of the series by the time the clock read all zeroes, handing Calvin its first loss of the season 85-66.
The teams traded three-pointers to start the game before a pair of turnovers on the Knights allowed Cornerstone to take a 10-5 lead.
Calvin then cut the Golden Eagles advantage to 15-14 before a 9-0 run gave Cornerstone a 24-14 lead and prompted a timeout from Knights head coach Kevin Vande Streek.
With 3:32 remaining, Cornerstone increased its lead to 38-26.
The Knights responded by cutting the Golden Eagles lead to eight at 40-32 with just under two minutes left, but an 8-1 run to end the first half gave Cornerstone a 48-33 lead by the end of the opening period.
Wes Hudson led the Golden Eagles with 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting – Cornerstone shot 55.9% as a team, while the Knights shot 39.3%. Junior Tyler Dykstra led Calvin with eight points at the half.
Twice out of the break Cornerstone pushed its lead to 18 points. Calvin cut the Golden Eagles lead to 61-49 with 12:03 left in regulation, but the Knights struggled to come any closer.
Hudson kept Calvin at a distance, scoring seven straight for the Golden Eagles to give them a 79-59 lead with 4:17 remaining in regulation, Cornerstone's largest lead of the game up to that point.
The Knights would come no closer than 17 the remainder of the contest, and Cornerstone handed Calvin its first loss of the season, 85-66.
Sophomore B.J. Van Loo led the Knights with 16 points and seven rebounds while junior Jordan Brink had 14 points. Hudson paced all scorers with 25 points, while Ben Lanning added 20 and seven boards for Cornerstone.
Calvin shot just 38.9% from the field, including 18.8% from behind the arc. The Knights also hit just 61.8% from the free-throw stripe. Cornerstone, meanwhile, shot 49.2% from the field and 82.6% from the charity stripe.
“We were looking forward to this game for a while because we knew (Cornerstone) had a really nice team and they were going to hold us accountable for things we don't do well,” said Vande Streek. “Now, I was hoping we would respond a little bit better, but this is a really young team from a playing together stand point. Even though a lot of the guys played last, they are in different roles and haven't faced much adversity yet. Sometimes you learn by getting knocked around a little bit, and I hope that is the case after tonight.”
Calvin, now 4-1, plays again tomorrow in the fourth and final game of the Classic, facing the Saints of Aquinas College at 8 p.m. Hope and Cornerstone will face off at 6 p.m.
Received on Sat Nov 30 00:11:11 2013
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