CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR NOV. 30, 2013
Men's Basketball Fights Back for 77-55 Win Over Aquinas at GR Sports Hall of Fame Tournament
MEN'S BASKETBALL
By Mark DeHaan
Calvin men's basketball faced off against the Saints of Aquinas College in the fourth and final contest of the Grand Rapids Hall of Fame Classic on Saturday evening. The Knights were looking to bounce back from their first defeat of the year, an 85-66 loss against the Golden Eagles of Cornerstone on Friday night.
Cornerstone defeated Hope 79-73 earlier in the day to finish the tournament with a 2-0 record, while Hope finished 1-1 with a win yesterday over Aquinas.
After a poor-shooting performance in the first half, the Knights found their touch in the second, shooting 62.5% while holding the Saints to 32.1% to claim a 77-55 victory.
The Saints got off to a quick start against Calvin, leading 10-2 less than three minutes in. Kolin Kazen hit a pair of threes for Aquinas as part of its opening 10-2 run.
The Knights fought back to within three on multiple occasions, but Aquinas continued to hold Calvin off.
Providing a spark off the bench, sophomore Austin Parks gave Calvin its first lead of the game on a triple with 5:10 remaining in the first half.
An offensive rebound and put-back by senior Mickey DeVries with 22 seconds left then set the Knights up with a 29-25 lead at halftime.
DeVries led Calvin with eight points and six rebounds at the break. The Knights shot 38.7% in the first half.
Out of halftime, Calvin found its shooting touch, hitting its first six shots of the second period, including a pair of three-pointers from junior Jordan Brink to take a 44-29 lead.
The Knights pushed their lead to more than 20 just minutes later, taking their largest lead of the contest at 71-46 with 3:26 left, again on a triple from Brink.
Calvin closed out the 77-55 victory, shooting 62.5% in the second half.
Brink led the Knights offensively with 18 points, while DeVries added 15 points and seven rebounds. Senior Tyler Kruis had 12 points.
Kazen had 18 points and seven boards while Jake Bullock chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds for Aquinas.
"It really was a tale of two halves," said head coach Kevin VandeStreek. "I was disappointed with our intensity in the first half, but we came out of the locker room in the second half and played much better."
Brink was named to the All-Tournament team after the game, joining Kazen, Ben Gardner of Hope, and Ben Lanning, Jake Plite, and Wes Hudson of Cornerstone. Hudson was named the tournament MVP.
The Knights improve to 5-1 with the victory.
Calvin now looks forward to its third straight weekend of tournament hosting when the MIAA/CCIW Challenge comes to Van Noord Arena next weekend. Hope will face Wheaton at 6 p.m. and Calvin will meet Carthage at 8 p.m. next Friday night. On Saturday, Hope will face Carthage at 1 p.m. while Calvin will face Wheaton at 3 p.m.
Received on Sun Dec 1 00:29:08 2013
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