CKSR (Women's Basketball Defeats Saint Mary's/Men's Basketball Defeated by Hope)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 5, 2014

Women's Basketball Defeats Saint Mary's;
Men's Basketball Defeated by Hope

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 87, Saint Mary's 54

Calvin improved to 14-6 overall and 9-3 in the MIAA with an 87-54 win over Saint Mary's Wednesday evening inside Van Noord Arena. The Knights remain one game behind second place Olivet which improved to 10-2 with a win over Albion Wednesday.

Calvin put together a superb first half in racing out to a 52-22 halftime lead. The Knights shot 61.1 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes and connected on six three-pointers. Calvin's full-court press also forced Saint Mary's (6-14 overall, 4-7 MIAA) into committing 13 first half turnovers.

Calvin never looked back from there in coasting to the win.

"I thought our effort in the first half was really good," said Calvin women's basketball coach John Ross. "We didn't let up on defense and we had everyone chipping in. It was a team effort and that's what we need the rest of the way."

Junior Breanna Verkaik (Holland/Holland Christian HS) had a game-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go with six rebounds and two assists. Junior Kayla Engelhard (Unionville/Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS) had 14 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Nine of her points came in the first half. Freshman Anna Timmer (Caledonia/South Christian HS) added 11 points off the bench while senior Kirstin Tripp (Brighton/Brighton HS) had eight points including a pair of first half triples.

As a team, Calvin finished the game with a 57.8 percent field goal clip and connected on 9-of-21 from three-point range (.429).

Saint Mary's was led in defeat by Krista Knapke with 11 points while Shanlynn Bias and Ariana Paul had 10 points apiece.

Calvin is back in action on Saturday, traveling to Alma for a 3 p.m. contest.

MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH FEB. 5, 2014 GAMES

Hope 11-0
Olivet 10-2
Calvin 9-3
Kalamazoo 7-4
Adrian 6-5
Saint Mary's 4-7
Albion 2-10
Trine 1-9
Alma 0-11

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Hope 83, Calvin 65
By Mark DeHaan

HOLLAND - Another rivalry game, another first place showdown.

The Calvin men's basketball team traveled to Holland and the DeVos Fieldhouse on Wednesday evening, looking to take sole possession of first place from rival Hope.

In the first meeting this season between the two teams, Hope defeated Calvin 71-63 at the Van Noord Arena.

Unfortunately for the Knights, it was the same on the road as it had been at home, and this in a more lopsided fashion. Calvin trailed by as many as 30 in the second half before falling at a final score of 83-65.

The Flying Dutchmen came out ready to play on Wednesday evening. On Calvin's opening possession, Alex Eidson stole the ball and hit a reverse layup for the first points of the game.

Hope continued its strong play and took a 12-4 lead before the first media timeout.

Calvin continued to struggle, and midway through the first half, the Knights trailed 17-5 and were just 18% from the field while the Flying Dutchmen were shooting 54%.

The Knights could not get their legs under themselves for the entire first half, and at the break, Hope held a 35-19 advantage.

The Flying Dutchmen shot 47% in the first half while Calvin shot 23%. The Knights' 19 points were their lowest first half point total this season.

Out of the break, Hope pushed its lead to as much as 45-23, the largest deficit the Knights had seen all season.

Calvin still could not find a rhythm, and Hope's lead continued to expand. With 8:26 remaining, the Flying Dutchmen saw their lead grow to 72-42.

The Knights never recovered from the insurmountable deficit, and Hope closed out the 18-point win.

Hope shot 55% in the win, 64% in the second half, and outrebounded Calvin 38-28.

Senior Tyler Kruis (Grand Rapids/Calvin Christian HS) scored a game-high 21 to lead the Knights in defeat. Junior Jordan Brink (Dyer, IN/Illiana Christian HS) added 11 points. With his 21 points, Kruis boosted his career total to 1,030, moving past Matt Veltema and into 19th place on the Calvin career list.

For Hope, Alex Eidson scored 17 while Nate VanArendonk added a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Ben Gardner chipped in 10 points.

"Hope came right out after us, forced us into turnovers and attacked the basket. They really dictated the pressure," said head coach Kevin Vande Streek. "We've been working a lot on finishing in the paint, but I don't think it was as physical in practice as it was in the game."

Calvin falls to 15-5 overall and 7-2 in MIAA, now dropping to second place. Hope improves to 14-6 and 8-1 in conference play, taking over first place.

The Knights look to rebound from the loss with a game at Adrian on Saturday night. Saturday night's contest is scheduled to tipoff at 7:30 p.m.

MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH FEB. 5, 2014 GAMES

Hope 8-1
Calvin 7-2
Albion 5-3
Trine 4-4
Kalamazoo 4-5
Alma 2-5
Olivet 2-6
Adrian 1-7
Received on Wed Feb 5 23:21:56 2014