CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR FEB. 19, 2014
Basketball Teams Claim Conference Victories;
Holstege Brothers Help Calvin Winter Sports Teams Push Forward to Success
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 82, Adrian 55
By Mark DeHaan
The Calvin women's basketball entered Wednesday night's MIAA matchup looking to secure its spot in the four-team MIAA Tournament, while the Adrian Bulldogs were tied with Kalamazoo and fighting for their postseason lives.
Wednesday night was also Senior Night for Calvin, as the team honored its lone senior in Kirstin Tripp (Brighton/Brighton HS). Calvin made Senior Night a winning night by defeating the Bulldogs 82-55 to clinch third place in the MIAA standings and the third seed for next week's MIAA Tournament.
The teams played even through the first four minutes of the game as they were tied at 8-8. A 7-0 run by the Knights then gave Calvin a 15-8 lead.
With 4:26 remaining, Calvin took its largest lead of the half at 30-13 on a jumper by junior Hannah Acre (DeWitt/DeWitt HS).
By halftime, Adrian was able to cut its deficit to 36-25 as the Bulldogs ended the first half on a 12-6 run.
Junior Maria DeKuiper (Bradenton, FL/Bradenton Christian HS) led Calvin with eight points at the break while junior Breanna Verkaik (Holland/Holland Christian HS) added seven. The Knights shot 47.1% in the first half despite making just 2-of-9 three-point attempts.
Out of the break, Adrian nearly cut Calvin's lead to single digits as Casey Fougerousse hit a three with 18:18 to go to make it 40-30.
The Knights responded with a 7-0 run, but another push by the Bulldogs put Adrian's deficit at 50-38.
Again Calvin responded, and an 8-0 run by the Knights put them up 58-38 and they never looked back.
Adrian never got any closer than 18 points the remainder of the game, and the Knights closed out an 82-55 victory.
Calvin shot 48.5% from the field for the game while forcing the Bulldogs into 31 turnovers.
DeKuiper finished with 18 points on the night while freshman Anna Timmer (Caledonia/South Christian HS) added 15 off the bench. Verkaik chipped in 12 while junior Abby Vander Woude (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) scored 10.
Jasmyne Owens led the Adrian offense with 15 points while Amy Van Gessel added 14.
"I thought we did a nice job in our press, we didn't let them set up in their offense at all and that was our key. This is the first time we've seen zone for a whole game and I think it rattled us and it caused us to make some really sloppy and lazy passes." said head coach John Ross. "Kirstin has meant so much to our program. She came in as a freshman and started her first game here. She has played in a lot of huge games and has been so instrumental for what we've been able to accomplish the last four years. She is going to go down as one of our winningest players."
The Knights improve to 17-7 overall and 11-4 in the MIAA, clinching third place in the MIAA with the win. Adrian falls to 12-11 overall and 8-7 in league play.
Calvin also clinches the third seed for next week's MIAA Tournament and will travel to Olivet on February 27 for an MIAA Tournament semifinal game at 7:30 p.m.
The team now looks forward to its regular season finale on Saturday at Kalamazoo College. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. Kalamazoo is currently tied with Adrian for the fourth and final spot for the MIAA Tournament.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 83, Olivet 63
By Mark DeHaan
The Calvin men's basketball team hosted the Comets of Olivet on Wednesday evening at Van Noord Arena and came away with an 83-63 victory, boosting its overall season record to 19-5 and its MIAA mark to 11-2. With Hope defeating Kalamazoo Wednesday night, Calvin is set in the number-two spot in the league standings and in the upcoming league tournament. The Knights will host Albion next Wednesday in an MIAA Tournament semifinal at 7:30 p.m. - marking the first of two meetings against the Brits in a four-day span.
After a strong first half and a 15-point halftime lead for Calvin Wednesday night, Olivet nearly came back in the second half, narrowing its deficit to seven, before a 15-2 run over four minutes put the Knights ahead by twenty and the game out of reach.
Coming off a week in which he was named MIAA player of the week, senior Tyler Kruis (Grand Rapids/Calvin Christian HS) started off Wednesday's game with seven points in the opening four and a half minutes as the Knights took an early 14-4 lead.
A pair of free throws from junior Dan Stout (Escondido, CA/Calvin Christian HS) then gave Calvin a double-digit lead with 7:03 remaining in the first at 27-17.
The largest lead of the first half came with 3:04 left as a Kruis jumper put the Knights up 41-21.
The Comets were able to get a few points back before halftime, and at the break, Calvin held a 43-28 advantage, paced by 11 points and seven rebounds from Kruis. Sophomore Jordan Daley (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) and junior Jordan Brink (Dyer, IN/Illiana Christian HS) each added seven.
In the second half, the Knights struggled to break away from the Comets as the first 12 minutes were played within a five point window. Calvin's lead did not grow to any more than 15 and Olivet did not come any closer than 10.
Then, with 7:11 remaining, a three by Olivet's TJ Vondette brought the Comets to within seven at 66-59, suggesting that Olivet might have enough left for a comeback.
Calvin responded with an 8-2 run to give the Knights a 74-61 lead, which forced Olivet into a timeout.
After the timeout, Calvin's run continued, and eleven straight points, seven from Daley, put the score at 83-61 with 2:33 remaining and out of Olivet's reach.
Only two more points were scored the rest of the way, and the Knights earned an 83-63 win.
Calvin shot 45.8% from the field, forcing Olivet into 15 turnovers while only committing seven of their own.
Daley led the Knights with a career-high 22 points, adding seven assists and five rebounds, while Kruis scored 15 and junior Tyler Dykstra (Holland/Holland Christian HS) added 14, tying his career best.
RJ Haas led Olivet with 15 points while Blake Krum chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds, and TJ Vondette scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
"I thought we came out playing really hard - one of the things we talked about after Trine was re-establishing our defense intensity, and I think we did a great job tonight," said head coach Kevin Vande Streek. "We were just a little flat to start the second half, Olivet made shots (to make it close), but Jordan Daley really took the game over with five or six minutes left, which is really good to see. He's had a couple good games in a row, made two huge free throws at Trine on Saturday, and is getting a little of that mojo back."
The Knights now look forward to Saturday when they host the Britons of Albion College. Saturday's contest is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD/MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Siblings Erik and Eli Holstege have been helping the Calvin men's swimming and diving and men's track and field teams to success this winter. Calvin student writer Jacob Kuyvenhoven caught up with the set of brothers and filed the following feature story at: http://www.calvin.edu/sports/news/comments/holstege-brothers-critical-to-calvin-winter-sports-success/
Received on Wed Feb 19 23:30:11 2014
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