CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 1, 2014
Men's Basketball Wins MIAA Tournament Title/Women's Basketball Falls in MIAA Tourney Finals - Saturday Sports Roundup)
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 78, Hope 53
By Mark DeHaan
Seeking its first win against rival Hope in three opportunities this season, as well as an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament, the Calvin men's basketball team traveled to Holland for the MIAA Tournament Final on Saturday afternoon. Calvin made the most of its opportunity, defeating the 24th-ranked Flying Dutchmen 78-53 to punch its ticket to the NCAA III Tournament. The win marked Calvin's largest margin of victory over Hope at DeVos Fieldhouse.
At 22-5, Calvin will be making its 19th appearance in the NCAA III Tournament including its eighth under current head coach Kevin Vande Streek.
The Flying Dutchmen had twice defeated the Knights during the regular season by scores of 71-63 at Calvin and 83-65 at the DeVos Fieldhouse.
The Knights entered Saturday's game coming off a 64-55 victory over Albion on Wednesday, while Hope beat Trine 65-62 in overtime to advance to the MIAA Tournament Final.
In previous MIAA Tournament finals, Calvin was 9-7, but only 2-8 in the ten most recent meetings with the Flying Dutchmen.
As it had in the previous match-ups, Hope jumped out to an early lead, going up 13-2 with 13:43 left in the first as the Knights hit 1-of-15 field goals to start the game.
A 7-0 run by the Knights over the next three minutes then cut Hope's lead to 13-9.
With 9:09 remaining, a jumper by junior Jordan Brink (Dyer, IN/Illiana Christian HS) tied the game at 15-15.
A reverse layup by junior Daniel Stout (Escondido, CA/Escondido Calvin Christian HS) put Calvin up 19-17, just the third lead the Knights had seen in the three contests against the Flying Dutchmen.
The Knights advantage grew to 27-20 with 2:44 left, the biggest lead of the half, before settling at 29-24 at halftime.
Senior Tyler Kruis (Grand Rapids/Calvin Christian HS) had eight points and six rebounds at half while Brink added seven. Calvin finished the half shooting 35.1% despite the poor start, and the Knights forced Hope into ten first half turnovers.
Out of the break, an emphatic dunk by Kruis and a spot-up three by Brink put Calvin's lead at 40-31 with 15:48 left.
The Knights continued to hit from range as freshman Brad Visser (Grand Rapids/Calvin Christian HS) hit back-to-back threes and Kruis sank a triple for a 51-37 Calvin advantage with 12:35 to go.
The Flying Dutchmen then cut the Knights lead to single-digits at 51-42 with 10:59 to go, but a 20-3 run by the maroon and gold gave them a 71-45 lead with 5:28 remaining.
Calvin's largest lead came at 76-48 with 3:09 left, and the Knights cruised to a final score of 78-53 as the MIAA Tournament Champions.
With the win, Calvin earns the MIAA's automatic berth to the NCAA National Tournament.
The Knights shot 54.8% in the second half for 44.1% for the game, holding Hope to just 26.7% in the second half as Calvin pulled away. The Knights forced the Flying Dutchmen into 16 turnovers while only committing seven of their own.
Brink led all scorers with 21 points while Kruis added 18 points and nine rebounds. Sophomores Jordan Daley (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) and Austin Parks (Niles/Niles HS) were also in double-figures with 10 points apiece, with Daley chipping in eight rebounds.
Hope was led by Nate Van Arendonk, who had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Sam Otto also scored 10 for the Flying Dutchmen.
"We played about as well as we could play. It's a great reminder to our guys that who does the dictating is usually successful," said head coach Kevin VandeStreek. "Even early on, when we couldn't throw it in the ocean, I liked how intense we were playing. We were attacking the basket and doing a good job defensively, and then shots started to fall - our guys played really well."
"Coach said before the game that they were going to go on runs, they were a good team and they were going to hit shots, and things might not go our way," said Kruis. "But, we had to stay to our game and keep after it - and we did just that."
The Knights conclude the regular season with a 22-5 record. Calvin now looks forward to Monday when its first round opponent and location will be announced during the NCAA Selection Show, scheduled to air at 12:30 p.m.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Hope 88, Calvin 79
By Mark DeHaan
By Mark DeHaan
Coming off an upset of nationally ranked Olivet in the first round of the MIAA Tournament on Thursday, the Calvin women's basketball team was looking for a repeat performance against the Flying Dutch of rival Hope College in the Tournament Final on Saturday night.
The Knights faced a tall-task in Hope, ranked #1 in the nation and entering with a perfect 26-0 record.
Calvin trailed by 16 at half and by 20 with just over ten minutes to go, and a Knights rally in the second half drew Calvin within four at 81-77, but the Knights would come no closer as Hope closed out an 88-79 win.
The Knights trailed by just one early at 9-8 as junior Kayla Engelhard (Unionville/Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS) scored six of the first eight for Calvin.
The Flying Dutch then began to slowly inch away, first increasing their lead to 24-17 with 11:23 remaining, then 33-21 a couple minutes later.
With 2:59 to go, Hope saw its largest lead of the first half at 47-30. At the break, Calvin faced a 51-35 deficit.
Junior Breanna Verkaik (Holland/Holland Christian HS) had 11 points in the first half for the Knights, while Maura McAfee had 16 and Brittany Berry added 13 for Hope. The Flying Dutch shot 19-of-20 from the free throw stripe in the opening half.
In the second half, Hope began to slowly expand its lead, building it up to 67-47 with 10:57 to go.
Over the next five minutes, an 18-6 run by the Knights, sparked by a three from freshman Anna Timmer (Caledonia/South Christian HS), cut the Flying Dutch lead to single digits at 73-65.
Calvin continued to cut into the deficit, and with 2:10 left, a Timmer jumped put the Knights down just 81-77.
This was as close as Calvin would come, however, and Hope was able to pull away over the final two minutes to down the Knights, 88-79.
Calvin shot 52.3% from the field for the game while Hope hit 52%. The Knights were outrebounded 34-25, but forced the Flying Dutch into 19 turnovers. Hope hit 27-of-31 free throws for the game.
Engelhard led Calvin with 19 points while Verkaik added 18 points and six rebounds. Junior Hannah Acre (Dewitt/Dewitt HS) had 12 points while Timmer chipped in 11.
McAfee paced the Flying Dutch with 27 points and 13 rebounds while Barry scored 20. Anna Kaufmann chipped in 16 and Megan Kelley scored 12.
"First half we had way too many fouls and too many breakdowns defensively. Give this group a lot of credit - we worked hard all year," said head coach John Ross. "My number one goal every year is to help my players grow in their faith and as a person, and I think we did that. We've come a long way - we were 7-5 and we came within a couple shots of winning the conference title."
The loss is the final game in the collegiate career of lone senior Kirstin Tripp, who goes down as one of the winningest players in Knights history at 95-19 for her career. Calvin's season ends with an overall record of 19-8.
MEN'S LACROSSE
Calvin 15, Defiance 1
DEFIANCE, OH - The Calvin men's lacrosse team picked up its first victory of the young season and the third win in program history with a 15-1 win at Defiance College Saturday afternoon. The game marked Calvin's largest margin of victory at the varsity level.
Calvin led 5-0 at halftime, 8-1 after three quarters of play and then exploded for eight goals in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Freshman Chris Griffin (Howell/Hartland HS) led the charge with four goals and three assists, setting a Calvin single-game record for most points (7) in a game.
Freshman Joel Schaefer (Clarksville, MD/Annapolis Area Christian HS) led Calvin in shots with 13 and fired four of them past the Defiance goalkeeper.
Junior Tim Marco (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) had two goals and two assists while juniors Jonathon Vande Ende (Huntsville, ON/Huntsville HS) and Jonathon VanderLaan (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) both had one goal and assists.
Freshman Mikal Wessel (Ovideo, FL/Ovideo HS) also had a big day with two goals and one assist while freshman Andrew Haan (Holland/Holland Christian HS) had a goal and an assist.
As a team, Calvin won 11 of 19 face offs and scopped up 48 ground balls. Vander Laan, senior Allen Bosscher (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) and sophomore Tyler DeKryger (Cadillac/Cadillac HS) had six ground balls apiece.
Freshman Jake Hortsman (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) was also stellar in the middle, winning 10 of 15 face offs.
Senior Casey Harless (Dewitt/Dewitt HS) had five saves in goal for the Knights.
Calvin returns to action next Saturday when it travels to Elmhurst for a 2 p.m. (EST) game.
WOMEN'S LACROSSE
Otterbein 15, Calvin 8
WESTERVILLE, OH - Calvin opened its 2014 campaign with a 15-8 loss at Otterbein University Saturday afternoon.
The game marked the season opener for both teams.
Otterbein jumped out to a 4-1 lead and led 7-3 at halftime. Calvin scored in the opening seconds of the second half on a goal by junior Karissa Reed (Greenville/Greenville HS) but Otterbein answered with four unanswered goals to put the game out of reach.
Sophomore Carolyn Forbes (Farmington Hills/Marian HS), junior Lissa Busscher (Holland/Holland Christian HS) and Reed has two goals apiece for Calvin in defeat. Also scoring goals were junior Mary Hoogstra (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) and freshman Emily Cefaratti (Hinsdale, IL/Hinsdale Central HS).
Cefaratti, Forbes and senior Michelle Holwerda (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) were all credited with one assist on the afternoon.
Otterbein outshot Calvin 31-18. Senior Lauren Spoelstra (Oakland, NJ/Eastern Christian HS) had nine saves in goal for the Knights.
Reed collected five ground balls for Calvin.
Otterbein took advantage of its free-position chances, converting 6 of 13 while the Knights went 0 for 5.
Calvin is back in action on next weekend when it travels to Defiance for a game on March 7 and then to Capital on March 8.
BASEBALL
Defiance 12, Calvin 7
DANVILLE, KY - The Calvin baseball team dipped to 1-2 on the year with a 12-7 loss to Defiance College on Saturday afternoon. The loss was Calvin's second in as many days to the Yellow Jackets.
Defiance banged out 12 hits off of three Calvin pitchers, grabbing a 5-3 lead in the second inning and then exploding for six runs in the bottom of the fourth to take control. Calvin added three runs in the fifth and a single run in the top of the eighth but could get no closer.
Calvin came up with eight hits off the Defiance pitching staff with sophomore Travis Kraai (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) and senior Matt Schepel (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) collecting two hits apiece. Schepel drove in a pair of runs while sophomore Michael Kamp (Homer Glen, IL/Chicago Christian HS) had a hit and drove in three runs.
Senior Grant VanderWall (Wyoming/South Christian HS) took the loss for Calvin, allowing five hits and six earned runs in three innings of work.
Calvin is scheduled to return to action on March 13 when it travels to Kalamazoo College for an MIAA doubleheader.
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
The Calvin men's and women's track and field teams hosted the Calvin Collegiate Indoor Track and Field Championships and both Calvin teams took first place.
The Calvin men's team took first place in a field of nine teams with 180 points while the Calvin women's team took first place in a field of eight teams with a team score of 203.5 points. A full report on the meet will be sent out later this weekend.
WOMEN'S DIVING
Two members of the Calvin women's diving team competed on the one-meter board at the NCAA III Regional hosted by Denison University in Granville, Ohio, Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore Sarah Roth (Brighton/Brighton HS) took 18th with a score of 376.00 points while junior Becca Mumby (Spring Lake/Spring Lake HS) took 21st with a score of 364.25 points.
Roth was competing at the regional meet for the second consecutive year while Mumby was making her first appearance.
Received on Sun Mar 2 01:36:39 2014
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