CKSR (Calvin Knight Saturday Sports Report for January 10, 2015)

CALVIN KNIGHT SATURDAY SPORTS REPORT FOR JAN. 10, 2015

MEN'S BASKETBALL
By Mark DeHaan

The Calvin College men's basketball team traveled to Holland on Saturday afternoon to face off with the Flying Dutchmen of Hope College in the first edition of the Rivalry this season.

The teams came in having played five common opponents in non-conference action. Calvin had gone just 2-3 against those teams while Hope was 4-1.

The records, however, just like in any other matchup of the Rivalry, did not matter.

An explosive second half from the Knights, including 61.5% shooting from the field and a 17-of-21
effort from the free-throw line, saw Calvin pull away from its rivals to earn an 88-64 victory.

In the opening four minutes, Calvin's offense was flat, hitting 1-of-7 shots and 0-of-4 from three-point range as the Knights fell into an 11-2 hole.

Calvin responded with seven straight, including five from senior Jordan Brink (Dyer, IN/Illiana Christian HS), to close the gap to 11-9.

With 8:30 remaining in the first, a deep three from Brink again cut into the Flying Dutchmen lead, bringing the score to 18-17.

Minutes later, the Knights saw their first lead on a driving layup from junior Austin Parks at 21-20.

After the Flying Dutchmen tied up the ballgame at 23-23, three straight triples from the Knights and a floater from Brink put Calvin ahead by double-digits 34-23 with two minutes to go.

Hope would hit one more three before halftime, and at the break, Calvin led 34-26.

Brink led Calvin with 10 points at the half as the Knights shot 38.2%. Hope, meanwhile, hit just 25.7% of its shots. Harrison Blackledge was the leading scorer for the Flying Dutchmen at the break with seven points.

In the second half, Hope drew within three at 36-33 just under three minutes in. Baskets from junior Jordan Daley (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) and senior Dan Stout (Escondido, CA/Escondido Calvin Christian HS) then built the Calvin lead back up to seven at 40-33.

With 13:40 to go, the Flying Dutchmen again fought their way back, knotting the game at 48-48.

With Hope threatening to take the lead with strong second half shooting, Calvin's defense locked down.

Over the next nine minutes, the Knights forced six Flying Dutchmen turnovers while limiting Hope to 3-of-12 shooting from the field. Calvin, on the other hand, was much more assertive offensively, and behind 12 points from Brink and 8-for-8 shooting at the free throw line as a team, the Knights went on a 26-6 run to build a 74-54 advantage.

With just over four minutes remaining, the deficit was too great for the Flying Dutchmen to overcome, and Calvin went on to claim the 88-64 win.

The Knights shot 48.3% for the game, including 50% (11-of-22) behind the three-point arc, while Hope was just 35.9% from the field. Hope enter the game ranked ninth nationally in three-point field goal defense (.252).

Calvin committed just eight turnovers for the game, tying its lowest output of the season, while forcing the Flying Dutchmen into 14. The Knights shot 19-of-24 from the free throw line.

Individually, Brink led Calvin with 29 points, which matched a career-high. In doing so, he moved past John Mantel and into 13th place on the Calvin career scoring list as Brink now has 1,283 career points. Stout added ten points and eight rebounds while Daley was also in double figures with ten points, grabbing seven rebounds.

For Hope, Blackledge had 19 while guards Ben Gardner and Sam Otto each contributed eight.

"I was really proud of our guys. When Hope made the run back to tie it up, there was a lot of resolve on our part, we just gutted it out one possession at a time and built the lead back," said head coach Kevin VandeStreek. "One of the things we had talked about was being bold - being aggressive and determined - and I thought if we did that we'd have a chance at being in the game, and we certainly were that."

"Unfortunately, we didn't stay committed to what we wanted - inside-outside basketball - and we became three-point specialists for a while," said first-year Hope head coach Greg Mitchell. "We had a lot of opportunities to stop droughts, but it seemed like there was a lid (on the basket)."

With the win, Calvin improves to 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the MIAA while Hope falls to 7-6 overall and 0-2 in league play. At 2-0 in league play, Calvin is alone atop the MIAA standings as everyone else in the league has at least one loss.

The Knights now look forward to Wednesday when they travel to Adrian to face the Bulldogs. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 76, Alma 53

ALMA - The nationally-ranked Calvin women's basketball team improved to 12-0 on the year including 5-0 in the MIAA with a 76-53 victory over Alma College Saturday afternoon at Alma's Art Smith Arena.

Calvin jumped out to a 30-6 lead and led 37-23 at halftime. The Calvin lead then ballooned to 30 points in the second half at 71-41 and the Knights never looked back.

Calvin was led in scoring by senior Breanna Verkaik (Holland/Holland Christian HS) who tossed in 18 points while sophomore Anna Timmer (Caledonia/South Christian HS) had 17 points. Freshman Ali Spayde (Lewis Center, OH/Worthington Christian HS) had a career-high 10 points while seniors Hannah Acre (DeWitt/DeWitt HS) and Kayla Engelhard (Unionville/Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS had eight points apiece.

Alma was led in defeat by Mallory Pruett with 14 points while Grace Wheeler had 11 points.

Calvin went 25 for 34 at the free throw (.735) and forced Alma into 28 turnovers.

"I think we came ready to play and that was good," said Calvin women's basketball coach John Ross. "Anytime we can get a win on the road in this league we will take it. We had a number of players contribute and that was also good to see. We need to continue to maintain our intensity as we have a tough stretch of games ahead of us."

Calvin will host Saint Mary's on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING

The Calvin women's swimming and diving team wrapped up a first place finish at the two-day Calvin Quadrangular Saturday, finishing with a first place total of 1,084 points. Carthage was second (860 points), Albion third (731.5 points) and Ohio Northern fourth (671.5 points).

The following individuals took first place for the Calvin women's team on Saturday:

*Junior Alayna Gallegos (Lakeville, MN/Lakeville HS) in the 200 butterfly (2:13.77).

*Junior Megan Schroder (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) in the 200 backstroke (2:13.86).

*Senior Lexi Scot (Dexter/Dexter HS) in the 100 breaststroke (1:10.21) and 200 breaststroke (2:32.09).

*Freshman Abby VanHarn (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) in the 100 freestyle (45.58) and 200 freestyle (2:00.10).

*Calvin's 800 freestyle relay team of Schroder, VanHarn, freshman Ana Estrella (Hudsonville/Calvin Christian HS) and senior Erika Waugh (Berne, IN/South Adams HS) in 8:12.43.

*Calvin's 400 freestyle relay team of freshman Rachel Mattson (Ann Arbor/Ann Arbor Huron HS), Estrella, sophomore Adrienne Wesselius (Sioux Center, IA/Unity Christian HS) and VanHarn in a time of 3:41.39.

Calvin will travel to Kalamazoo for a dual meet next Friday scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING

The Calvin men's swimming and diving team capped off a first place victory at the Calvin Quadrangular on Saturday, finishing with a two-day total of 1,119 points. Ohio Northern was second with 790 points followed by Carthage in third (732) and Albion in fourth (653).

The following individuals took first place for Calvin on Saturday:

*Sophomore Dirk Tanis (Holland/Holland Christian HS) on the one-meter diving board (442.59).

*Sophomore Brett Stoughton (Centerville, IN/Centerville HS) in the 100 butterfly (52.22) and 200 butterfly (1:56.82).

*Freshman Tanner Vincent (Novi/Novi HS) in the 400 IM (4:16.56).

*Junior Johnson Cochran (Mount Vernon, OH/Thomas Jefferson HS) in the 100 breaststroke (57.49) and 200 breaststroke (2:11.74).

*Junior Mitch Schroder (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) in the 100 freestyle (47.64) and 200 freestyle (2:11.74).

*Freshman Skyler Fish (Ionia/Ionia HS) in the 100 backstroke (53.02) and 200 backstroke (1:57.58).

*Junior Aaron Venema (Grand Haven/Grand Haven HS) in the 1650 freestyle (16:50.07).

*Calvin's 800 freestyle relay team of Schroder, junior Caleb Meindertsma (Annandale, VA/Trinity Christian HS), Stoughton and Venema also won in a time of 7:10.48 while its 200 medley relay team of Tanner Vincent, Cochran, Stoughton and sophomore Eli Holstege (Keswick, VA/Covenant HS) won in a time of 1:36.73.

Calvin is back in action next Friday when it travels to Kalamazoo for a dual meet slated to start at 6 p.m.

MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

The Calvin men's track and field team opened its indoor season with a non-conference dual meet at Aquinas on Saturday. The Knights were defeated by the Saints 79-26.

Senior Erik Holstege (Keswick, VA/Monticello HS) won the 60 meter hurdles (8.47) and was second in the shot put (43-4 1/4) while senior Matt Oram (Toledo, OH) took second in the 3,000 meter run (2:41.18). Freshman Ethan Valentine (Mason, OH) won the 600 meter run (1:23.18) while junior David Dadzie (Accra, Ghana/Ghana International School) was second in the weight throw (42-6).

Calvin is back in action on January 23 and 24 when it competes at an invitational hosted by Olivet Nazarene University.

WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

The Calvin women's track and field team opened its indoor season with a non-conference dual meet at Aquinas on Saturday. The Knights were defeated by the Saints 69-39.

Senior Sarah Danner (Watkins Glen, NY/Charles Dickerson HS) won the 3,000 meter run (10:50.99). Junior McKenzie Diemer (Caledonia/South Christian HS) won the 1,000 meter run in 3:07.51.

Senior Christina Geating (Abington, PA/Abington HS) won the women's pole vault (4-11 3/4).

Freshman Bethany Love (Grand Rapids/East Kentwood HS) won the women's shot put (38-5 1/4).

Calvin is back in action on January 23 and 24 when it competes at an invitational hosted by Olivet Nazarene University.
Received on Sun Jan 11 00:02:03 2015