CKSR (Women's Basketball Wins at Trine/Men's Basketball Falls at Alma/Brian Diemer Receives Award from Michigan Runner Magazine/Holstege Captures Heptathlon at CNU Captains Invitational)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR JANUARY 31, 2015

Women's Basketball Wins at Trine/Men's Basketball Falls at Alma;
Brian Diemer Receives Contributor of the Year Award From Michigan Runner Magazine;
Erik Holstege Captures Heptathlon at CNU Captains Invitational

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 67, Trine 52

ANGOLA, IN - The 7th-ranked Calvin women's basketball used a red-hot first half to claim a 67-52 conference victory at Trine University Saturday afternoon. Calvin improves to 19-0 overall and to 10-0 in the MIAA with the win.

In the first half, Calvin connected on 10 of 18 attempts from three-point range to roar out to a 43-19 halftime lead. Senior Breanna Verkaik and junior Kally Verkaik were part of a trio of three-pointers that gave Calvin a 29-13 lead and sophomore Tiffany Karger then connected on three consecutive triples followed by another trifecta by Breanna Verkaik that gave the Knights a 43-19 halftime advantage.

Trine (12-8 overall, 6-5 MIAA) closed down Calvin's perimeter attack in the second half and clawed its way all the way to within nine points at 52-43 with still over 10 minutes left in regulation.

Calvin responded with a flurry of free throws and some key buckets by Breanna Verkaik and senior Kayla Engelhard to bump the Knight lead back to 16 points and help seal the win.

"Trine is a very strong team with two of their losses this year coming against Division I opponents," said Calvin women's basketball coach John Ross. "We got into a real rhythm in the first half from outside but Trine was able to dictate the tempo of the game more in the second half and it turned into more of a grind. We have had several close games down here over the years so to come out with a double-digit win feels great."

Calvin was led in the win by Breanna Verkaik who had 18 points on 6 of 8 shooting including 3 of 4 from three-point range. Karger had nine points while Engelhard had eight. Kally Verkaik, Hannah Acre and Anna Timmer had seven points apiece.

Trine was led in scoring by Whitney Shaffer with 14 points while Ashley Elliott had 10 points. Calvin outrebounded Trine 37-28 with Acre ripping down nine boards. Calvin was 10 of 20 from three-point range and 15 of 23 at the free throw line.

Calvin will host Olivet on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in a key conference game at Van Noord Arena.

MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-31-15 GAMES

Calvin 10-0
Hope 10-1
Kalamazoo 7-4
Trine 6-5
Olivet 5-5
Albion 5-6
Adrian 2-8
Alma 2-9
Saint Mary's 1-10

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Alma 87, Calvin 85 (OT)

ALMA - Watching second half leads vanish has become a recurring theme for the Calvin men's basketball team in conference play. Through the first half of the league schedule, the Knights were able to dance just out of the fire, holding on for close victories over Alma, Kalamazoo and Albion. On Saturday, Calvin again watched a large second half lead vanish and this time the Knights were burned, suffering an 87-85 overtime loss at Alma College.

The loss at Alma snapped Calvin's 33-game win streak against the Scots dating back to 1999. It also marked Alma's first win over Calvin at Alma since 1989.

The loss by the Knights coupled with Hope's overtime victory over Trine on Saturday also creates a three-way tie for first place in the MIAA standings. Calvin, Hope and Trine are all 6-2 in league play with Calvin set to host Hope Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at Van Noord Arena.

In Saturday's defeat, Calvin held a 76-58 lead with 7:19 left in regulation but watched the lead disappear as Alma went on a 20-2 over the final 7:04 of regulation. Calvin committed five turnovers during that run while Calvin converted only one of six field goals attempts during that stretch.

Alma (6-13 overall, 4-4 MIAA) tied the game at 78-78 on a pair of free throws by Scott Nikodemski with 8.8 seconds left in regulation. Calvin had a chance to win the game but a final shot attempt came up short, sending the contest into overtime.

In overtime, Alma jumped out to a quick 83-78 lead. Calvin (13-6 overall, 6-2 MIAA) battled back with layups by freshman Connor VanderBrug and junior Jordan Daley and then took the lead at 85-83 on a triple by junior Austin Parks.

Nikodemski tied the game at 85 on a layup with 1:41 remaining. Both teams then came up empty on their ensuing possessions with Calvin regaining the ball with 41 seconds left in overtime.

The Knights worked the ball down for a shot but missed a three-point attempt at the end of the shot clock, giving the Scots the ball with 4.8 seconds left and the length of the floor to go. Once again it was Nikodemski who stepped up as he dribbled up the middle of the floor and swished an open 15 footer at the buzzer to give the Scots the stunning victory.

"It's the same thing that we've been dealing with for the last stretch of games and that's losing our focus and concentration," said Calvin men's basketball coach Kevin Vande Streek. "Give Alma credit for the comeback and to Nikodemski for making the big shot but we made a lot of silly decisions with the basketball that cost us in the end. If we want to win games the rest of the way, we have to toughen up and maintain our focus for the entire basketball game."
Nikodemski led all scorers with 29 points while DJ Beckman had 15 for Alma. Calvin was led in scoring by Parks who had 17 points including five three-point field goals. Senior Jordan Brink and junior Jordan Daley both had double-doubles. Brink tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds while Daley had 15 points and 14 boards. Tyler Dykstra also had 13 points and eight boards while VanderBrug chipped in with eight points.

Calvin held a 53-32 rebounding advantage but Alma was able to convert 10 of 21 from beyond the three-point arc. Calvin also committed 15 turnovers in the defeat.

Calvin led 39-31 at halftime with its largest lead coming at 18 points.

Wednesday's game against Hope will feature the 190th meeting between the two long-time rivals.

MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-31-15 GAMES

Calvin 6-2
Hope 6-2
Trine 6-2
Adrian 5-3
Alma 4-4
Albion 2-6
Kalamazoo 2-6
Olivet 1-7

MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

Calvin College head men's and women's cross country coach Brian Diemer has been named Michigan Runner Magazine's Contributor of the Year. The announcement was made in the current issue of Michigan Runner Magazine.
Click the link below to read the story on Diemer written by Michigan Runner Magazine editor Scott Sullivan.

http://calvinknights.com/sports/mxc/2014-15/files/MR0115_-10_sm.pdf

MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

NEWPORT NEWS, VA - Calvin College senior Erik Holstege completed a stellar weekend in the heptathlon at the Captains Invitational on the campus of Christopher Newport University Saturday.

Holstege captured first place in the heptathlon with a two-day total of 4,770 points. His total currently places him sixth on the NCAA III Indoor Track and Field qualifying list.

On Saturday, Holstege clocked a time of 8.48 in the 60 meter hurdles and then hit a pole vault height of 10-10. He closed out the competition with a time of 3:05.37 in the 1,000 meter run.
Received on Sat Jan 31 23:04:46 2015