CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 7, 2015
Basketball Teams Gain Conference Victories Over Adrian to Remain in First Place in MIAA Standings
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 80, Adrian 59
By Gina de Haan
ADRIAN - On Saturday afternoon, the Calvin women's basketball traveled to Adrian, Michigan to take on the Adrian College Bulldogs, seeking to maintain their perfect record.
Despite trailing for the majority of the first half, the Knights were able to recover and defeated their opponents 80-59.
The Knights got behind early, but finally pulled ahead when MacKenzie Shelton hit a three-pointer with just over seven minutes remaining in the half (19-17). Following Shelton's bucket, the Knights gained momentum and headed into the locker room at halftime with a 35-28 lead.
Calvin carried that momentum into the second half, outscoring their opponents 45-31.
Breanna Verkaik led the Knights in scoring with 18 points. Hannah Acre finished with fourteen, Kayla Engelhard followed with twelve, and Anna Timmer added ten. Timmer also led the Knights with seven rebounds while Kally Verkaik had a solid all-around game, contributing seven points, six assists, and six rebounds.
With her 12 points, Engelhard boosted her career total to 1,014 points, moving her past Brook VanEck and Julie Post and into 12th place on the Calvin career scoring list.
The Knights scored twenty points off of the twenty-nine Bulldog turnovers that they forced.
"This was probably the most physical game we have played all year," said Calvin women's basketball coach John Ross. "Adrian really came after us with a ton of energy. To our credit, we responded well and held our own. The second time through the league schedule is always more of a grind and today's game was a perfect example. We're extremely happy with this win and now it's on to next week."
On Wednesday, the Calvin women's basketball team will host Alma College. In the first meeting between the two teams this season, the Knights defeated the Scots 76-53. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-7-15 GAMES
Calvin 12-0
Hope 11-1
Kalamazoo 9-4
Trine 7-5
Olivet 6-6
Albion 5-7
Adrian 3-9
Alma 2-11
Saint Mary's 1-12
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 69, Adrian 61
By Mark DeHaan
Calvin men's basketball faced off with Adrian College on Saturday afternoon at VanNoord Arena.
The Knights looked to keep pace with Trine University at the top of the league standings while the Bulldogs played to stay in the running for a conference tournament spot.
Calvin entered with a 7-2 MIAA record while Adrian was 5-4.
Behind strong three-point shooting, particularly from guard Austin Parks and forward Connor VanderBrug, Calvin claimed a 69-61 win to improve to 8-2 in the MIAA.
The Knights fell behind 9-3 early as they committed three turnovers in the opening three-plus minutes.
Calvin cut the deficit to one at 15-14 on a deep-three by junior Austin Parks with 12:06 to go in the first half.
A six-minute field goal drought by Adrian then allowed the Knights to build a 24-15 lead.
With 3:23 remaining, Calvin's advantage grew to as many as 34-20 on a three-pointer from freshman Connor VanderBrug.
Adrian responded to finish out the first half on an 11-3 run to put Calvin's lead at 37-31 at the break.
The Knights shot 46.2% overall from the field, including 6-of-11 for 54.5% from three-point range, while Adrian shot 48.1%. Individually, Parks and VanderBrug each had eight points for Calvin. Ricky Jackson, Jr. led the Bulldogs with nine points at the half.
Out of the break, the teams played evenly as the gap remained six points with 9:37 to go in the second at 49-43 in favor of Calvin.
An and-one by junior Jordan Daley and an offensive putback by senior Tyler Dykstra shortly thereafter then put the Knights lead at double-digits at 54-43.
With 1:20 to go, Adrian whittled Calvin's lead down to 65-59, but a few missed shots down the stretch for the Bulldogs sealed the win for the Knights at 69-61.
Calvin was 44.9% from the field overall, 10-of-22 for 45.5% from beyond the arc. Adrian hit 47.3% of its field goals. The Knights out-rebounded the Bulldogs 36-23.
Individually, VanderBrug led Calvin with 17 points, also adding five rebounds. Parks scored 14 points and senior Jordan Brink added 11. With his 11 points, Brink moved past Chris Prins and into 11th place on the Calvin career scoring list, boosting his career scoring total to 1,365 points.
For Adrian, Justin Webster scored 17 points, Jackson, Jr. contributed 16 points and six rebounds, Ben Rodak scored 11, and Jordan Denham added 10 points.
"You play Adrian and it's just a grind-it-out kind of game. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't always the best, but I think we forced them into some tough things as well and we did a nice job down the stretch," said head coach Kevin Vande Streek. "In a sense, (each game) becomes more important because you have less of them. Kalamazoo will be hard, it will be really tough there, and we certainly won't be looking past anyone. I always tell the guys we want to look at the small picture and we want to keep the big picture in mind, and that is to continue to improve and get to the point of becoming the best team we can be."
With the win, Calvin improves to 15-6 overall, 8-2 in the MIAA, while Adrian falls to 7-14 and 5-5 in league play.
The Knights now look forward to Wednesday when they travel to Kalamazoo to face the Hornets. Calvin and Kalamazoo will tip-off at 6:00 p.m.
MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-7-15 GAMES
Calvin 8-2
Trine 8-2
Hope 7-3
Adrian 5-5
Alma 5-5
Albion 3-7
Kalamazoo 2-8
Olivet 2-8
Received on Sat Feb 7 19:25:03 2015
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