CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR DECEMBER 30, 2015
Men's Basketball Downs St. Vincent at D3hoops.com Classic;
Women's Basketball Drops Overtime Decision to Capital in Holiday Tournament Final
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 77, St. Vincent 66
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The Knights snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over St. Vincent in the final game of the D3hoop.com Classic in Las Vegas, Nevada. Calvin improves to 5-6 on the year with the 77-66 victory.
"We had a solid team effort and it felt good to get a win against a quality opponent," said head coach Kevin Vande Streek. "We moved the ball well and got some open looks right away and knocked down our open shots. We picked up some confidence on this trip which is good to see. The challenge now is to continue that momentum against a challenging league opponent next Wednesday in Trine. We'll need to strap it on and be ready to go because Trine plays as hard as any team in our league and they have some outstanding players as well."
Calvin jumped out to an early 7-1 lead, the Knight 45.5% in the first half, with five three-point baskets. The Knights would go into halftime with a 12-point lead at 40-28.
The Knights pushed the Calvin lead to 20 points at 52-32, the Bearcats would not go away and would cut the lead to nine, twice, but Calvin would prove to be too much.
Calvin had five players with 10 or more points on Wednesday, leading Calvin was senior Jordan Daley (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) with 20 points. Daley was named to the all-tournament team, finishing the tournament with 34 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
Junior Nate Drews (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Hills Lutheran) finished with 17 points and sophomore Michael Wilks (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) had 16 points.
Junior Cameron Denney (Bluffton, Ind./Norwell) was the leading rebounder for Calvin with eight on the evening. Denney also tallied 12 points in the victory.
Sophomore Tony Canonie (South Haven, Mich./South Haven) had a team-high four assists in the win.
Calvin took advantage of the rebounds on Wednesday, finishing with 22-second chance points.
The Knights will return to the court on Wednesday, Jan. 6, as Calvin will begin MIAA play. The Knights will host Trine at 8 p.m. at Van Noord Arena.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Capital 79, Calvin 70 (OT)
BEXLEY, Oh. - Calvin came up short in the championship game of the Mariott/Columbus Airport Holiday Tournament Saturday afternoon, falling to host Capital 79-70 in overtime.
The game featured a series of runs and both teams had chances to win the game in the closing seconds of regulation. In overtime, Capital (9-2) had the energy and Calvin (8-3) did not as the Crusaders outscored the Knights 11-2 in overtime to seal the win.
Spurred on by some early three-point shots from sophomore Ali Spayde (Lewis Center, OH/Worthington Christian HS) and senior Tiffany Karger (Cedar Springs/Cedar Spring HS), Calvin took a 15-11 first quarter lead but Capital ended the quarter on an 8-1 run to take a 19-16 lead after one quarter of play.
Calvin outscored the Crusaders 23-16 in the second quarter to take a 39-35 halftime lead. Calvin then built a 48-41 lead midway through the third quarter but then stalled on offense as Capital closed out the quarter on a 10-2 run to take a 51-50 lead heading into the final quarter of play.
Capital connected on three of its first four shots of the fourth quarter to build a 60-54 lead and then led 68-61 with just 2:42 left in regulation.
Calvin rallied as senior Kally Verkaik (Holland/Holland Christian HS) connected on a triple and Spayde followed with a layup to bring the Knights to within a bucket at 68-66 with 1:35 left. Calvin then got a defensive stop and tied the game on a layup by senior Abby Springer (Vernon Hills, IL/Vernon Hills HS) with 54 seconds remaining. Capital had a chance to regain the lead but lost the ball as Calvin junior Anna Timmer (Caledonia/South Christian HS) came up with a steal on the baseline with 27 seconds remaining. With a chance to take the lead, the Knights called timeout with eight seconds remaining. On the ensuing out of bounds play however, the Knights were called for an offensive ball, turning the ball over to Capital. The Crusaders came up with a good look at the buzzer but a three-point shot from the left wing came up short, sending the contest into overtime.
In overtime, Capital scored on a layup on its opening possession to take a 70-68 lead and then put the clamps on the Knights, converting seven free throws while holding Calvin without a field goal in the overtime session.
"I was very proud of how well we played in a hostile environment," said Calvin women's basketball coach John Ross after the game. "We were learn and get better from this game."
Calvin was led in defeat by Spayde who pumped in 20 points including five three-point field goals while Verkaik had 13 points. Junior Lauren Goldthorpe (St. Ignace/St. Ignace HS) had nine points off the bench. Junior Bre Luurtsema (Holland/Holland Christian HS) had six points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Spayde was named to the all-tournament team.
Capital was led by tournament MVP Kristen Thompson who poured in 33 points and snared 19 rebounds. Shelby Sigman had 13 points and Simonne Gage 11.
Rebounding and free throw shooting proved to be crucial factors in the game. Capital outrebounded Calvin 52-34 including 29-18 on the offensive glass. Calvin was just 12 of 23 (.522) at the free throw line while Capital was 23 of 34 (.676).
Calvin will now prepare to swing back into league play next Wednesday when it hosts Trine University at 6 p.m. at Van Noord Arena.
Received on Wed Dec 30 23:40:14 2015
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