CKSR (Men's Basketball Drops Rivalry Game at Hope / Women's Basketball Pulls Away for Win at Saint Mary's / Swimming and Diving Teams Receive Academic Accolades from CSCAA)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR JAN. 27, 2016

Men's Basketball Falls in Rivalry Game at Hope;
Women's Basketball Pulls Away For Win at Saint Mary's;
Swimming and Diving Teams Receive Academic Accolades from CSCAA

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Hope 75, Calvin 68

HOLLAND, Mich. - The No. 8 Flying Dutchmen edged the Knights in the 192nd edition of the rivalry on Wednesday night, 75-67. Calvin moves to 8-10 on the season and 3-4 in the MIAA. No. 8 Hope improves to 16-2 and leads the all-time series, 99-93.
"I am proud of our guys," said head coach Kevin Vande Streek. "I thought that we played hard and showed some mental toughness tonight. I feel that we needed one more guy to make shots tonight, we had a hard time scoring. Hope is a really good team and I thought tonight was another great Calvin/Hope battle."
The Knights started the evening grabbing an early 9-3 lead, behind a three-point basket from junior Cameron Denney (Bluffton, Ind./Norwell) and six points from senior Jordan Daley (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian). Calvin would continue to apply the pressure to the Flying Dutchmen and extended the lead to eight with 6:56 remaining in the first half at 23-15. Hope would respond with a 14-2 run to take a four-point lead with 1:45 remaining in the half. Cameron Denney drained a three-pointer to cut the lead to one and sophomore Tony Canonie (South Haven, Mich./South Haven) gave Calvin the lead going into halftime making his free throws, 30-29.
Hope came out of halftime with a hot hand, starting the second half on a 10-0 run to take a 39-30 lead. Cameron Denney would stop the bleeding with a layup. The Flying Dutch eight-point lead at 13:48 was cut to two points by a clutch three-point basketball junior Nate Drews (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Hills Lutheran). The Flying Dutchmen fought back with a 9-1 run to take a 59-49 lead. Calvin continued to chip away at the Hope lead, Cameron Denney would cut the deficit to four with a timely three pointer. Hope would go on a 7-0 run after the final media timeout and would not look back from there.
Jordan Daley led the Knights on Wednesday with a career-high 27 points, Daley also led Calvin with 11 rebounds and three steals. Cameron Denney had a game-high 11 rebounds that ties his career-high. Denney finished the night with a career-high five three-point baskets.
The Knights return to action on Saturday as they travel to Trine for another important MIAA game in Indiana.

MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-27-16 GAMES

Alma 7-0
Hope 6-1
Albion 4-3
Adrian 3-4
Calvin 3-4
Trine 3-4
Olivet 2-5
Kalamazoo 0-7

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 81, Saint Mary's 57

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The No. 20 Calvin women's basketball team claimed an 81-57 conference victory at Saint Mary's Wednesday evening. The Knights improve to 14-4 overall and 9-1 in the MIAA, remaining a game behind league-leading Hope in the conference standings.

Senior Kally Verkaik (Holland/Holland Christian HS) dropped in 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting including 5-of-8 from three-point range. Junior Lauren Goldthorpe (St. Ignace/St. Ignace HS) had 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting including 2-for-2 from three-point range.

Sophomore Bre Luurtsema (Holland/Holland Christian HS) also tossed in 11 points while grabbing 10 rebounds to notch her fifth double-double of the season.

Calvin led 37-26 at halftime and then 55-46 at the end of the third quarter. The Knights then outscored the host Belles (1-18 overall, 1-9 MIAA) 26-11 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the win.

"We are very happy to get a road win in the MIAA tonight," said Calvin women's basketball coach John Ross. "Saint Mary's fought the entire game and we could not put them away despite having a 10-point lead most of the game. Saint Mary's is very well-coached and much better than its record indicates. It was also good to see Kally Verkaik have a big offensive game tonight. She is a very unselfish player who does a lot for our team and it was nice to see her have a big scoring night."

Calvin shot 46.2 percent overall in the win including 40 percent (12-of-30) from three-point range. The Knights held a 38-34 rebounding advantage. Eleni Shea led Saint Mary's in defeat with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 1-27-16 GAMES

Hope 10-0
Calvin 9-1
Adrian 6-4
Olivet 6-4
Albion 4-5
Trine 4-6
Kalamazoo 3-7
Alma 1-8
Saint Mary's 1-9

MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING

The Calvin men's and women's swimming and diving teams have not only produced in the pool but also in the classroom. Both teams were recently named to the College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All-America honor roll.
The Team Scholar All American award is presented to college and university swimming and diving teams, who have achieved a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. The award is presented twice annually, once in the fall semester/term and in the semester/term of the NCAA/NAIA/NJCAA Swimming and Diving Championships (Winter/Spring).
The Calvin women's team posted a cumulative team grade point average of 3.38 for the fall semester while the Calvin men's team posted a cumulative team grade point average of 3.26.
Received on Thu Jan 28 01:10:38 2016