Box Score By Mark DeHaan
The Calvin men's basketball team claimed a share of the MIAA regular season title on Saturday but had to wait approximately five hours to do so.
Calvin opened the afternoon with a 66-48 win over Trine at Van Noord Arena. Alma then defeated Hope 91-84 late Saturday night, allowing Calvin to move two games in front of both Trine and Hope with just two regular season games left on the schedule for all three schools. The MIAA regular season title is Calvin's 31st overall, second in three years and ninth under current head coach Kevin Vande Streek. The Knights also locked up the top seed for the upcoming four-team MIAA Tournament which begins on February 26.
Saturday also saw Calvin honor its four seniors prior to its game against Trine: Jordan Brink, Tyler Dykstra, TJ Huizenga, and Dan Stout.
The Knights held the lead for the entire first half and into the opening minutes of the second. Trine then seemed ready to take the game into its hands when the Thunder took their first lead of the game with 13:23 to go at 39-37. The Knights responded though, and over the remaining time, outscored the Thunder 29-9 to earn a 66-48 win.
Calvin jumped out to a 7-0 advantage behind a pair of layups and a three from senior Tyler Dykstra.
With 13:52 to go in the first, a layup from freshman Connor VanderBrug put the Knights ahead by double-digits at 17-6.
A 12-2 run by the Thunder in the next four minutes then cut Calvin's advantage to 19-18 midway through the first half.
The Knights responded with an 11-5 run, bumping their lead back up to 30-23.
The halftime score then settled at 32-25. Calvin shot 50% in the first half while Trine hit 34.5% of its field goals. Connor VanderBrug led the Knights with nine points while Jake Bagley also scored nine for the Thunder.
In the second half, Trine opened on a 12-5 scoring run to tie the game at 37-37.
Out of a media timeout, the Thunder took their first lead of the ball game on a jumper from Tyler Good at 39-37.
After a three-pointer from Trine put the Knights down five, Calvin regained its offensive touch to outscore the Thunder 10-0 in the next three minutes and regain a 47-42 advantage.
The Knights continue to roll on the offensive end, and with 3:38 remaining, senior Jordan Brink hit a three-pointer that turned out to be the dagger, giving Calvin a 60-46 lead.
The Knights then closed out a 66-48 victory, holding the Thunder to just six points in the final 11:32.
Calvin shot 48.1% for the game, holding Trine to 33.3% shooting. The Knights out-rebounded the Thunder 43-24.
Individually, Brink led Calvin with 17 points. Dykstra added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and VanderBrug contributed 12.
For Trine, Tyler Good scored 15 while Bagley and Jared Holmquist each added 12.
"I thought in the second half we did a good job, we just had a stretch where we couldn't make a shot. Then, all of the sudden, we got a couple in a row, pulled ahead, and our defense did a good job," said head coach Kevin Vande Streek. "We certainly didn't cut a net down today – we have work to do. We want to celebrate and be happy because that's a good team we beat today, but we have two really tough games to come."
The win saw solid performances from all four of Calvin's seniors.
"Our seniors are really hard working guys, so coachable," said Vande Streek. "They bring different talent sets but they mesh so well. They're willing to sacrifice their own minutes and shots for the betterment of the team."
The Knights improve to 17-6 overall and 10-2 in the MIAA, while Trine falls to 15-8 and 8-4.
Calvin now looks forward to Wednesday when it travels to Olivet. The Knights and Comets will tip-off at 6:00 p.m. at the Cutler Events Center.
