Box Score GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Calvin improved to 2-0 on the year with a 78-60 victory over Augustana College Friday evening inside Van Noord Arena..
The Knights started the game off hot by jumping out to a 7-2 lead with five points coming from senior Luke Morrison (Bristol, IN / Northridge). Calvin continued to add to its lead with a 7-2 run capped off by a layup by senior Thad Shymanski (Ada, MI / Grand Rapids Christian) to make it 13-4 with fifteen minutes left in the first half.
The Knights were playing great defense against the Vikings by holding them to just nine points in the first twelve minutes of action as they led 21-9 with eight minutes left in the half. Calvin was building great momentum as the half was winding down by pushing its lead to 28-13 after a made layup by Jordan Katje (Kalamazoo, MI / Kalamazoo Christian) with six minutes remaining in the half. The Vikings started to pick things up at the end of the half, but the Knights held a steady lead over them.
Calvin went into halftime with a 41-23 lead after a made layup by junior Eli Sensenig (Grayslake, IN / Westlake Christian Academy) just before the buzzer. The Knights shot 17-30 (56.7%) from the field and 4-8 (50.0%) from the three-point line. They outrebounded Augustana 22-17 on the glass and went into halftime with 12 assists. Calvin was getting it done on the defensive end by holding Augustana to 9-35 (25.7%) from the field and 2-9 (22.2%) from the three-point line.
Augustana made its first few shots of the 2nd half to go on a 9-2 to cut their defect to 12 with a score of 43-33. The Knights responded with their own 7-0 run to make take a 50-33 lead after a made layup by Uchenna Egekeze (Huntley, IL / Huntley) with thirteen minutes left in the game.
Augustana was still hanging around with Calvin and cutting into the deficit. After a made jumper by the Vikings, they made it a 10-point game with a score of 56-46 with eights minutes left. Calvin was holding its lead over Augustana, but both teams were trading buckets late in the game. A made turn-around jumper by Morison extended the lead to twelve with 3:45 left in the game.
The Vikings had no answers in the final minutes against the Knights. Calvin continued on on to win 78-60 and improve t0 2-0 on the season.
Morrison led the Knights in scoring with 24 points and finished with 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Egekeze ended the night with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists while teammate Emmett Warners (Grand Rapids, MI / Grand Rapids Christian) had 11 points and 8 rebounds.
Calvin shot 30-57 (52.6%) from the field and 7-17 (41.2%) from the three-point line. The Knights outrebounded the Vikings 39-37 on the evening and finished with 20 team assists.
COACHES COMMENTS: "I thought we had really good defense effort in the first half," said Head Coach Bill Sall. "It was awesome seeing that high level of energy and if we play like for forty minutes, we have a chance to be pretty good. We let up a little bit in the second half and a little complacent. Our offense isn't clicking like I would like to see click but we are also just two games into the year. I loved our energy this game and I hope we can continue down that path."
UP NEXT: The Knights will host Illinois Wesleyan at 3 p.m. tomorrow afternoon at Van Noord Arena.
