Box Score Photo by Steve Frommell, D3photography.com
ALMA, Mich. – The Calvin men's basketball team picked up its first conference win, defeating Alma on the road with a final score of 88-52 on Saturday afternoon.
The Knights came to play in the early minutes of the game at Alma's Art Smith Arena. After a great pass from Marcus Bult (Wheaton, IL / Wheaton Academy) to Jordan Katje (Kalamazoo, MI / Kalamazoo Christian) for the layup, Calvin was leading 14-8 with 13:34 left in the half.
The Knights continued to add to their lead and with a made three-pointer by Thad Shymanski (Ada, MI / Grand Rapids Christian), their lead was pushed to eight with a score of 23-15.
Alma struggled to score points in the first half as it found itself trailing 35-24 with 3:18 left in the half. Calvin quickly built on its lead with a 9-0 run right before halftime with Shymanski scoring seven straight points to give them a 44-24 lead. The Knights took over the final minutes of the first half and took a 48-24 advantage into halftime.
Shymanski led the Knights at the half with 17 pointes followed by Luke Morrison with 7 points. Calvin shot 16-28 (57.1%) from the field and 2-7 (28.6%) from the three-point line. The Knights outrebound the Scots 18-14 on the glass and finished with 8 steals in the half.
Calvin started the second half off hot with a 12-6 run capped off by a three-pointer by Uchenna Egekeze (Huntley, IL / Huntley) to push the lead to thirty with a score of 60-30.
Alma had no answers for the Calvin and the Knights were in control through the remainder of the game. The Knights improved to 8-5 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA with the win.
The Knights were led in scoring by Shymanski with 19 points while Morrison ended the game with 12 points. Senior Emmett Warners (Grand Rapids, MI / Grand Rapids Christian) and Egekeze each ended the afternoon with 11 points as well for the Knights.
Calvin shot 32-57 (56.1%) from the field and 7-18 (38.9%) from the three-point line. The Knights also outrebounded the Scots 36-31 on the glass and finished with 12 team assists.
With his 19 points, Shymanski moved past fellow Grand Rapids Christian High School graduate Jordan Daley and into 21st place on the Calvin career scoring list. Shymanski now has a career scoring total of 1,070 points.
COACHES COMMENT: "I thought the difference in the game was the way our defensive intensity picked up over the final minutes of the first half," said Calvin head men's basketball coach Bill Sall. "Our defense created several turnovers that led to a big scoring run and a nice halftime lead. I thought we did a good job of finding some mismatches on offense, particularly finding Thad Shymanski inside. It was a good team win. A lot of work to do but always good to get a conference win on the road."
UP NEXT: Calvin will host rival Hope at Van Noord Arena on Wednesday January 12 with tipoff set for 8 p.m.
