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GRAND RAPIDS - The Calvin men's basketball team remained unbeaten with a tough 61-50 win over UW-Stevens Point (UWSP) on Saturday at Van Noord Arena.

The Knights improve to 7-0 with the victory and are now off to their best start since the 1999-2000 season when they won their first eight games. 

The two defenses made life difficult all game on both teams, as Calvin (7-0) shot 43.1 percent from the field while UWSP (4-2) shot 42.2 percent.

The Knights started strong and held a 23-17 lead with 6:29 to play in the first half, but the Pointers roared back with a 14-2 run over the next six minutes to help them tale a 31-27 lead at the break.

Uchenna Egekeze (Huntley, Ill./Huntley) kept the Knights in the game with nine first-half points, but the Knights shot only 40.0 percent overall and committed nine turnovers against a UWSP defense that was swarming freshman center Jalen Overway (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) every time he got a touch in the post.

The defenses continued to stand tall for much of the second half, with the teams trading the lead before UWSP tied the game 50-50 with 4:06 to play on a Zach Mootz three-pointer.

Calvin would stand tall the rest of the way, holding the Pointers without a point down the stretch while Marcus Bult (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Academy) scored six critical points on three free throws and a dagger three-pointer with 1:25 remaining that put the game away that increased the Knights' lead to 58-50.

Egekeze finished the game with 18 points and three blocks, while Eli Sensenig (Grayslake, Ill./Westlake Christian) joined him in double figures with 11 points. 

Overway was held out of double-figures for the first time this season, but still added eight rebounds and two blocks while helping the Knights out-score the Pointers 32-16 in the paint.

COACH'S COMMENT: "That was a high-intensity game," Calvin men's basketball head coach BIll Sall said. "I thought our guys really competed today. It was a tremendous defensive effort all across the board. I just really felt, from Uchenna to Eli, some huge minutes by Daane Harvey (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Eastern) and Luka Ressler (Caledonia, Mich./Catholic Central), everybody just really held their own. We've got some things to work on offensively, but this is how you figure it out. Overall, just some really good stuff from our guys."

NEXT UP: Calvin men's basketball returns to action on Saturday, December 3, when it travels to Wheaton College for a game scheduled to start at 3:00 PM.