GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Calvin men's basketball advanced to the MIAA Tournament Championship final with a 75-54 win over Trine at Van Noord Arena on Friday evening. 

Calvin will face rival Hope Saturday night in the title tilt at 7 p.m. at DeVos Fieldhouse in Holland. 

On Friday in the contest between Calvin and Trine the game started out with both teams playing excellent defense as points were slow coming on the board. After eight minutes of play, the Knights had a 14-10 lead over the Thunder after a driving layup by senior Emmett Warners (Grand Rapids, MI / Grand Rapids Christian HS). 

Calvin was stilling holding onto the lead as a 3-pointer by sophomore Marcus Bult (Wheaton, IL / Wheaton Academy) put it up 23-16 with 7:56 left in the half. The Knights began gaining momentum as they grabbed a thirteen-point lead after a 3-pointer by senior Thad Shymanski (Ada, MI / Grand Rapids Christian) to lead 33-20. 

Trine showed some fight late in the first half, but it was Calvin who took a 41-30 lead into halftime. Shymanski led the Knights in scoring at half with 11 points followed by Uchenna Egekeze (Huntley, IL / Huntley) with 10 points. 

Calvin shot 16-29 (55.2%) from the field and 4-10 (40%) from the three-point line. The Knights outrebounded the Thunder 18-15 on the glass and had 11 total assists at the half. 

The Knights slowly started pushing their lead and after a 3-pointer by Bult, they led 52-36 with 11:41 left in the game. Trine was struggling to put points on the board as Calvin's defense was playing well later in the second half. 

Calvin was firing on all cylinders against Trine and was up 64-44 with 6:10 left after a 3-pointer by Morrison. The Knights didn't let their foot off the gas pedal and made their free throws down the stretch to secure the win. 

Morrison led Calvin in scoring with 18 points and 5 assists followed by Bult off the bench with 16 points and 6 rebounds. Egekeze also finished with 13 points and 7 rebounds to help the Knights win. 

Calvin shot 27-52 (51.9%) from the field and 10-19 (52.6%) from the three-point line. The Knights also outrebounded the Thunder 38-29 and finished with 21 total assists. 

COACHES COMMENTS: "It really felt good to get that win tonight and a real good effort for our team," said head coach Bill Sall. "It was a great team defensive effort tonight and we won this one to get to the next one. Overall, we played really well on the defensive side of the ball and got it done on the offensive side to get the win tonight." 

UP NEXT: The Knight will head to Hope for the MIAA Tournament Championship game on Saturday February 26 at 7 p.m.