GRAND RAPIDS - The Calvin University men's basketball team remains unbeaten in MIAA play following a 74-65 win over Kalamazoo College at Van Noord Arena on Wednesday.

Calvin (13-3, 5-0 MIAA) got off to a strong start offensively and led for much of the first half, but Kalamazoo (3-13, 1-4 MIAA) went to a zone defense early in the game that was effective enough to keep the Hornets within striking distance as the Knights led 39-29 at the half.

Jalen Overway (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) led Calvin with nine points in the first half, while Eli Sensenig (Grayslake, Ill./Westlake Christian Academy) recorded five assists to go with five points.

While Overway led the Knights in the first half from inside the paint, Matt Ambrose (Kildeer, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) came through in the second half from the outside, scoring 18 of his career-high 21 points in the second half on 6-9 shooting overall while going 4-7 from beyond the three-point arc.

With Calvin leading 45-36 with 15:25 to play, Ambrose scored the next 14 Calvin points, which included an 11-0 stretch by himself that was capped by a three-point play to push the Knights' lead to 59-39 with 10:37 remaining. 

Kalamazoo fought to stay in the game, but never got the Knights' lead lower than nine points as Calvin secured its fifth straight win to open league play. 

With the Hornets packing the paint in their zone defense, the Knights made a season-best 11 three-point field goals for the game. Ambrose led the way with five of those field goals, while Luka Ressler (Caledonia, Mich./Catholic Central) went 3-4 from distance on the way to 14 points.  

Overway added 13 points to go with eight rebounds and two blocks.

COACH'S COMMENT: Give them a lot of credit," Calvin men's basketball head coach Bill Sall said. "I thought they did a great job. Their zone gave us some trouble. It was great to see Matt Ambrose step up and make some shots. He was a big dal for us tonight. Like I told the guys after the game, these league games are grinders."

NEXT UP: Calvin men's basketball will return to action on Saturday, January 21, when it travels to Trine for a game scheduled to tip off at 3:00 PM.