ANGOLA, Ind. - The Calvin men's basketball team showed toughness and grit to win a big road game at Trine 54-47 on Saturday in a battle of ranked opponents for first place in the MIAA standings.

Calvin (14-3, 6-0 MIAA) entered the day ranked 21st in the D3hoops.com poll, while Trine (15-2, 5-1) was ranked 16th as each team looked to remain unbeaten in conference play.

The defenses for both teams were dominant for much of the game, but particularly in the first half when points seemed almost impossible to come by. The Knights held Trine to 30.4 percent shooting from the floor in the opening half and held the Thunder scoreless for a stretch of more than seven minutes as they built the lead as high as nine points before settling for a 22-17 halftime edge.

Calvin shot only 23.1 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, but went 9-12 from the free throw line to help build their lead. Eli Sensenig (Grayslake, Ill/Westlake Christian Academy) and Jalen Overway (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) each scored six points to lead the Knights in the half.

The Knights started the second half with an 8-0 run as they got into the paint for lay-ups on offense while holding the Thunder scoreless for nearly five minutes of play. 

Trine made several runs to cut the Calvin lead as low as four in the second half, but the Knights answered each time with big baskets from Overway and Uchenna Egekeze (Huntley, Ill./Huntley) to keep momentum and the lead on the way to the win.

The Knights were spectacular on the defensive end throughout the game, holding Trine to just 28.6 percent from the field and forcing 14 turnovers. Egekeze finished the day with a team-high 14 points on offense and also was critical in holding the Thunder's leading scorer Brent Cox to 10 points on 3-19 field goals for the game on defense.

After struggling in the first half, the Knights shot 50.0 percent from the field in the second half to finish the game at 36.0 percent. Calvin was able to overcome 20 turnovers with the help of a 49-34 rebounding advantage that helped the Knights out-score the Thunder 13-1 in second-chance points. Calvin also doubled up Trine with a 28-14 advantage in points in the paint.

Sensenig and Overway joined Egekeze in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Overway also added a game-high 13 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive end. 

COACH'S COMMENT: "Gritty defensive win," said Calvin men's basketball coach Bill Sall. "We knew it was going to be a battle. Trine is such a good defensive team. I felt the entire team stepped up on the defensive end. It always starts with Uchenna, but Marcus Bult (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Academy), Daane Harvey (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Eastern) and Eli Sensenig had incredible defensive games. Great job on the glass. (I'm) very proud of our effort on the road."

NEXT UP: Calvin men's basketball will return to action on Wednesday, January 25, when it travels to Olivet.