CALVIN-ADRIAN SMUGMUG PHOTO GALLERY - 1-28-23

GRAND RAPIDS - The 18th-ranked Calvin men's basketball team used a suffocating defensive effort to remain unbeaten in MIAA play with a 66-41 win over Adrian College at Van Noord Arena on Saturday.

Calvin (16-3, 8-0 MIAA) set a new season-best with only 41 points allowed, and has now held four of its first eight MIAA opponents to 51 or fewer points.

The defensive effort started from the beginning as the Knights held Adrian (5-14, 2-6 MIAA) scoreless for nearly seven minutes to start the game. Calvin jumped in front 11-0 during the opening stretch, and finished the half with a 33-14 advantage.

The 14 points allowed marked the third time this conference season that the Knights held an opponent under 20 points in the first half. On offense, Jalen Overway (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) led Calvin with 12 points on 6-8 shooting from the field.

The Bulldogs frustrated the Knights on offense in the second half, trapping ball-handlers full court and double-teaming Overway down low as they forced 12 Calvin second-half turnovers. The Knights were still efficient when they got their chances at the basket, however, shooting 44.4 percent from the field in the half with Uchenna Egekeze (Huntley, Ill./Huntley) scoring nine of his 13 points in the final 20 minutes.

The Knights held Adrian to 23.7 percent from the field for the game after the Bulldogs shot 21.4 percent in the second half. The Bulldogs had no luck scoring inside or outside, as Calvin out-scored them 36-12 in the paint and also forced Adrian to shoot 4-25 from beyond the three-point arc.

Overway led all players with 15 points and 15 rebounds. 

COACH'S COMMENT: "I was really happy with how we defended again today. That's kind of become our staple," Calvin men's basketball head coach Bill Sall said. "They sped us up on offense, which is a credit to them, but we just struggle sometimes to take care of the ball with 19 turnovers again today. Uchenna did a great job today on their leading scorer (De'Ovion Price) and holding him to seven points. I think the good news is we got another win and we're 8-0 in the conference. And, also good news, there's a lot of things we can get better at."

NEXT UP: Calvin men's basketball will return to action on Wednesday, February 1, when it travels to Kalamazoo for a game scheduled to tip off at 7:30 PM.