ANGOLA, Ind. – The Calvin University men's basketball team held off a late comeback from Berry (Ga.) to win 79-74 on Saturday on day two of the Trine University Saint Andrews Products Classic.
It was a game of runs for both teams, with Calvin (10-1) threatening to break the game open several times in each half while Berry (3-8) did just enough to hang around before making a big push late to try to steal the win.
The Knights built a 16-point lead with under nine minutes to play in the first half, but the Vikings cut that deficit to four (36-32) before Calvin ended the half on a 5-0 run thanks to a three-pointer from
Luka Ressler (Caledonia, Mich./Catholic Central) and a running floater by
Matt Ambrose (Kildeer, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) at the halftime buzzer to take a 41-32 halftime lead.
Calvin started the second half on an 8-2 run before the Vikings cut the deficit back to eight (52-44). The Knights threatened to run away with the game with another 12-2 run to build a 64-46 lead, but once again the Vikings answered and would not go away.
After a three-pointer by
Trevin Winkle (McBain, Mich./Northern Michigan Christian) with 9:29 remaining to give Calvin a 67-53 advantage, the Knights were held to only two field goals the rest of the way, which allowed the Vikings to cut their deficit all the way down to one at 75-74 with under one minute to play.
After a pair of
Owen Varnado (Muskegon, Mich./Western Michigan Christian) free throws pushed the Calvin lead to 77-74,
Uchenna Egekeze (Huntley, Ill./Huntley) and
Daane Harvey (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Easter) combined for a steal on the next Berry possession to help put the game away.
Calvin battled foul trouble throughout, with
Jalen Overway (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) fouling out with more than three minutes to play. The Vikings shot 35 free throws in the game and out-scored the Knights 26-12 at the charity stripe.
The Knights countered from distance, shooting 36.7 percent from three-point range and outscoring Berry 33-12 from beyond the arc.
The bench also came up big for the Knights, with
Jordan Scott (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy) scoring 12 points and Winkle adding nine in the win.
Varnado led the Knights with 15 points, followed by
Marcus Bult (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Academy) with 13, which included two big points on a putback with under two minutes to play. Overway and Egekeze each had 11 points, with Overway also grabbing 12 rebounds on the way to his fifth double-double of the season.
COACH'S COMMENT: "Tough win for us today," Calvin head men's basketball coach
Bill Sall said. "That was a grinder!
Marcus Bult came up big for us today with a big offensive rebound and put back at the end of the game. Great to see
Jordan Scott put together the best game of his young career. We have a much needed couple of days of practice heading into MIAA play."
NEXT UP: Calvin men's basketball moves to the start of MIAA play in the new year, starting with a road game at Albion on Thursday, January 4, that is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 PM.
