By JEFF FEBUS
 
Like a free safety anticipating a pass through the slot, Calvin senior Uchenna Egekeze darted in front of a Hope pass Wednesday night, grabbed the basketball and steamed for the basket. Like he has done so many times before, the Huntley High School graduate soared through the air and flushed a two-hand slam dunk through the basket for two points, bringing a boisterous Calvin crowd to its feet.

This dunk was a bit different however. This dunk hit the 1,000 point plateau for Egekeze's career, making him the 28^th player in the illustrious history of Calvin men's basketball to do so.

His steal and subsequent second half dunk helped Calvin gain an all-important 69-61 round one rivalry win over Hope College Wednesday evening as the fourth-ranked Knights improved to 15-1 overall and to 5-0 in the MIAA.

A native of Huntley, Illinois, Egekeze finished the night with eight points, eight rebounds three assists, two blocked shots and one steal. At the conclusion of the game, he moved into a tie for 27^th place on the Calvin career scoring list with 2005 graduate Dan Aultman who like Egekeze, has 1,005 career points.

When asked about getting to the one-thousand point plateau on a steal and dunk, Egekeze gave his patented soft smile and offered words of thanks. "It was a very cool moment," said Egekeze. "The energy tonight in the building was crazy. I just got a tip on it (the pass). I'm just very grateful. I appreciate the fans for coming out and making it a great moment. It was a great feeling."

Egekeze has been a two-time MIAA Defensive Player of the Year selection. As a sophomore he was named to the All-MIAA Second Team and as a junior he was named to the All-MIAA First Team.

"Uchenna is the first player I've coached at Calvin to reach 1,000 points and we are all extremely proud of him," said Calvin head men's basketball coach Bill Sall. "The thing about 'Chen' is that he does so many other things besides scoring. He defends, he rebounds, he gets the ball to the basket and provides energy. He scores points but that's not the only thing he can do and that's what make him such a special player."

A special player offered words on a special rivalry with Calvin winning the 211^th meeting between the two teams Wednesday.

"It's two teams that know what the moment is," said Egekeze. "It's two teams that want to battle and give it their all. You never really know what to expect (in this rivalry). You just have to step into the moment and play hard to the best of your ability. That's what makes this rivalry tough. Hope can come out swinging and then that means we have to respond. That's what so great about a rivalry. It's two great teams wanting to give it their all."

Calvin Men's Basketball All-Time 1,000 Point Scorers