GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The fourth-ranked Calvin University men's basketball team saw its comeback attempt fall short in a 74-71 loss to seventh-ranked Trine University on Wednesday night at Van Noord Arena in an MIAA battle of top-10 teams in the most recent D3hoops.com poll.

Trine (17-1, 7-0 MIAA) built a 41-31 halftime lead thanks to a big edge from the perimeter in the opening 20 minutes. While Calvin (16-2, 6-1 MIAA) missed its first eight attempts from beyond the three-point arc, the Thunder shot 7-10 from distance on the way to the 10-point halftime lead.

Jalen Overway (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) countered the Thunder outside attack with 12 points in the first half, but Trine's Fred Garland scored 12 points on 5-6 shooting, and Aidan Smylie made all three of his attempts from beyond the arc for nine points in the half.

The Thunder continued to lead by double digits for much of the second half and pushed their advantage as high as 16 points near the midway point of the half, but the Knights started to peck away at the deficit heading down the final stretch. 

With Calvin trailing 73-60 with 3:36 to play, Owen Varnado (Muskegon, Mich./Western Michigan Christian) started the comeback with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 10. The Knights continued to string together stops, and cut the deficit to 73-68 with 2:08 to play on a three-point play by Overway. 

After a pair of missed free throws that could have cut the deficit to three with under two minutes to play, the Thunder defense was strong enough down the stretch to hold off the Knights in the final minute and secure the win.

Calvin finished the game shooting 50.0 percent from the field, but the Thunder's aggressive defense frustrated the Knights into 20 turnovers that led to 22 Trine points on the other end. The Thunder also finished the game 9-20 from beyond the arc, while Calvin struggled from the free throw line (11-21).

Overway finished with a game-high 32 points to go with a career-best 17 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season. The 32 points marked the third time in the last four games (and the fifth time in his career) Overway has scored at least 30 points. He finished the night 13-16 from the field and also tied a career high with three blocks.

Varnado tied a career high with 21 points on 7-11 shooting from the field (including 5-9 from beyond the three-point arc). 

NEXT UP: Calvin men's basketball returns to action on Saturday, January 27, when it travels to Hope College for the 212th playing of The Rivalry series. That game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM.