GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Calvin University men's basketball team jumped out to a big start and never looked back in an 87-61 win over Grace Christian University (GCU) on Friday night at Van Noord Arena.
 
Calvin (3-6) scored the game's first 13 points and led from the first possession to the last as GCU (6-6) was only able to cut its deficit into single digits for one four-minute stretch near the end of the first half.
 
Five different Calvin players scored in the first five minutes as the Knights took the early 13-0 lead, and the Knights' defense held the Tigers without a field goal for the first six minutes. GCU was able to cut the deficit to seven late in the opening half, but Uchenna Egekeze (Huntley, Ill./Huntley) made a lay-up in the final minute to push the lead back to 11 and send the Knights into halftime with a 39-28 lead.
 
Egekeze was the leader on offense in that half with 12 points on 6-6 shooting from the field, while Owen Varnado (Muskegon, Mich./Western Michigan Christian) added four points and four assists.
 
The second half was all Calvin, as the Knights got into the paint consistently and played good inside-out offense to extend their lead as high as 31 points.
 
The Knights shot 8-14 from beyond the three-point arc after the break, with Ty Horky (Manchester, Mich./Manchester/Kalamazoo College) scoring 11 of his 17 points off the bench in the second half and making both of his attempts from distance in the final 20 minutes.
 
Calvin shot 56.3 percent from the field in the second half and finished at 54.2 percent for the game. The Knights also knocked down 11 of 23 from three-point range overall and outscored the Tigers 40-22 inside the paint.
 
Egekeze made his first eight shots from the field and finished with a game-high 20 points on 9-11 shooting. Horky followed with his 17 points, and Varnado added 10 points to go with a career-high nine assists and seven rebounds.
 
11 different Calvin players scored in the game, including the first career points for JT McIllwain (Hamilton, Mich./Hamilton) and Bryce O'Mara (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) with three points apiece.
 
COACH'S COMMENT: "The game had an ebb and flow to it," Calvin head men's basketball coach Bill Sall said. "It had some good intensity in moments, and other times not as much. Offense right now sometimes looks good, and other times it's a little bit of a struggle. We're still working with that. It was a great game by (Ty) Horky. Was great to see him come in with some scoring punch and we need that as we continue on. In the second half, we got the ball inside and that helped us out a bit and we made some shots. It was a good win, but lots of stuff to work on."
 
NEXT UP: Calvin men's basketball returns to action on Saturday, December 21, when it travels to Wilmington College for a game scheduled to tip off at 3:00 PM.