ANGOLA, Ind. - The 10th-ranked Calvin University men's basketball team defeated seventh-ranked Trine University in overtime by the score of 73-66 to secure a share of the MIAA regular season championship on Saturday. 

The battle of top 10 teams saw Trine (22-3, 12-2 MIAA) looking to clinch the outright conference title, while Calvin (22-3, 12-2) looked to secure a share at the top of the league standings with a win.

The Knights held a small lead for much of the opening half, but the Thunder ran off the last four points in the final two minutes to take a 31-30 halftime lead.

Uchenna Egekeze (Huntley, Ill./Huntley) scored eight points to lead the Knights, who shot 48.0 percent from the field, while the Thunder took advantage of 10 second-chance points to help them to the one-point edge at the break.

The two teams traded the lead back and forth to start the second half before back-to-back three pointers from Trevin Winkle (McBain, Mich./Northern Michigan Christian) pushed the Knights in front 50-48 with 11:25 to play.

Neither team could shake the other the rest of the way, as Jalen Overway (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) made a lay-up with 50 seconds left to push the Knights in front 60-58, but two free throws by Cortez Garland with 28 seconds sent the game into overtime after a game-winning attempt from three-point range by Marcus Bult (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Academy) did not fall for the Knights.

In the extra period, Owen Varnado (Muskegon, Mich./Western Michigan Christian) scored four quick points to give the Knights the early edge, and a strong defensive effort held the Thunder without a field goal for the first four minutes after Calvin built a 69-61 lead. The Thunder cut the deficit to five with one minute to play, but four free throws by Luka Ressler (Caledonia, Mich./Catholic Central) in the final minute clinched the win and the share of the MIAA title for the Knights. 

The two teams were even on the stat sheet in many categories, but the Knights finished the overtime period 3-4 from the field while holding the Thunder to just 2-9 from the field. 

Overway led Calvin with 19 points (9-15 shooting) as he reached the 1,000 career points milestone for his career. Overway also added seven rebounds. 

Egekeze added 17 points and eight rebounds, and moved into 20th place in program history with 1,103 career points, passing both Kim Campbell and Jim Timmer on the all-time list. 

Ressler finished with 13 points, while Bult added eight points to go with his team-high 10 rebounds. 

The MIAA regular season championship was the 33rd in Calvin men's basketball program history. 

COACH'S COMMENT: "That was a really good college basketball game between two very good teams," Calvin head men's basketball coach Bill Sall said. "We had just enough to get the win. Really proud of our guys and their amazing effort and composure. So many amazing performances by our team but really want to recognize our seniors. What a great run these last three years! Back-to-back MIAA championships is really special."

NEXT UP: Calvin men's basketball returns to action on Friday, February 23, when it plays in the semifinal round of the MIAA Men's Basketball Tournament.