GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The 12th-ranked Calvin University men's basketball team defeated Adrian College 77-51 thanks to a big second-half performance on Saturday at Van Noord Arena.
 
Calvin (18-3, 8-2 MIAA) started slow on the offensive end, but finished the first half on a 10-2 run to take a 29-20 lead into halftime.
 
Jalen Overway (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) fought through a host of Adrian (6-15, 4-6 MIAA) defenders down low for 10 first-half points, while Trip Riemersma (Holland, Mich./Zeeland East/SVSU) gave the Knights a boost off the bench with five points.
 
The Knights would continue that momentum to start the second half, outscoring the Bulldogs 24-5 over the first eight minutes of the half. Matt Ambrose (Kildeer, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) capped the run with back-to-back three-pointers to push the Calvin lead to 53-25 with just under 12 minutes to play. During the eight-minute stretch, the Calvin defense held the Bulldogs to 2-11 shooting while forcing four turnovers that led to multiple transition baskets on the other end.
 
After shooting 2-11 from beyond the three-point arc in the first half, the Knights went 7-16 from distance in the second half as they cruised to the win. Ambrose and Owen Varnado (Muskegon, Mich./Western Michigan Christian) each made a pair of threes in the second half, while Marcus Bult (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Academy), Brady Ewing (Petoskey, Mich./Petoskey) and Gabe Dirksen (Davis, Calif./Jesuit) also got into the act with one made three-pointer apiece.
 
Calvin outscored the Bulldogs from long and short distance. The Knights finished with a 27-15 edge from three-point range, as well as a 34-24 advantage from inside the paint.
 
Overway was the lone Calvin player in double figures with 16 points on 7-12 shooting from the field.
 
While no other Calvin player reached double figures, 14 of the 16 players who got into the game scored at least two points, and the Knights' reserve unit outscored the Adrian bench 37-28.
 
Overway also led the Knights with nine rebounds. Uchenna Egekeze (Huntley, Ill./Huntley) finished with five assists and two steals.
 
COACH'S COMMENT: "I thought in the first half the defense was pretty solid," Calvin head men's basketball coach Bill Sall said. "And then in the second half, we just did a great job locking down (defensively). We got some big transition baskets, and we were able to really capitalize on some situations. I was really happy that we only turned it over twice in the second half, which was good. So overall, it was a good performance and the kind of thing you need to be able to do at this time of the year in the league."
 
NEXT UP: Calvin men's basketball returns to action on Wednesday, February 7, when it hosts The University of Olivet in a game at Van Noord Arena scheduled to tip off at 7:30 PM.