GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Calvin University men's basketball team opened MIAA play with a 76-58 win over Albion College on Wednesday at Van Noord Arena.
 
Calvin (6-6, 1-0 MIAA) struggled on the offensive end to start as the Knights missed their first eight attempts from beyond the three-point arc while Albion (5-7, 0-1 MIAA) built an early 14-8 lead, but Calvin pushed its way back into the game and looked to be heading into the half on a roll with a 35-25 edge with 1:37 to play.
 
The Britons closed the half on an 8-0 run, however, closing the Knights' lead to two at 35-33 heading into the break. Owen Varnado (Muskegon, Mich./Western Michigan Christian) and Trevin Winkle (McBain, Mich./Northern Michigan Christian) led the Knights with nine first-half points.
 
The Knights started to get the offense going in the second half as they pushed the tempo and got the ball into the paint more as they rebuilt the lead back into double digits at 49-39 with 13:23 to play.
 
Calvin continued to roll from there, outscoring the Britons 15-4 over the next five minutes to push the lead to 64-43 and never looked back on the way to the win.
 
After shooting 45.2 percent in the first half, Calvin shot 59.3 percent in the second half and made four of 11 from beyond the three-point line after the break.
 
On defense, the Knights held the Britons to 40.0 percent shooting and forced 19 turnovers, which they turned into 24 points on the offensive end. Calvin also dominated inside, outscoring Albion 42-22 in the paint.
 
Varnado finished with a game-high 17 points to go with five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Winkle added 16 points and nine rebounds, while Luka Ressler (Caledonia, Mich./Catholic Central) finished with 11 points, six assists and three steals.
 
COACH'S COMMENT: "They (Albion) do a great job of mucking it up a little bit, to their credit," Calvin head men's basketball coach Bill Sall said. "It was a good second half effort holding them to 25 points. At the beginning of the game we kind of fell in love with the three a little bit and they were open, but we've got to get the ball inside. In the second half, we got downhill a little more and shot 59 percent. I thought Trevin did a great job of getting downhill tonight, and I thought Owen did some good things, as well."
 
NEXT UP: Calvin men's basketball will return to action on Saturday, January 11, when it travels to Kalamazoo College for a game scheduled to tip off at 1:00 PM.