WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. – The eighth-ranked Calvin University men's basketball team closed the DIII Invitational Tournament at Justagame Fieldhouse with an 80-71 win over Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) on Saturday night.
 
Calvin (7-2) led for most of the way with the help of a strong defensive effort that held CUW (5-7) to 3-17 shooting from beyond the three-point line and 41.0 percent from the field overall.
 
The Knights trailed by as many as three early in the first half but built a lead as big as 10 at 35-25 with 2:50 to play before the Falcons closed the half with a 10-3 run to cut the Calvin lead to 38-35 at the break.
 
Trevin Winkle (McBain, Mich./Northern Michigan Christian) led the Knights with 14 points in the first half and Parker Swartz (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview/Ohio Dominican) chipped in eight points and made a pair of three-pointers to help the Knights to the lead.
 
The Knights came out of the locker room strong to start the second half, making a 14-4 run over the first 4:15 of the half to build a 13-point lead. Jordan Scott (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy) came up big during the run with two three-pointers and another lay-up to lead the charge.
 
Calvin kept the lead in double figures for much of the second half but the Falcons made a run to cut the lead to five with just over a minute to play before the Knights closed out the game with lay-ups from Swartz and Zion Ruckard (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest/St. Thomas Aquinas) and a pair of free throws from Swartz in the final minute.
 
Swartz led the second-half scoring effort with 11 points and also played strong on the defensive end, helping to hold CUW guard Casey Verhagen to nine points on 4-12 shooting in the half after scoring 18 points in the first half.  
 
Calvin finished the night shooting 49.2 percent from the field overall and 8-25 from beyond the three-point arc, while also recording 20 assists against only six turnovers.
 
Swartz led four Knights in double figures with 19 points. Winkle finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Jalen Overway (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) scored 15 points to go with 12 rebounds and six assists. Scott finished with 12 points and three assists.
 
COACH'S COMMENT: "Good win going into break," Calvin head coach Bill Sall said. "Good to see Parker (Swartz) have a huge second half on the offensive end, and he did an amazing job defensively. Good to see balanced scoring with four players in double figures. I thought Jordan Scott came through with eight straight points to start the second half. Always nice to go into Christmas break with a win. Will be nice to have some time off before our final tournament at Mount Union. Merry Christmas from the Calvin men's basketball program!"
 
NEXT UP: Calvin men's basketball returns to action on December 29 when it starts a two-day tournament at University of Mount Union with a game against Wilmington College.