ALLIANCE, Ohio – The eighth-ranked Calvin University men's basketball team opened the M Club Classic hosted by University of Mount Union with an 87-78 win over Wilmington College on Monday.
 
Calvin (8-2) pulled away early in the second half from Wilmington (4-6) after leading by six points at the half with the help of strong performances from Jalen Overway (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian), Trevin Winkle (McBain, Mich./Northern Michigan Christian), Jordan Scott (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy) and Luka Ressler (Caledonia, Mich./Catholic Central).
 
The Knights led for much of the first half on the strength of Overway's 11 early points and eight rebounds, but the Quakers kept within striking distance as their full court pressure defense helped to force 11 Calvin turnovers.
 
Calvin shot 48.4 percent from the field in the opening half on the way to a 41-35 lead, with Scott adding nine points and Winkle chipping in seven of his own.
 
Wilmington cut the Calvin lead to 42-40 early in the second half, but the Knights responded with a 14-2 run to extend the lead to 56-42. The run started with a three-pointer from Brady Ewing (Petoskey, Mich./Petoskey), and Ressler capped it with three consecutive three-pointers to push the Calvin lead to 14.
 
The Knights continued to lead by double figures the rest of the way, with the Quakers only able to cut their deficit as low as eight points over the final 16 minutes, and Calvin put the game away down the stretch with tough drives to the rim by Scott and Parker Swartz (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview/Ohio Dominican) for six points in the final four minutes.
 
Calvin shot 51.6 percent from the field in the second half and made five three-pointers over the final 20 minutes. Overway led the second-half charge with 14 more points, while Winkle contributed 12 more to his total.
 
The Knights dominated the glass and outrebounded the Quakers 48-28 while outscoring Wilmington 15-5 in second-chance points. Calvin also outscored Wilmington 42-34 in the paint.
 
Overway finished with a game-high 25 points and 18 rebounds while shooting 10-13 from the field. He also added five assists and three blocks while controlling much of the game and helping the Knights with critical plays on both ends.
 
Winkle finished with 19 points and six rebounds, while Scott added 15 points. Ressler finished the night with nine points and four assists to go with two steals.
 
COACH'S COMMENT: "Good win! Really physical basketball game," Calvin head coach Bill Sall said. "I thought Wilmington did a good job of taking us out of our offense and hit some tough shots. We had a number of guys step up. Jalen with a monster game. Luka hit some huge shots in the beginning of the second half. Trevin was his normal, consistent player and so huge in every phase. Jordan Scott made some big plays down the stretch to get us the win. Short rest before a huge game against Mount Union tomorrow."
 
NEXT UP: Calvin men's basketball returns to action on tomorrow (Tuesday, December 30) when it faces ninth-ranked University of Mount Union in a battle of top 10 teams scheduled to tip off at 3:00 PM.