KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The 16th-ranked Calvin University men's basketball team scored another road win early in the MIAA season by a final score of 81-47 at Kalamazoo College on Wednesday night.
 
Calvin (11-3, 3-0 MIAA) led from the opening tip and put together a defensive effort that held Kalamazoo (3-11, 0-3 MIAA) to 23.3 percent shooting overall and 16.7 percent (5-30) from beyond the three-point arc.
 
The Knights were on top of things from the start as they opened the game with a 12-0 run over the opening six minutes. Four Calvin starters scored during the run with Jalen Overway (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) leading the way with four early points before the Hornets finally got on the board at the 13:31 mark of the half.
 
Kalamazoo cut the Calvin lead to eight at 27-19 with under four minutes remaining in the half, but the Knights answered with a 9-0 run to close the half with a 36-19 lead. Overway and Luka Ressler (Caledonia, Mich./Catholic Central) paced Calvin early with eight first-half points while Trevin Winkle (McBain, Mich./Northern Michigan Christian) and Brady Ewing (Petoskey, Mich./Petoskey) each chipped in six points. On the defensive end, Calvin held the Hornets to 17.1 percent from the field and 3-21 from beyond the three-point arc in the half.
 
The second half was more of the same as Calvin continued to slow the Kalamazoo offense while Overway led the Knights on the offensive end. After making all four of his field goal attempts in the opening half, Overway went 6-6 from the field and 5-6 from the free throw line after the break for 17 second-half points.
 
Justin McIllwain (Holland, Mich./Hamilton) helped out on the offensive end in the second half with nine points as Calvin shot 55.6 percent from the field and made 12 of its 13 attempts from inside the arc on the way to the win.
 
Calvin shot 54.7 percent from the field for the game with the help of a perfect 10-10 shooting night from Overway, who finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season (39th of his career). For the game, Calvin made 20 of 25 attempts from two-point range and outscored the Hornets 36-12 in the paint.
 
Winkle joined Overway in double figures with 10 points to go with four assists. Ressler finished with nine points, five assists and three steals. The Calvin bench combined for 29 points, led by nine from McIllwain and eight from Ewing.
 
COACH'S COMMENT: "Good road win," Calvin head coach Bill Sall said. "Nice to see our bench guys play well. Good to see the group pick up their defensive intensity tonight. Really happy with our grit. Too many offensive rebounds in the first half, but we we answered the bell in the second half."
 
NEXT UP: Calvin men's basketball returns home on Saturday, January 17, when it hosts Albion College for a 3:00 PM tip at Van Noord Arena.