HOLLAND, Mich. – Calvin got back in the thick of the MIAA title hunt with an emphatic 80-65 rivalry victory in front of a sellout crowd of 3,235 fans at Hope Saturday night. The victory creates a three-way tie for first place in the MIAA standings with Calvin handing Hope its first conference loss. The Knights and Flying Dutchmen are now lodged in a three-way tie for first place in the MIAA table with Olivet as all three schools have 5-1 records, one game ahead of 4-2 Trine. Calvin will host Olivet next Wednesday night to complete the first half of its MIAA regular season campaign.

Ranked 15^th nationally, Calvin (13-4 overall) outscored Hope 46-29 in the second half including 27-16 over the final 10 minutes to secure the win.

The Knights jumped out to an early 8-0 lead but the Flying Dutchmen (10-7 overall) countered with hot perimeter shooting and several transition layups to build a 30-18 lead with 6:28 remaining in the first half.  Calvin closed the half on an 16-6 run that included key triples from sophomore Justin McIIlwain (Hamilton, Mich./Hamilton HS) and graduate student Zion Ruckard (Aurora, Colo./Eaglecrest ). The run was capped off by a layup in traffic by senior Jalen Overway (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian HS) that closed the deficit to 36-34 at the break.

Overway opened the second half with a triple from the left side and the Knights began to percolate. A power-move inside by junior Parker Swartz (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northview HS) put the Knights up 39-36. After Hope came back to tie the game at 39, senior Trevin Winkle (McBain, Mich./Northern Michigan Christian) splashed a jumper from 17 feet and Swartz followed with a left wing 3-pointer that gave the Knights a 44-39 advantage and a burst of momentum.

Ruckard later ignited a 9-2 Calvin run with another 3-pointer that helped lift the Knights into a 53-44 advantage.

A steal by Winkle led to a fast-break layup by Ruckard to boost the Knights into a 59-49 lead with 7:56 left. Hope got no closer than nine the rest of the way as Calvin pulled away for the win.

Overway led all scorers with 21 points and 16 rebounds as he notched his 12^th double-double of the season including the 41^st of his Calvin career. He also moved past Tom Snikker and into 11^th place on the Calvin career scoring list, boosting his career scoring total to 1,476 points. His 16 rebound mark was one shy of matching a career high as he boosted his career rebounding total to 782 boards, allowing him to move into sixth place on the Calvin career list.

All five of Calvin's starters notched double-digits in scoring with Winkle, McIIIWain and senior Luka Ressler (Caledonia, Mich./Grand Rapids Catholic Central HS) all notching 13 points. Swartz added 10 points. Ressler ripped down a career-high nine rebounds. Ruckard had eight points off the bench.

Hope was led in defeat by Marcus Wourman with 16 points while Brendan Cargill had 13 and Justice Mims 11.

Calvin shot 48.4 percent from the floor overall including 54.5 percent in the second half. Calvin held a 43-33 rebounding edge while limiting Hope to 34.5 percent field goal shooting including just 23.3 percent in the second half. Calvin outscored Hope 42-26 in the paint and tallied 21 second-chance points off 11 offensive rebounds.

Saturday's game marked the 217^th meeting between the two rivals with Hope still leading the all-time series 111-106 but with Calvin having won the last four meetings. The Knights now enjoy a 14-point overall lead in the all-time points standings between the two schools. Calvin head coach Bill Sall is now 8-8 coaching against Hope including 4-3 at DeVos Fieldhouse. Hope still holds a 15-13 series edge over Calvin in games played at DeVos Fieldhouse.

COACHES COMMENT: "I thought this game was just a physical battle but our seniors know what this game is all about and really had us focused on the job at hand," said Calvin head men's basketball coach Bill Sall. "Hope has so many dynamic players that can get down hill to the basket. Our goal was to pack the paint and protect the rim. I think we did a good job of that overall. They (Hope) took advantage by making some outside shots in the first half but we our guys stuck with it and turned the momentum around. It's a big win because it gets us back in a share of first place in the conference standings. We have another huge game in front of us next Wednesday."

NEXT UP: Calvin will host Olivet next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in a first place MIAA showdown at Van Noord Arena.