For most of the first half, Trinity Christian (4-8) kept Calvin (5-3) at bay as the Trolls were able to score from the perimeter while the Knights struggled to adjust to the environment of the large arena.
Trailing 24-17 with just over six minutes left in the half, Calvin dug in on defense, holding the Trolls scoreless for a nine-minute span that stretched into the opening minutes of the second half. Meanwhile, Calvin's offense got untracked as the Knights scored nine unanswered points to end the first half to take a 26-24 halftime lead. The 9-0 spurt by the Knights fueled a 20-3 scoring run by Calvin as it stretched its lead to double-digits early in the second half.
Trinity was able to cut the deficit down to eight points at 69-61 inside the final minute of play but got no closer as the Knights pulled away for the win.
Calvin featured a balanced scoring attack led by junior guard Derek Griffin (Whitehall HS) who scored 20 points including four three-point field goals. Senior center Josh Meckes (Bay City) also had a big game for the Knights with 12 points and nine rebounds while sophomore guard Caleb Veldhouse (Sioux Falls, SD) had 13 points and freshman forward John Mantel (Chelsea HS) 11 points and five boards.
Senior center Eric DeVries (Unity Christian HS) and sophomore point guard Dustin Smith (Hamilton HS) added seven points apiece.
Trinity Christian College was led in defeat by junior wing Kurt Gruppen (Unity Christian HS) who pumped in a game-high 25 points including 18 in the second half. Senior point guard Nick Rykse (Tri-unity Christian HS) also had 10 points for the Trolls while senior center Ty DeWitte (Unity Christian HS) added nine points and seven boards.
Gruppen finished the game 10 of 15 from the floor including 5 of 9 from three-point range.
Calvin shot 44.7 percent overall including 60 percent in the second half when the Knights outscored the Trolls 46-39. Calvin also held a 37-36 rebounding edge and finished the game with 14 assists against only 12 turnovers.
Calvin returns to action on December 29 when it faces Wisconsin-LaCrosse in a first round game of the Mose Hole Classic hosted by the College of Wooster. The game will feature a rematch of a first round NCAA III Tournament game from a year ago. Calvin won the 2006 NCAA III Tournament meeting 79-71. Host Wooster will face Ohio Northern in the other first round game December 29.
Newspaper Box Score Calvin College vs Trinity Christian College 12/15/06 3:00 pm at United Center, Chicago Il At United Center, Chicago Il CALVIN COLLEGE 72, TRINITY CHRISTIAN COLLEGE 63 CALVIN COLLEGE (5-3) Derek Griffin 6-12 4-5 20; Caleb Veldhouse 5-10 1-2 13; Josh Meckes 6-7 0-0 12; John Mantel 4-7 2-2 11; Matt Veltema 2-6 3-4 7; Eric DeVries 2-2 3-4 7; Dustin Smith 1-7 0-0 2; Mike Zwier 0-0 0-0 0; Kyle Snoeyink 0-0 0-0 0; Tim Katt 0-0 0-0 0; Tyler Zoerhof 0-5 0-0 0; Micah Chappell 0-2 0-0 0; Mischa McCray 0-0 0-0 0; Todd Koetsier 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-59 13-17 72. TRINITY CHRISTIAN COLLEGE (4-8) Gruppen, Kurt 10-15 0-0 25; Rykse, Nick 3-4 2-2 10; DeWitte, Ty 4-10 1-2 9; Danzy, Ivan 3-8 0-0 7; Thompson, Matt 2-5 0-0 4; Porbeni, Ebiowei 1-2 1-2 3; Huizinga, Jonathan 1-10 0-0 2; Turner, Darius 1-3 0-0 2; Martin, Brad 0-3 1-2 1; Scheeringa, Austin 0-0 0-0 0; Zigterman, Peter 0-0 0-0 0; Thompson, Michael 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-60 5-8 63. Calvin College................ 26 46 - 72 Trinity Christian College..... 24 39 - 63 3-point goals-Calvin College 7-18 (Derek Griffin 4-7; Caleb Veldhouse 2-4; John Mantel 1-1; Dustin Smith 0-3; Micah Chappell 0-1; Matt Veltema 0-1; Josh Meckes 0-1), Trinity Christian College 8-20 (Gruppen, Kurt 5-9; Rykse, Nick 2-3; Danzy, Ivan 1-3; Huizinga, Jonathan 0-4; Martin, Brad 0-1). Fouled out--Calvin College-None, Trinity Christian College-None. Rebounds-Calvin College 37 (Josh Meckes 9), Trinity Christian College 36 (DeWitte, Ty 7). Assists-Calvin College 14 (Matt Veltema 3; Dustin Smith 3; Caleb Veldhouse 3), Trinity Christian College 16 (DeWitte, Ty 6). Total fouls-Calvin College 10, Trinity Christian College 15. A-1500