The victory was Calvin's first regular season win over Albion since the 2000-2001 season and its first regular season win over Albion at the Calvin Fieldhouse since the 1999-2000 season. In addition, Calvin snapped a four-game losing skid against the Britons while also ending Albion's current five-game win streak. Prior to Wednesday night, Calvin's last victory over Albion had been a 69-61 win the 2002 MIAA Tournament semifinals.
The game was evenly matched through the first 8 minutes of play, as each team struggled to generate any offense and Calvin (12-8, 5-3 MIAA) led just 15-13 at the 12 minute mark. From there it was all Knights, and Calvin broke away from Albion (14-6, 5-3 MIAA), outscoring them 29-7 over the next 12 minutes to take a 44-20 lead into the break. The Knights blanketing defense forced the Britons to shoot a dismal 26.5% (9-34) from the floor in the first half, while Calvin connected on 53% (18-34) of its shots.
The collective hot hand of the Knights never cooled in the second half, as they traded buckets with the Britons before pulling away for good in near the 10 minute mark. Calvin used consecutive 7-0 and 10-0 runs to take a commanding 72-38 lead with 10 ½ minutes to go. The Knights took their largest lead of the night on a Mike Natelborg three-pointer with just under a minute remaining that extended the lead to 37 at 100-63.
The Knights were a sizzling 59%(17-29) from the field in the second stanza, while Albion improved to 46% (15-33).
Calvin connected on 56% of its shots from the field, including 56% (9-16) from beyond the arc. The Knights were nearly perfect from the free-throw line on 21 of 22 (95.5%) shooting, while Albion ended the game with 36% shooting from the field. Calvin outrebounded the Britons 43-27, with senior Ryan Smalligan pulling down 9 boards.
Junior Dan Aultman led the Knights with 28 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe. Senior Kevin Broene added 17 points, while sophomore Brian Roelofs matched a career-high with 9 points.
The Britons had two players in double-figures, as senior Sean Davis netted 17 points and junior Michael Thomas added 10.
Calvin returns to action this coming Saturday in a Homecoming game against Kalamazoo at 3 pm. The Knights have dropped two consecutive Homecoming match-ups but still maintain a 13-2 record over the last 15 Homecoming games. Both losses came at the hands of Albion. In their last meeting with Kalamazoo, Calvin came away with its first victory at the Anderson Athletic Center in four trips, topping the Hornets 78-62.
Albion College vs Calvin College 02/04/04 7:30 at Grand Rapids, MI At Grand Rapids, MI CALVIN COLLEGE 100, ALBION COLLEGE 65 ALBION COLLEGE (14-6, 5-3 MIAA) Sean Davis 6-13 1-1 17; Michael Thomas 3-13 4-4 10; Brandon Crawford 3-6 3-6 9; Garrett Gibbons 3-6 0-0 8; Travis DePree 3-7 0-0 6; Zachary Silas 0-2 3-4 3; Rick Palmer 1-3 0-0 2; Marcus Gill 1-4 0-0 2; Jeff Burgess 1-5 0-0 2;Will Braaksma 1-1 0-0 2; Jamison Turnbull 1-1 0-0 2; Mike Bailey 1-3 0-0 2; Joe Finland 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 24-67 11-15 65. CALVIN COLLEGE (12-8, 5-3 MIAA) Dan Aultman 9-16 10-10 28; Kevin Broene 6-11 4-5 17; Brian Roelofs 4-5 1-1 9; Kyle Trewhella 3-4 0-0 8; Andy Draayer 2-4 0-0 6; Jeremy Burgin 2-2 0-0 6; Chris Prins 3-8 0-0 6; Ricky Shilts 1-3 2-2 5; Mike Natelborg 1-2 2-2 5; Josh Meckes 2-3 0-0 4; Ryan Smalligan 1-1 0-0 2; Joel Hoekstra 1-3 0-0 2; Josh Vriesman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 35-63 21-22 100. Albion College................ 20 45 - 65 Calvin College................ 44 56 - 100 3-point goals-Albion College 6-23 (Sean Davis 4-10; Garrett Gibbons 2-4; Rick Palmer 0-2; Marcus Gill 0-1; Jeff Burgess 0-2; Michael Thomas 0-4), Calvin College 9-16 (Andy Draayer 2-4; Kyle Trewhella 2-3; Jeremy Burgin 2-2; Kevin Broene 1-2; Ricky Shilts 1-2; Mike Natelborg 1-2; Dan Aultman 0-1). Fouled out--Albion College-None, Calvin College-None. Rebounds-Albion College 27 (Michael Thomas 7), Calvin College 43 (Ryan Smalligan 9). Assists-Albion College 13 (Travis DePree 4), Calvin College 22 (Dan Aultman 4). Total fouls-Albion College 20, Calvin College 15. A-2101 Calvin breaks 4-game losing streak. Calvin also snaps Albion's current 5-game winning streak. 1st regular season Calvin win vs. Albion at Fieldhouse since 1999-2000 season.