The Knights did not start strong as Kalamazoo jumped out to an 11-5 lead on a bucket by the Hornet’s Chris Elliott. The Hornets extended the lead to as big as eight points on two occasions before the Knights came roaring back. Down by eight points with 9:20 left in the first half, Calvin responded with a 23-10 run to end the first half and take a five point advantage into halftime, 47-42. During that stretch the Knights received scoring help from seven different players, including ten points combined for seniors Chris Prins and Kevin Broene.
Prins finished with a game-high 23 points on 11-of-12 from the free throw line and added five steals. The scoring effort set a season-high and tied a career-high. Broene, who moved into 15th place on the Calvin all-time scoring list (1,025 career points), notched 10 points.
The last fifteen minutes of the game proved to be the time where Calvin would dominate. After Kalamazoo’s Tim Herman knocked in a triple to bring the Hornets within four points at 57-53 with 15:24 left in regulation, Calvin just took over. Using solid defense and red-hot offense the Knights put together a 31-3 run over the course of 10:27 to put the game out of reach. The run included 13 unanswered points, followed by a Kalamazoo triple, and then 18 consecutive Calvin points.
The game marked the last Calvin Fieldhouse appearance for seniors Prins, Broene, Ryan Smalligan, and Mike Natelborg. Smalligan finished with two points, six rebounds, and four blocked shots while Natelborg added four points, three rebounds, and two steals.
Calvin junior Ricky Shilts amassed 14 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Sophomore Joel Hoekstra notched 12 points on 5-of-six shooting from the floor. Sophomore Brian Roelofs, in his first collegiate start, added eight points and four rebounds.
The rest of the MIAA Tournament will take place at the Holland Civic Center with the semi-finals on Friday and the finals featuring the winner of Albion/Calvin and Hope/Adrian at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday evening.
OTHER MIAA SCORES
Hope (1) – bye
Albion (2) 94, Alma (7) 52
Adrian (4) 87, Olivet (5) 67
Semi-finals on Friday 2-27-04 (Holland Civic Center)
Albion (2) vs. Calvin (3) 6:00 p.m.
Hope (1) vs. Adrian (4) 8:15 p.m.