Making its sixth appearance in the Thanksgiving weekend classic in downtown Grand Rapids, Calvin advanced to its sixth tournament final with an 87-62 victory in front of more than 2,300 fans at the Van Andel Arena.
Calvin is 6-0 in first round games of the Select Bank Classic and 8-3 in the tournament all-time. Calvin is 2-3 in Select Bank Classic championship games, winning tournament titles in 1999 and 2000. A year ago, Calvin fell to Grand Valley State in the championship game 76-72.
Calvin is now 4-0 against Aquinas in Select Bank Tournament play and will face Cornerstone in the championship game Saturday night at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday’s championship game will pit the two East Beltline rivals in the tournament final for the third time in the last five years with the two schools splitting the two prior meetings in the championship game. Calvin edged Cornerstone 85-81 in the 2000 tournament final with Cornerstone edging Calvin 90-84 in the 2001 title tilt.
Calvin is 3-1 lifetime against Cornerstone in the Select Bank Classic including a 95-81 win in the first round last year.
In its victory over Aquinas (5-3) Saturday afternoon, Calvin (3-1) used a 12-0 run midway through the first half to build a 24-18 lead after the Knights trailed through the game’s opening 10 minutes. Junior forward Joel Hoekstra gave the Knights a lead at 21-18 on a three-pointer during the run and Calvin would never trail again.
The Knights were able to stretch the lead to 45-31 at halftime and continued to roll in the second half.
Calvin finished the game with a red-hot 58.6 percent shooting clip including 64.3 percent in the second half which matched the Select Bank Tournament record for best field goal percentage in a half, originally set by Hope in a victory over Cornerstone in 1996.
Meanwhile, Calvin’s defense limited Aquinas to just 36 percent shooting while also forcing 19 turnovers. Calvin would score 27 of its points of Aquinas turnovers. Calvin’s bench also played a big role in the victory as 39 of its points came from its reserves.
Calvin placed five players in double figures in scoring with junior Andy Draayer leading the way with 14 points off the bench that included four three-point field goals. Sophomore Josh Meckes also collected a career-high 13 points while swatting away three shots and collecting two steals. Senior point guard Ricky Shilts was next with 12 points and four assists with junior Kyle Trewhella and freshman Brandon Gerth adding 10 points apiece. The 10-point output was a career-high for Gerth who made his collegiate debut in Friday’s win.
Aquinas was led in defeat by Damien May with 10 points.
In Friday’s other first round game, 17th-ranked Cornerstone (NAIA Division II) defeated Hope 79-73.
Hope will face Aquinas in the consolation game Saturday night at 6:00 p.m.