Unlike its 87-62 victory over Aquinas last Friday, Calvin had to play from behind for the majority of Tuesday night's contest.
A 13-0 run midway through the first half allowed Aquinas (5-5) to build an 12-point lead at 31-19. Calvin (4-2) roared back to within four at 39-35 but the Saints fought back with a 10-2 run to take a 49-37 halftime lead.
Junior guard Jeff Jayson was the catalyst in the first half Aquinas surge as he fired in 21 points including five triples in the opening 20 minutes.
“Aquinas dictated both offensively and defensively in the first half,”
said head coach Kevin VandeStreek. We really did a 180. In the second half, we dictated both ends of the court.”
Calvin then scored the first eight points of the second half to close to within four and stayed within striking range but was unable to get over the hump until junior Ricky Shilts ripped in a three-pointer to put the Knights up 69-68 with just over six minutes to play.
Calvin would never trail again as it received clutch buckets inside the final two minutes from forwards Dan Aultman and Josh Meckes to secure the win.
“We knew we had to play hard and dig deep in the second half, and we came out hard after half time,” said junior Andy Draayer who finished with 16 points which included a trio of three-point baskets. Over his last three games, Draayer has connected on 12 of 19 (.631) from three-point range.
Junior guard Kyle Trewhella led the team with a game high 21 points and grabbed a team high four rebounds.
Shilts put up 19 points on the board, brought down three rebounds, and dished out three assists. Aultman added 16 points on 7 of 10 shooting. Shilts was five for six from beyond the three-point line.
Meckes also grabbed a team high four rebounds and a team high two steals.
Calvin out-rebounded Aquinas, 29-25. The Knights also connected on 11 of 15 three-point attempts (.733) including a sizzling 86 percent clip in the second half.
“I knew if I kept shooting, they would fall. The big thing was waiting for the shots to come to me,” said Shilts. “It’s always better not to force it, but to look for the open shot.”
“I was really disappointed in our passion in the first half,” said VandeStreek. “I told the boys it was about passion and how bad we wanted to play.”
“Heart and passion were huge for us in the second half,” said Shilts
The Knights continue their nine-game away streak this weekend at the MIAA/CCIW Classic hosted by Wheaton College in Illinois.
Calvin will face 14th-ranked Wheaton, Friday night at 9:00 (EST) at Wheaton's King Arena with Hope slated to face 21st-ranked Carthage at 7:00 p.m. (EST) in the game preceeding.