Just 10 days earlier, Aquinas (6-4) had handed Calvin an 86-71 defeat in the consolation game of the Select Bank Hall of Fame Classic but on Tuesday night, Calvin turned the tables with smothering second half defense.
Trailing 31-30 at halftime, Calvin (6-3) held Aquinas to just 33.3 percent field goal shooting over the final 20 minutes of play while also forcing the Saints into 11 second half turnovers including 21 overall.
On offense, Calvin used a 26-5 second half run over the final 11 minutes of play to take control of the game. Junior forward Kyle Snoeyink and freshman point guard Caleb Veldhouse were the catalysts in the run with Snoeyink scoring 10 of Calvin’s final 26 points while Veldhouse was able to penetrate and find Snoeyink on several plays inside. Senior Kyle Trewhella also connected on a pair of three-pointers in the run. Senior Andy Draayer also had a big three-ball down the stretch, splashing home a triple from the right wing that gave the Knights a 60-51 lead with 5:40 left to play.
Snoeyink finished the game with a career-high 18 points with 14 coming in the second half. Veldhouse was next with 16 points on seven of nine shooting while also handing out four assists and grabbing four boards. Trewhella added 12 points, four assists and two blocked shots whle Draayer had 10 points and five boards. Junior center Josh Meckes chipped in with eight points, four rebounds and a blocked shot.
Jeff Jayson and Damien Mayo paced Aquinas with 15 points apiece.
Aquinas was bidding to sweep a two-game series from Calvin in the same year for the first time since the 1983-84 season. Calvin has swept Aquinas six times over the last 20 years with the last time coming a year ago when the Knights defeated Aquinas 87-62 and 86-74. Calvin has won four of its last seven games at the Aquinas College Fieldhouse. Tuesday’s game marked the 80th meeting between Calvin and Aquinas. After Tuesday’s game, Calvin leads the all-time series 59-21.
Calvin returns to action on December 30 when it travels to Denver, Colorado. The Knights will face Regis University at 9:00 p.m. (EST).