Ranked 23rd in the latest D3hoops.com Top-25 poll, Calvin (14-4 overall, 6-1 MIAA) stretched its winning streak to five games with the win over the host Thunder (4-14 overall, 1-6 MIAA) while remaining in a tie for first place in the MIAA standings with Albion at 6-1 in the league.
Calvin entered its game with Tri-State locked in a three-way tie for first place with Albion and Adrian but the league lead has been paired down to two teams at the midway point of the MIAA regular season schedule as Adrian was defeated by Olivet 77-71 Wednesday to fall to 5-2 in league play while Albion improved to 6-1 in the conference with a 74-63 win at Kalamazoo.
Calvin used defense to gain the win over Tri-State as the Knights held the Thunder 14 points under their season scoring average, forced 18 turnovers and held Tri-State to just 41 percent field goal shooting.
Ranked third nationally in three-point field goal percentage heading into Wednesday’s game, Calvin lived up to its billing as it connected on 14 of 31 attempts from beyond the arc for a 45.2 percent three-point clip. Juniors Andy Draayer and Kyle Trewhella along with senior Brad Sall were the catalysts in Calvin’s perimeter attack as Draayer was 5 of 9 from long range; Sall 4 of 6 and Trewhella 4 of 8.
Draayer sparked a 13-2 first half Calvin run that vaulted the Knights into a double-digit lead as he connected on three triples in a two-minute span and added a pair of free throws after a Tri-State technical foul.
Tri-State would cut the lead down to seven points on two occasions but Sall would answer with back-to-back triples in the final 1:15 of the half, allowing Calvin to take a 47-37 halftime lead.
Calvin’s lead would balloon to as much as 22 points in the second half before Tri-State would gradually chip into the Calvin lead with the Thunder connecting on a three-point shot at the final buzzer to bring the final margin to eight points.
“I thought our defense tonight was terrific,” said Calvin men’s basketball coach Kevin Vande Streek. “I was extremely concerned before tonight’s game because of the way Tri-State can put points on the board. We told our players that we needed to focus on the things we could control and that was defense and rebounding. We were successful on both counts and that was the reason why we were able to come away with a win.”
Calvin held a 51-30 rebounding advantage in the contest with sophomore Josh Meckes) leading the way with 10 boards while senior Dan Aultman also ripped down seven caroms to go with 18 points.
Draayer led the Knights in scoring with 21 points off the bench while Sall had a career-high 14 points with Trewhella scoring 12 and dishing out six assists.
“With the up-tempo style that Tri-State likes to play, we knew we could get some open three-point looks off the fast-break,” said Vande Streek. “We were able to knock in our open looks from the perimeter which made for an added bonus.”
Calvin’s bench also outscored Tri-State’s reserves 49-23 with freshman Todd Koetsier and junior Brian Roelofs chipping in with six points apiece with Roelofs ripping down six boards and Roelofs picking up two assists.
Wednesday marked the first game for Roelofs since breaking his wrist in a December 3 game at Wheaton. “Koetsier and Roelofs really gave us a big lift off the bench,” said Vande Streek. “If you expect to beat a team like Tri-State, you have to have contributions from your bench and we got that tonight.”
Tri-State was led in defeat by Mo Brookins who tossed in 24 points including six three-point field goals while Aaron Rehrer had 11 points and four assists.
Calvin will now turn its attention to a Saturday contest at home against second place Adrian (5-2 MIAA). In the first meeting of the year between the two schools, Calvin pulled out a 70-69 victory on an off-balance shot by senior Ricky Shilts (Kalamazoo Central HS) in the closing seconds after the Knights had trailed by double-digits earlier in the second half.
Saturday’s game at the Calvin Fieldhouse is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Calvin vs Tri-State 01-26-05 7:30 at Hershey Hall at Tri-State University At Hershey Hall at Tri-State University CALVIN 90, TRI-STATE 82 CALVIN (14-4,6-1) Andy Draayer 6-11 4-4 21; Dan Aultman 9-14 0-0 18; Brad Sall 5-7 0-0 14; Kyle Trewhella 4-10 0-0 12; Todd Koetsier 3-5 0-0 6; Brian Roelofs 3-7 0-0 6; Ricky Shilts 2-7 0-0 5; Joel Hoekstra 2-2 0-0 4; Josh Meckes 1-3 0-0 2; Kyle Snoeyink 1-5 0-0 2; Kevin Prins 0-0 0-0 0; Josh Vriesman 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 36-73 4-4 90. TRI-STATE (4-14,1-6) Mo Brookins 8-14 2-3 24; Aaron Rehrer 3-5 2-3 11; Micah Williams 3-8 1-2 9; Brandon O'Leary 3-7 2-3 8; Adam Harkiewicz 2-6 0-0 6; Brandon Appleton 3-5 0-1 6; David Hutter 2-4 1-2 6; Zach Lear 2-2 0-0 6; Britain Flowers 1-6 0-0 3; Jeigh Krupp 1-1 0-0 2; Andre Patrick 0-3 1-4 1; Eric Koncz 0-1 0-0 0; John Moore 0-2 0-0 0; Greg Ripple 0-1 0-0 0; Thad Richardson 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-67 9-18 82. Calvin........................ 47 43 - 90 Tri-State..................... 37 45 - 82 3-point goals-Calvin 14-31 (Andy Draayer 5-9; Kyle Trewhella 4-8; Brad Sall 4-6; Ricky Shilts 1-5; Kyle Snoeyink 0-1; Josh Vriesman 0-2), Tri-State 17-38 (Mo Brookins 6-11; Aaron Rehrer 3-5; Zach Lear 2-2; Adam Harkiewicz 2-6; Micah Williams 2-4; Britain Flowers 1-4; David Hutter 1-1; Eric Koncz 0-1; John Moore 0-1; Andre Patrick 0-1; Brandon Appleton 0-1; Brandon O'Leary 0-1). Fouled out--Calvin-None, Tri-State-None. Rebounds-Calvin 51 (Josh Meckes 10), Tri-State 30 (Brandon O'Leary 4). Assists-Calvin 28 (Kyle Trewhella 6), Tri-State 15 (Mo Brookins 5). Total fouls-Calvin 16, Tri-State 12. A-200