Tying four times within the first nine minutes of play, Calvin and Olivet remained close in scoring. However, after a tip-in by junior Josh Meckes put Calvin within one, 17-18, a Comet 11-3 streak that included three Olivet three-pointers gave Olivet a 29-20 lead. The Comets extended that lead to ten, 34-24, off another three-point goal by De’Andre Pruitt, who sunk yet another three with 1:30 left in the half to reestablish that 10-point lead. Olivet connected on seven three-pointers in the half. Calvin senior Kyle Trewhella closed the half with two made jumpers, allowing the Knights to edge within six points of the Comets at 41-35.
Olivet (5-11 overall, 1-4 MIAA) opened up the second half with five straight points, giving the Comets their largest lead yet, 46-35. Over the next seven minutes, however, Calvin staged an amazing offensive comeback that was capped off by a three-pointer from the hands of freshman Caleb Veldhouse that tied the score at 52-52. The score tied two more times, at 56 and 60, before Calvin would take its first lead since the 15:00 mark in the first half.
Again, it was a Veldhouse three-pointer that gave the Knights the boost. With 5:30 left to play, Calvin led 63-30. Veldhouse was the solo scorer for the Knights in the next 2:30, putting up two free-throws and two jumpers: enough to keep Calvin’s lead. That lead deteriorated into the eighth tie of the game when, with only 1:30 left in the game, Olivet tied Calvin at 69 on a free throw by Robert Banks. Junior Kyle Snoeyink connected on two free-throws to put Calvin up 71-69 with under a minute to play. Olivet’s Greg Ravy then tied the game for the ninth time at 71 with a made lay-up after grabbing a rebound off his own miss. Twenty-three seconds were left on the clock. After a strategic Calvin time-out, Veldhouse again stepped up big for Calvin, sinking a step-back jumper from 18 feet with 1.6 seconds left in regulation time, giving the Knights the close 73-71 victory.
Veldhouse led Calvin with 20 points, connecting on four three-pointers. Snoeyink followed with 14 points and nine rebounds and Trewhella had 12 points.
For the Comets, De’Andre Clement and De’Andre Pruitt scored 17 points apiece, and together sunk seven three-point shots.
Calvin has now won its last 16 meetings with Olivet which was bidding to defeat the Knights at the Calvin Fieldhouse for the first time since 1986.
The win allowed Calvin to remain tied for second place in the MIAA with Hope, while Albion remains undefeated in MIAA play. Calvin will face first-place and third-ranked Albion on the road Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Olivet College vs Calvin College 1/18/06 8:00 pm at at Calvin Fieldhouse At at Calvin Fieldhouse CALVIN COLLEGE 73, OLIVET COLLEGE 71 OLIVET COLLEGE (5-11, 1-4 MIAA) De'Andre Clement 7-12 0-0 17; De'Andre Pruitt 6-11 1-2 17; Jeff Cooper 2-4 3-6 9; Gerald Dozie 3-7 2-2 8; Robert Banks 2-5 3-4 7; Greg Ravy 3-6 0-4 6; Derek Kurtz 2-5 1-1 5; Antonio Higginbotham 1-3 0-0 2; Eric McCoy 0-0 0-0 0; Matt Ponik 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-54 10-19 71. CALVIN COLLEGE (11-5, 4-1 MIAA) Caleb Veldhouse 7-13 2-2 20; Kyle Snoeyink 4-7 6-6 14; Kyle Trewhella 6-9 0-0 12; Eric DeVries 4-5 1-2 9; Josh Meckes 4-9 0-2 8; Tyler Zoerhof 1-2 2-2 4; Micah Chappell 2-4 0-1 4; Dustin Smith 1-3 0-0 2; Andy Draayer 0-10 0-0 0; Kevin Prins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-62 11-15 73. Olivet College................ 41 30 - 71 Calvin College................ 35 38 - 73 3-point goals-Olivet College 9-20 (De'Andre Pruitt 4-8; De'Andre Clement 3-5; Jeff Cooper 2-3; Derek Kurtz 0-2; Matt Ponik 0-1; Robert Banks 0-1), Calvin College 4-17 (Caleb Veldhouse 4-6; Kyle Trewhella 0-1; Micah Chappell 0-1; Dustin Smith 0-1; Andy Draayer 0-8). Fouled out--Olivet College-Gerald Dozie; De'Andre Clement, Calvin College-None. Rebounds-Olivet College 28 (Gerald Dozie 9), Calvin College 32 (Kyle Snoeyink 9). Assists-Olivet College 15 (Derek Kurtz 7), Calvin College 16 (Tyler Zoerhof 3). Total fouls-Olivet College 18, Calvin College 18. A-1427