Calvin’s victory over Albion (14-2 overall) on Saturday snapped a 14-game winning streak by the Britons and also created a three-way tie for first place in the MIAA standings as Albion, Calvin and Hope all have 5-1 conference records and hold a one-game lead over 4-2 Tri-State.
Calvin was forced to play without junior Kyle Snoeyink for nearly the entire game as the 6-5 power forward went down with an ankle injury 30 seconds into Saturday’s contest.
Undaunted, Calvin (12-5 overall) held strong against the host Britons, trailing 33-28 at halftime and falling behind by as many as 10 points in the first half.
Calvin made its move early in the second half, using a 17-6 run to grab a 45-42 lead with 13:06 left to play. The lead then changed hands three times with Albion grabbing a lead at 52-51 and extending the margin to six at 57-51 with 6:05 to play.
Calvin freshman Dustin Smith responded with a clutch three-pointer that sparked a 13-1 run by the Knights. The Calvin run was capped by a jumper from freshman Caleb Veldhouse with 1:01 left that put the Knights up 64-58. Albion mounted a comeback behind eight points from junior Zak Silas in the final minute but Calvin was able to hold on by connecting on 5-of-6 at the free throw line down the stretch.
Veldhouse led Calvin in scoring with 15 points with 11 coming in the second half. Senior Andy Draayer had 12 points including three free throws in the final minute of play. Draayer also connected on a pair of three-pointers in the win, bringing his career total to 185 and moving past Todd Hennink and into sole possession of second place on the Calvin career three-point field goal list. Senior Kyle Trewhella added 10 points including a pair of free throws with 28 seconds remaining. Meanwhile, Smith also had 10 points off the bench including a pair of three-point field goals. In addition, freshman Tyler Zoerhof chipped in with nine points, six rebounds and two assists off the bench with six of his points coming from beyond the three-point arc.
Collectively, Calvin’s bench accounted for 26 of its 69 points.
Albion was led in defeat by senior Brandon Crawford who tallied 17 points and 11 rebounds while also picking up four assists and two blocked shots. Silas and Michael Bailey added 15 points apiece.
Calvin shot just 38.2 percent from the field but connected on 44.4 percent (8-of-18) of its three-point attempts as five different Calvin players connected on at least one three-pointer.
Albion shot 43.6 percent overall but just 29.6 percent from three-point range. Albion also held a 37-36 rebounding advantage but the Knights held a 15-9 advantage on the offensive glass which accounted for 10 second chance points.
Calvin returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Kalamazoo for an 8:00 p.m. contest.
Newspaper Box Score Calvin College vs Albion College 01/21/06 3 p.m. at Kresge Gymnasium; Albion, Mich. At Kresge Gymnasium; Albion, Mich. CALVIN COLLEGE 69, ALBION COLLEGE 66 CALVIN COLLEGE (12-5; 5-1 MIAA) Caleb Veldhouse 7-17 0-0 15; Andy Draayer 3-7 4-6 12; Kyle Trewhella 4-12 2-4 10; Dustin Smith 4-4 0-0 10; Tyler Zoerhof 3-10 1-1 9; Josh Meckes 3-7 0-0 6; Eric DeVries 1-7 2-2 4; Micah Chappell 1-3 0-0 3; Tim Katt 0-1 0-0 0; Kyle Snoeyink 0-0 0-0 0; Kevin Prins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-68 9-13 69. ALBION COLLEGE (14-2; 5-1 MIAA) Brandon Crawford 4-9 9-10 17; Mike Bailey 6-12 0-0 15; Zak Silas 6-11 0-0 15; Evan Way 3-4 1-2 7; Garrett Gibbons 2-6 0-0 5; Rick Palmer 1-4 0-0 3; Drew Yancey 1-2 0-0 2; Andrew Ruddick 1-2 0-0 2; Dean Raven 0-0 0-0 0; Jim Cash 0-2 0-0 0; D.J. Mocini 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 24-55 10-12 66. Calvin College................ 28 41 - 69 Albion College................ 33 33 - 66 3-point goals-Calvin College 8-18 (Dustin Smith 2-2; Andy Draayer 2-5; Tyler Zoerhof 2-3; Micah Chappell 1-2; Caleb Veldhouse 1-4; Kyle Trewhella 0-2), Albion College 8-27 (Zak Silas 3-8; Mike Bailey 3-6; Garrett Gibbons 1-5; Rick Palmer 1-3; Jim Cash 0-2; D.J. Mocini 0-3). Fouled out--Calvin College-None, Albion College-None. Rebounds-Calvin College 36 (Eric DeVries 9), Albion College 37 (Brandon Crawford 11). Assists-Calvin College 12 (Kyle Trewhella 3), Albion College 18 (Brandon Crawford 4; D.J. Mocini 4). Total fouls-Calvin College 14, Albion College 13. A-1048 D3hoops.com poll: Albion 3rd; Calvin receiving votes Up Next (Wednesday, Jan. 25): Albion at Olivet; Calvin at Kalamazoo