UW-La Crosse proved an early threat to the Knights, beginning the game with an 8-0 run. Over that five minute stretch, Calvin was out-rebounded 10-1 and allowed two three-pointers and a pair of free-throws. The game drastically changed tides, however, when junior Eric DeVries (Hudsonville/Unity Christian) drew a turnover, which freshman Caleb Veldhouse (Sioux Falls, SD/Sioux Falls Christian) converted into a lay-up. Freshman Tyler Zoerhof (Holland/Holland Christian) then provoked another UW-L turnover and made the score 8-4 with a fast-break one-handed dunk. Jumpers from both DeVries and Zoerhof, coupled with a three-point shot by senior Kyle Trewhella (Rockford/Rockford) added up to an 11-0 Calvin run, which gave Calvin its first lead of the night, 11-8. UW-L’s Marcus Conigliaro answered Trewhella’s with a three-pointer to tie the game again. A free throw shot by each team brought the third and final tie, 12-12.
Though UW-L hung close for a while, a Trewhella three at the 5:45 minute mark gave Calvin a six-point advantage. The lead collapsed to two twice, including a narrow 27-25 Calvin lead with 3:30 left in the half. UW-L remained scoreless for these last minutes of play as Calvin was able to secure a double-digit lead at the half, aided by a last-second shot by freshman Dustin Smith (Hamilton/Hamilton) that was banked from a few steps inside of the half-court line. Calvin led 35-25 at the half.
Both teams came ready to play in the second half, but UW-L struggled to dent Calvin’s double-digit lead. The Eagles were making the shots, but so were the Knights. Calvin opened the half with a tight 9-5 advantage, which included three three-pointers: one from Veldhouse and two from senior Andy Draayer (Denver, CO/Denver Christian). Draayer’s second three boosted Calvin’s lead to 16 at 46-30. Conigliaro’s third three of the game brought UW-L within 10 again, but Zoerhoff embarked on a solo 7-2 run, that included a three-pointer, two free throws, and another fast-break dunk off a steal. His efforts put Calvin ahead 55-40. Neither team was able to string together any field goals until UW-L reduced the margin to 10 again, 70-60 with just over four minutes to play. With just under thirty seconds left, the Eagles edged within seven points of Calvin. Though UW-L out-scored Calvin 46-44 in the second half and held a 47-31 rebounding advantage, time ran out on its offense, and Calvin held on to take the 79-71 victory.
High scorers for Calvin included Trewhella with 19 points, Zoerhof, who contributed a career-high 15 points, Draayer with 13 points, Veldhouse, who scored 12, and Snoeyink, who added 11 points.
Conigliaro led the Eagles in defeat with a 21-point effort that included five three-pointers. Also reaching double-digit scoring were Chris Fehrenbach with 12 points, Joe Werner with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Luke Homan, who had 10 points.
Calvin Head Coach Kevin Vande Streek, though “disappointed with the defense and rebounding in the first five minutes of the game,” he was pleased because “Andy Draayer and Kyle Trewhella had great games, and Tyler was a great spark, the wildcard.” Trewhella noted the same sentiments, saying, “We had a lot of guys step up offensively.”
Calvin will face Hope College tomorrow at the DeVos Fieldhouse at 7:00 p.m. This is the fourth time that the two teams will meet each other this season, with Hope holding a 2-1 season lead over Calvin. Saturday’s game will mark the second time that Calvin and Hope have met four times in men’s basketball in a single-season with the 1980-81 season the only other year that the two rivals have met four times in a season.
Calvin and Hope have met four prior times in NCAA III Tournament play with Calvin winning all four previous meetings.
Commenting on tomorrow’s match-up, Coach Vande Streek said, “I don’t think there’s a more talented team in the country than Hope. But we’ve shown that we can play well against them, and we are going to have to do that again tomorrow night.”
Newspaper Box Score UWLMBB vs Calvin College 03-03-06 6:00p.m. at Hope College, DeVos Fieldhouse At Hope College, DeVos Fieldhouse CALVIN COLLEGE 79, UWLMBB 71 UWLMBB (20-8) Conigliaro, Marcus 8-14 0-0 21; Fehrenbach, Chris 4-8 1-2 12; Werner, Joe 5-13 2-5 12; Homan, Luke 4-8 0-0 10; Ask, Chris 1-10 3-6 6; Bemis, Joe 1-3 3-5 5; Owen, Timothy 0-2 3-4 3; Risseeuw, Ben 1-1 0-0 2; Kegler, Billy 0-0 0-0 0; Pelkofer, Jarrod 0-0 0-0 0; Nereng, TJ 0-0 0-0 0; Brown, Brandon 0-1 0-0 0; Knutson, Drew 0-0 0-0 0; Huss, Andrew 0-0 0-0 0; Borchard, Dan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-60 12-22 71. CALVIN COLLEGE (23-6) Kyle Trewhella 6-12 5-7 19; Tyler Zoerhof 6-7 2-4 15; Andy Draayer 4-12 2-2 13; Caleb Veldhouse 4-7 2-4 12; Kyle Snoeyink 3-7 4-6 11; Josh Meckes 2-2 0-0 4; Dustin Smith 1-7 0-0 3; Eric DeVries 1-2 0-0 2; Tim Katt 0-0 0-0 0; Joe Pearcy 0-0 0-0 0; Patrick Duff 0-0 0-0 0; Micah Chappell 0-2 0-0 0; Kevin Prins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-58 15-23 79. UWLMBB........................ 25 46 - 71 Calvin College................ 35 44 - 79 3-point goals-UWLMBB 11-23 (Conigliaro, Marcus 5-10; Fehrenbach, Chris 3-5; Homan, Luke 2-5; Ask, Chris 1-2; Owen, Timothy 0-1), Calvin College 10-25 (Andy Draayer 3-8; Kyle Trewhella 2-3; Caleb Veldhouse 2-5; Kyle Snoeyink 1-1; Tyler Zoerhof 1-1; Dustin Smith 1-5; Micah Chappell 0-2). Fouled out--UWLMBB-None, Calvin College-None. Rebounds-UWLMBB 47 (Werner, Joe 13), Calvin College 31 (Tyler Zoerhof 5). Assists-UWLMBB 13 (Homan, Luke 2; Ask, Chris 2; Werner, Joe 2; Conigliaro, Marcus 2), Calvin College 8 (Micah Chappell 2; Andy Draayer 2). Total fouls-UWLMBB 19, Calvin College 17. A-3250 NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND