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Notebook

Greg Chandler's
Great Lakes Notebook
Posted Nov. 30, 1999

Calvin Pulls Off Old Kent Surprise
By Greg Chandler
D3hoops.com

The holiday weekend in the Great Lakes Region produced some exciting basketball, and yet more surprises.

The Knights of Calvin College are making a lot of noise early this season, and made a big move up in this week's D3hoops.com poll. After an overtime victory on the road at nationally ranked Wheaton (Ill.) last weekend, the No. 17 Knights looked impressive in taking the 4th annual Old Kent Classic at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, topping crosstown rival and previously unbeaten NAIA foe Aquinas (Mich.), 89-66, in the championship game. Calvin moved up nine spots to No. 8.

The taller Calvin squad completely dominated the boards, outrebounding the Saints (7-1) 58-33 and turning the game into a rout in the second half. Senior guard Nate Karsten led four Knights in double figures with 18 points, while senior center Brian Krosschel had 16 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots. MIAA MVP Aaron Winkle had another double-double with 14 points and 10 boards as the Knights improved to 4-0.

In the first round of the Old Kent, Calvin jumped out to an early lead and led nearly all the way in toppling NCAA Division II Grand Valley State, 91-83. Winkle scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Nate Burgess came off the bench to score 20 as Calvin beat a Division II school for the first time in nine games.

Winkle was named the most valuable player of the tournament, the second straight weekend in which the senior forward from Lake City, Mich., has been the tournament MVP. He also took the award at last weekend's Lee Pfund Classic at Wheaton. Krosschel was also named to the all-tournament team and was named the MIAA's player of the week.

Calvin's MIAA rival, Hope College, was not nearly so fortunate in the Old Kent, as the Flying Dutchmen fell to Aquinas 90-82 and Grand Valley 76-75, dropping them to 2-3. Hope forward Ryan Klingler just missed a triple-double in a losing cause against Aquinas with 23 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists.

Meanwhile, another MIAA school, Olivet, pulled off the weekend's biggest surprise, upending No. 15 Manchester 75-73 in overtime. Ajamian Gardner scored 21 points as the Comets had to go overtime for the second straight game to win. Olivet earlier defeat NAIA Spring Arbor in overtime, 87-82.

In Cleveland, Case Western knocked off No. 22 John Carroll 71-68 at the first annual Cleveland Cage Classic on Sunday. It was the first meeting between the two crosstown rivals in nine years. Heidelberg won twice in the tournament, downing CWRU 76-63 and dumping Oberlin 65-43.

It was an up-and-down week for No. 9 Wooster. On Tuesday, the Fighting Scots got taken behind the shed by NCAA Division II power Gannon, 95-53. That was Wooster's worst loss in 86 years. The Fighting Scots shot just 16 percent from the field in the first half in falling behind 44-14 and were outrebounded 63-39. On Saturday, Wooster took out its frustrations on Thomas More, rolling to a 108-72 blowout as John Ellenwood led the way with 24 points. The 108 points were the most for a Wooster team since it defeated Oneonta State 115-70 in Nov. 1991.

Last weekend, Wabash College knocked off Ohio Northern to enter the Top 25. However, the Little Giants got a taste of their own medicine the day before Thanksgiving, as old rival DePauw rallied late to nip Wabash 64-63 in Crawfordsville, Ind. The Tigers trailed 56-48 with 10:21 remaining, but held Wabash scoreless for more than 7-and-a-half minutes in making the comeback. The Little Giants shot themselves in the foot from the free throw line, making only 8 of 17, including three missed front ends of one-and-ones during that long dry spell.

Marietta was picked to finish in the second division of the OAC in the league's preseason poll, but the Pioneers are off to their best start since 1916 with a 5-0 record. The Pioneers captured the Carnegie Mellon tournament last weekend, defeating Kenyon 89-71 in the championship game. Tournament MVP Wade Krause had 37 points and 15 rebounds in the two games, while senior guard Brent Cahill had 36 points and 11 assists for the tournament, with nine of those dimes coming against Kenyon.

Bits and pieces: Ohio Northern registered its 1,000th victory in men's basketball on Saturday as it defeated Bluffton 73-55. The Polar Bears have played hoops for 87 years, posting a record of 1,000-788 for a winning percentage of .559. ... Kalamazoo guard Brad Phillips went over the 1,000-point mark for his career last Tuesday, firing in 24 points as the Hornets stung Goshen (Ind.), 95-61. The Hornets are 3-0 for the first time since the 1993-94 campaign, when they wound up 20-7. ... John Carroll forward Larry Holmes is making a nice adjustment from the football field to the basketball court. Holmes scored 33 points and pulled down 19 rebounds in the two games at the Cleveland Cage Classic.

Women's ball: Capital has been the winningest Division III women's program in the 1990s, and many folks think coach Dixie Jeffers has another Final Four team in the making. However, on Saturday, No. 2 Capital was upended by 18th-ranked Gallaudet 78-75. The Lady Crusaders cut a 12-point deficit to one with less than a minute to play, but could not get over the top. Kendra Meyer had 31 points and 14 rebounds for Capital in a losing cause.

Ohio Wesleyan looked impressive in winning a tournament in California, downing Pomona-Pitzer 63-37 and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 78-65 to improve to 4-0. The Battling Bishops have outscored their first four opponents by an average of 20 points per game.

Calvin's Robyn Fennema helped get the Lady Knights off the schneid with a 29-point, 14-rebound performance as Calvin defeated NCAA Division II Saginaw Valley State 86-74, giving new coach Kim Gall her first win. Calvin entered the season ranked 17th in the D3hoops.com women's poll, but has lost three of its first four games against some rugged competition.

Heidelberg is off to its best start in the history of its program with four consecutive wins. Sophomore guard Rachael Poland scored 50 points last weekend in a tournament at Mount St. Joseph.

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