Center Gabe Quillan knocked down seven 3s en route to a career-high tying 31 points and forward TJ McKenzie scored 18 off the bench to help lead the Hope College men's basketball team to an 83-68 win over No.6-ranked Calvin University in the MIAA Tournament semifinals on Friday night at Trine University.
The No. 3 seeded Flying Dutchmen (21-6) moved on to the tournament final, facing the host Thunder on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 7:30 p.m. The winner receives the league's automatic berth in next week's NCAA Division III Championships.
It is the third consecutive MIAA Tournament final for Hope (21-6). The Flying Dutchmen, who defeated Calvin in the past two title games, now lead the all-time series with the Knights by a 111-102 margin.
Quillan (Ada, Michigan/Grand Rapids Catholic Central) was seemingly as amazed as anyone in the building when asked to describe his career performance.
The center shot 70% from 3-point range (7-10 and 75% from the field (12-16). Earlier in the day, Quillan was named to the All-MIAA Second Team.
"Honestly, that's the first time I've kind of gotten hot like that from the 3-point line in my career," Quillan said. "It's kind of hard to explain when you're a basketball player, but when you see a couple go through, the basket seems wider."
McKenzie (Muskegon, Michigan/North Muskegon) was similarly hot from the floor, finishing at 75% from the field (8-12) and 100% from 3-point range (2-2).
The senior dropped 12 of his 18 points during the second half, with most of his points coming via tough drives through the lane against aggressive Calvin defenders.
"I love the big games," McKenzie said. "These are the games that mean the most and that's when big players step up. We just felt like we were in control the whole game. With Gabe hitting (from outside) like he was, that forces Overway to step out and take away their rim protector.
They were sagging (defensively) and going under ball screens so that just opened things up for me.
"We don't know what the rotations are gonna be, so 1 through 15, we just trust whoever's thrown in there. We know what this game meant to us as far as our future and trying to make the [NCAA] tournament.
Senior Tanner Wiegerink (Holland, Michigan/West Ottawa) helped keep Hope afloat in the first half, as he scored all 11 of his points in the opening stanza.
The Flying Dutchmen grabbed the lead midway through the first half and would never relinquish it again. Freshman Parker Hovey (Shelby, Michigan/Hart) used a slick crossover between two defenders on the baseline to convert on a finger roll for a 3-point play, Quillan hit a 3 from the top of the key, and McKenzie finessed in a turnaround jumper with 20 seconds to go before halftime to give Hope a 36-31 advantage at the halftime break.
Hope came out strong in the second half, as senior Clayton Dykhouse (Zeeland, Michigan/Zeeland East), McKenzie, and Quillian hit back-to-back-to-back 3ss to help the Flying Dutchmen race out to a 50-38 edge with 15:26 left to go in the game.
Calvin was far from done though. The Knights promptly responded with the aforementioned 16-6 run over the next six minutes to close within 56-54 at the 9:21 mark of the second half.
"These guys have so much trust in each other and I don't think they were as phased as we were as coaches [during Calvin's second-half run]," head coach Greg Mitchell said. "This time of year is just all about 'You've just gotta be who you are' and I thought our guys did a really good job of looking inward to each other. They didn't do anything different, they just tried to bear down to be the great defensive team that we are and an opportunistic offensive team."
McKenzie and Quillan would not be denied as they combined to score Hope's next 15 points in the game-clinching 15-5 spurt. McKenzie scored twice on crucial drives to the basket (including an 8-foot bank shot that barely beat the shot clock buzzer) and Quillan used a reverse spin on the baseline before dropping in three more 3-pointers to make it 71-59 Flying Dutchmen with 3:45 remaining.
"Coach Mitch and the rest of the coaching staff had a great game plan," Quillan said. "Whether they go on a run or not, we have each other's backs and try to focus on the next play. (Calvin's) Jalen (Overway) likes to stay in the paint a little more, so if I'm able to get some pick and pop opportunities, I've just gotta knock 'em down. It always feels great beating your rival Calvin, so now we've got a big game tomorrow that we need to focus on."
Quillan scored 19 of his game-high 31 points during the second half and also grabbed seven rebounds for Hope.
Dykhouse chipped in 12 points and five assists for the Flying Dutchmen, who made all 12 of their free-throw attempts and outrebounded Calvin 32-30. Hovey pulled down seven rebounds and sophomore Marcus Wourman (Lansing, Michigan/East Lansing HS) dished out five assists for Hope.
Uchenna Egekeze and Marcus Bult scored 14 points each to pace the Knights. Overway, the MIAA most valuable player, added 12 points and 13 rebounds for Calvin (22-4).