Story by Mitch Blankespoor

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The Calvin men's basketball team had not beaten rival Hope in five games.  The last time the Knights defeated the Flying Dutchmen at the Van Noord Arena was a 84-75 win during the 2009-10 season.

All streaks eventually come to an end.  In front of 4,503 fans, Calvin defeated Hope 75-49 to improve to 14-2, 5-0 MIAA on the season.

The Knights jumped all over the Flying Dutchmen during the opening minutes.  Three pointers from sophomore Jordan Brink (Dyer, Ind./Illiana Christian) and senior Bryan Powell (Wyoming/Wyoming Park) gave Calvin a 12-2 lead four minutes into the game. 

"Most of the time, the team that comes out stronger in the first couple minutes goes on to win," Calvin head coach Kevin Vande Streek said after the game.  "We came out with great intensity tonight."

Hope tried to cut into Calvin's lead by attacking the basket.  Calvin junior Mickey De Vries (Lansing/Lansing Christian) would have none of it.  De Vries blocked Hope junior Colton Overway (Holland/West Ottawa) at the 14:45 mark in the first half. 

The Knights stretched their lead to 13 points with nine minutes to play on an emphatic dunk from junior center Tyler Kruis (Grandville/Calvin Christian).  Hope could not get any closer, and a layup from Brink with six seconds left in the half gave Calvin a 43-19 lead at the break.

Calvin shot 62.1 percent from the field in the first half including 6-11 from beyond the arc.  Hope shot a mere 21.7 percent and made just field baskets the entire first half.

Brink led the way for Calvin with 12 points followed by Powell and sophomore forward Tyler Dykstra (Holland/Holland Christian) who each had eight points.

Hope showed some fight in the second half.  The Flying Dutchmen went on a 12-2 run in five minutes sparked by four Calvin turnovers.  Calvin led by 14 with, 45-31, with 14:17 to play. 

That was as close as Hope would get.  Calvin responded with a 14-1 run of its own.  All of a sudden, the Knights lead had blossomed to 27, 59-32 with 10:18 to play.

Calvin emptied its bench with four minutes to play, and cruised to the victory.

Brink led the way for Calvin with 16 points.  Snikkers and Powell chipped in 13 apiece. 

"I don't think anyone expected this to be such a big win," Brink said in a postgame interview.  "We are a good team, and they are a good team.  We just played better tonight."

Calvin shot nearly 50 percent from the floor, 49.2, and exactly 50 percent from three-point range (10-20). 

De Vries came off the bench to give Calvin six points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in 22 minutes.

Hope head coach Matt Neil praised De Vries for his rebounding efforts.

"I thought {Mickey] De Vries played very well tonight," said Neil.  "His efforts on the glass really made it tough on our guys."

The loss is Neil's first MIAA conference loss on the road (18-1).  His Flying Dutchmen were held to just 31.3 percent shooting from the field.  The lone bright spot was Overway, who finished with 15 points and four assists.

The win for Calvin was its biggest margin of victory against Hope since a 95-68 win in March of 1990.

Calvin will travel to Trine University on Saturday, Jan. 19, to face the Thunder in a 3:00 p.m. contest.