Story by Mitch Blankespoor
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Looking to bounce back from the loss at Hope this past Sat., the 19th ranked Calvin men's basketball team hosted Trine University on Wed. evening. The Knights came out victorious, defeating the Thunder 61-59 at the Van Noord Arena.
Trine scored the first basket of the contest; a layup from junior Todd Watkins (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Bernard) thirty seconds into the game.
Calvin turned the ball over on its first three possessions before senior Bryan Powell (Wyoming/Wyoming Park) drained a jumper with 16:15 remaining in the first half.
This basket started a 19-0 run spanning 4:20 for Calvin. Powell scored 10 of these 19 including a very deep three point basket. Senior Tom Snikkers (Hudsonville/Unity Christian) then scored seven straight points for Calvin, giving the Knights their biggest lead of the half; 26-8 with 9:42 remaining.
Trine cut Calvin's lead to 15 on a layup from freshmen Jared Holmquist (Reed City/Reed City HS) with 2:45 remaining. A Powell three-pointer gave the Knights a 37-19 lead at halftime.
Powell led all scorers at the break with 13 points on 5-7 shooting from the field. Snikkers added nine points and two rebounds. Calvin shot 53.3 percent in the first half while holding the Thunder to a mere 25.9 percent.
Calvin continued to build on its lead early into the second half. A baseline 10-foot jump shot from sophomore Tyler Dykstra (Holland/Holland Christian) put Calvin up 22 points with 17:30 remaining.
Trine, who came into the contest with a 14-9 record and a 7-5 mark in the MIAA, did not bow out. The Thunder went on a 17-4 run in seven minutes concluding with a three-pointer from freshman Nick Tatu (Clarkston/Clarkston HS). The Thunder trailed 47-38 with 10:49 remaining.
Calvin sophomore Jordan Brink (Dyer, Ind./Illiana Christian) put the Knights back up by 12.
Then Trine senior Ian Jackson (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) took over. Jackson scored eight straight points for the Thunder.
Powell answered once again with two consecutive three-pointers to extend Calvin's lead to 56-46 with 5:36 remaining.
Jackson continued hitting tough shot after tough shot. Trine pulled within a point with 15 seconds remaining. After Brink it both free throws, the Knights were up by three, and elected to foul Trine and send them to the line.
After hitting the first free throw, Jackson intentionally missed the second, Holmquist put up a 15-foot last-ditch heave, which did not hit the rim. Calvin had escaped with the victory.
"I give a lot of credit to Trine," said Calvin head coach Kevin Vande Streek in a post-game interview. "They really took it to us in the second half."
Powell finished with 19 points including 5-7 from beyond the three-point arc. Brink chipped in 16 points, while Snikkers finished with 10.
"We need to do a better job in the second half," Powell said.
Jackson, who was held to four points in a 56-43 defeat on Jan. 19 at Hershey Hall, scored Trine's final 21 points, and finished with 28 points on 9-17 shooting.
"We got careless with the basketball in the second half," Vande Streek said. "That being said, our guys did a good job with the lead down the stretch."
Calvin committed 17 turnovers, and was outrebounded 33-30. The Knights did shoot 50 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
With its win, Calvin improves to 21-3 and 12-1 in the MIAA. Calvin earned a share of the MIAA conference title, and with a win against Olivet this upcoming Sat., Calvin would clinch the outright championship for the first time since the 2009-10 season.