GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. – A string of three successive contests against the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association saw a pair of early charges from both sides Tuesday, Nov. 25.
Manchester University scored 10 of the game's first 15 points against D3Hoops.com's No. 10-ranked Calvin College of Michigan, but the host Knights answered with a 24-0 stretch from that point, leading them to a 74-56 win inside Van Noord Arena.
Despite shooting struggles throughout the 40 minutes (34.5 percent from the field, 34.8 percent from beyond the arc and 47.6 percent at the charity stripe), the Spartans (1-2) worked themselves to as close as six points in the second frame after junior forward Matt Brown (Hobart, Ind.) hit one of his two treys with just under four and a half minutes on the regulation clock. Calvin (2-1) closed out the 74-56 decision behind a 12-point run over the last 4:28.
Brown, compiling a 14-point, five-rebound, three-assist contest, was one of three Black and Gold players on the double-figure scoring list. Freshman guard Brody Kirby (Frankfort, Ind.) added 11 points, and junior guard Brady Dolezal (Tipton, Ind.) ended with 10 points. Dolezal (two steals); sophomore guard Chase Casteel (Monrovia, Ind.) (two blocked shots); senior guard Caleb Jackson (New Castle, Ind.) (five assists); and junior forward Jarod Schrock (Logansport, Ind.) (seven rebounds) added other team statistical leads for MU.
The Spartans resume their stretch against the MIAA hosting the annual Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference – MIAA Challenge Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 29 and 30.
NOTES: Dolezal reached point double digits for the 15th time in the last 16 games … Schrock grabbed five-or-more rebounds for the fifth time in his last seven appearances. He's averaged nine over the last two games.