By Mark DeHaan

Calvin faced off with the Golden Eagles of Cornerstone University on Saturday afternoon, looking for its second win in as many days in the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame Tournament. The Knights defeated Aquinas 73-64 on Friday evening, while Cornerstone fell 77-64 to Hope College.

Unfortunately for the Knights, a bad-shooting night spelled defeat as the Golden Eagles hit 46.4% of their shots while holding Calvin to to 36.1% shooting.

Ranked 11th in the latest NAIA Division II poll, Cornerstone jumped out to an early double-digit lead. With 14:30 to go, Travis Wells made a jumper to put the Golden Eagles ahead 15-5.

With 6:54 remaining, the Knights cut the deficit to 28-25 as sophomore Brad Visser made a layup off a steal by senior Tyler Dykstra, forcing a Cornerstone timeout.

Ranked 10th by D3hoops.com, Calvin cut the Golden Eagle lead to three twice more during the remainder of the half, but with 2:04 to go, Cornerstone was able to push its lead again to double-digits at 39-29.

The Knights scored the final four points of the half as the score settled at 39-33 after one period.

At half, senior Jordan Brink led the Knights with seven points. Calvin shot just 37.1% in the first half while Cornerstone hit 53.3% of its shots.

Out of the break, Brink hit a triple to cut Cornerstone's lead again to three. The Golden Eagles responded by pushing their lead to 47-39 with 16:31 to go.

With 10:57 remaining, a pair of free throws from Brink brought the Knights to within two at 49-47.

Calvin continued to fight, and got to within four with under a minute to go, but the Knights could come no closer and Cornerstone downed Calvin 65-60.

The Knights shot just 36.1% for the game while the Golden Eagles hit 46.4% of their field goals. Calvin hit 4-of-16 from behind the arc and 12-of-20 from the free throw line.

Individually, junior Jordan Daley paced the Knights with 15 points and eight boards while Brink added 14 points.

For Cornerstone, Kyle Steigenga had 19 points and six rebounds while Travis Wells scored 18 points.

The Knights fall to 4-2 overall while Cornerstone improves to 7-3.

Calvin now looks forward to next weekend when the Knights travel to Wisconsin and Carthage College for the MIAA/CCIW Challenge.

The Knights will play host Wheaton College on Friday evening and Carthage College on Saturday evening.