Tanner Wiegerink reached out with his long right arm for the Hope College men's basketball team to swat away a driving layup attempt.
The sophomore's block was part of a decisive three-minute defensive stretch on Friday that preserved a 74-69 victory against Cornerstone University in the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame Classic at DeVos FIeldhouse.
Hope (3-1) held Cornerstone scoreless nearly all of the final 3 minutes, 29 seconds.
"The defensive help was big at that point," head coach Greg Mitchell said of Wiegerink's block of Christian Rodriguez that preserved a 70-66 lead with 1:44 remaining. "We need something to stop their run, and it was that play."
Cornerstone (8-3) rallied from a 58-41 deficit with 11 ½ minutes remaining to pull within 66-64 with 4:08 left.
A minute after Wiegerink denied Rodriguez, senior forward Jeff Bikus (Hawthorn Hills, Illinois / Mundelein HS) swatted away another Rodriguez layup try and kept Hope's lead at 70-66.
The Flying Dutchmen kept Cornerstone (8-3) scoreless until Rodriguez banked in a 3-pointer with six seconds remaining.
"That's a really good basketball team with a lot of weapons," Mitchell said of Cornerstone. "It's a 40-minute basketball game. You've got to keep playing, and our guys did."
Junior forward Evan Thomas (Okemos, Michigan / Okemos) led the Flying Dutchmen with a game-high 24 points and eight rebounds.
Junior point guard Clayton Dykhouse (Zeeland, Michigan / Zeeland East) chipped in 21 points, including a career-high five 3-pointers.
Dykhouse also collected four steals and three steals. The Flying Dutchmen forced 22 turnovers while committing only seven.
Wiegerink (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) added a career-high 15 points, including both of his 3-point attempts.
Hope sank a season-high 13 3-pointers. The Flying Dutchmen entered the game with 14 made 3-pointers for the season.
The Flying Dutchmen go for their fourth Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame Classic title on Saturday, Nov. 27, at 8 p.m. when they face Aquinas College.
Aquinas (6-4) lost to Calvin University, 90-74, in Friday's first game.
Calvin (4-1) plays Cornerstone on Saturday at 6 p.m. at DeVos Fieldhouse.