PLATTEVILLE, Wisc. - For the first time since 2014 and for the ninth time in program history, the Calvin men's basketball team is headed back to the Round of 16 of the NCAA III Tournament.
The Knights punched their ticket to the Round of 16 with an 76-64 upset win at No. 5 UW-Platteville Saturday night on Platteville's Bo Ryan Court.
The win was Calvin's second in as many nights over a top-25 ranked opponent as it came one night after a 77-71 win over No. 24 Saint John's of Minnesota.
Senior Luke Morrison poured in a career-high 37 points including 18 in the first half when the Knights jumped out to a 38-27 halftime lead.
Senior Jordan Katje connected on a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer – the first triple of his Calvin career.
UW-Platteville (22-6) made an early second half run at the Knights cutting the deficit down to five points at 41-36, forcing Calvin to call timeout with 15:11 remaining.
Out of the timeout, sophomore Uchenna Egekeze came up with a drive to the basket that gave the Knights a seven-point advantage.
Morrison and senior Thad Shymanski then drilled triples to put the Knights back up double-digits.
Calvin (22-8) widened its lead to as many as 18 points at 59-41 with Morrison delivering 13 straight points for the Knights during a key second half stretch.
UW-Platteville narrowed the margin down to eight at 70-62 with a minute left to play but the Knights were able to connect on five free throws inside the final minute to seal the win.
Shymanski added 17 points for the Knights. Morrison ripped down nine rebounds while senior teammate Alec Fruin added eight boards.
UW-Platteville was led in defeat by Justin Stovall with 20 points and 12 boards with Quentin Shields dropping in 15.
Calvin was 12 of 21 (.571) from three-point range while UW-Platteville was just 3 of 16 (.188). from beyond the arc.
Calvin advances to face Elmhurst University next Friday. The Knights and Bluejays met at Calvin's Van Noord Arena back on December 1 with the Knights winning the first encounter 75-57. Calvin will participate in a sectional field that will also include Case Western Reserve and Mary Hardin-Baylor.