A first-half charge from a determined opponent thwarted the Hope College men's basketball team's winning streak in The Rivalry.

No. 24-ranked Calvin University marched to a 81-49 victory on Wednesday in front of a sold-out DeVos Fieldhouse crowd of 3,329. 

The Flying Dutchmen's four-game winning streak in The Rivalry was snapped. Hope still leads the all-time series, 107-101.

Calvin (11-3, 3-0 MIAA) was in control early and built a 42-13 halftime lead. It was the best defensive effort in a half by a Hope opponent at DeVos Fieldhouse.

"It was certainly not a first half we would have expected," head coach Greg Mitchell said. "When you shoot the ball like that, it makes it really tough. If you're not going to shoot that well, you've got to be the best offensive rebounding team in the world, and we weren't. That was really disappointing. We got stuck on four (points) forever, and that made it tough. (Calvin) made it tough. They shot it exceptionally well.

"We've got to double down on our toughness, show resolve and bounce back."

Hope (7-7, 1-2 MIAA) is now one of six teams tied for third place in the MIAA. Calvin shares the MIAA lead with Trine University.

The Flying Dutchmen travel to Albion College on Saturday, Jan. 14, for a 3 p.m. MIAA contest.

Against Calvin, sophomore center Gabe Quillan (Ada, Michigan / Grand Rapids Catholic Central HS) led Hope with 19 points, 16 of which came during the second half.

No other Flying Dutchmen reached double figures. Hope shot 24.0 percent from the field in the first half and 37.9 percent for the game. The 13 first-half points were the fewest scored by the Flying Dutchmen at DeVos Fieldhouse.

Calvin held Hope scoreless for 10 minutes, 20 seconds during the first half en route to a 24-4 lead with 7:18 remaining in the first half.

Uchenna Egekeze topped the Knights with a game-high 23 points on 9-of-9 shooting from the field. Jalen Overway and Marcus Bolt added 13 and 10 points respectively.

Calvin finished the first half shooting 76.2 percent from the field and the game at 65.2 points. It was the Knights' largest margin of victory in The Rivalry since a 93-60 victory at the Holland Civic Center in 1977.

"We did a great job of setting the tone at the defensive end. They just didn't get a really good look for a lot of those possessions," Calvin coach Bill Sall said. "That half was pretty amazing. You don't expect that in this game."