An emotional but grateful Clayton Dykhouse walked down the bench and greeted each of his teammates as the fifth-year senior exited a Hope College basketball game for the final time.
While an opponent's jaw-dropping, second-half shooting performance spoiled the Flying Dutchmen's Sweet Sixteen bid on Saturday, it did not diminish Dykhouse's appreciation for his teammates.
"I'm seeing guys that I trust and love, freshmen to seniors, it didn't matter," Dykhouse said afte4 No. 22 Hope lost at No. 6 Case Western Reserve University (Ohio), 97-79, in Cleveland.
"I hugged each one of those guys, looked them in the eyes and I told them I loved them. It means the world as a kid from West Michigan watching Hope games to be able to put those four letters on my chest."
It took an incredible performance to knock off the Flying Dutchmen, 23-7 overall and victories over two Top 10-ranked opponents last weekend in the MIAA Tournament.
Up by just one at halftime, the Spartans (23-4) charged away with 57 second-half points on 68.8% shooting from the field. CWRU was even hotter from 3-point range, finishing 83.3% (10-of-12). The last miss was a desperation heave with the shot clock running down.
Guards Anthony Mazzeo and Sam Trunley spearheaded the blistering attack.
Mazzeo netted game-highs of 30 points and eight assists. The point guard and graduate transfer from Baldwin-Wallace University (Ohio) shot 61.1% for the game from the field (11-18) and 62.5% from 3-point range (5-8).
Trunley came off the bench to deliver 29 points on 60% field-goal shooting (12-20) that included 50% from 3-point range (5-10.
Forward Preston Maccous also reached double figures with 15 points after going 85.7% from the field (6/7) and 75% from the 3-point lane (3-4).
CWRU advanced to face the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in the Sweet 16 on Friday, March 8, at a sectional site to be determined.
Hope entered the game allowing 65.4 points per game. Opponents shot just 28% from 3-point range against the Flying Dutchmen.
"I've never quite seen a shooting exhibition like that," said head coach Greg Mitchell, who remains Hope's single-season leader for 3-point shooting at 56.4% during the 1987-88 season. "You cover the bottom half of the stat sheet and look at ours, and that's a winning recipe for us. We shot pretty well. Turnovers were under control.
"We're a team that defends the arc very, very well. We're 28 percent. We've got to tip our cap. We ran into a team that all of a sudden the basket got as big as the ocean and they were standing on the beach. It wasn't because we weren't guarding. It was just because they got in the zone. In the end, that spree in the second half was nothing like I've ever seen."
Hope fared well offensively itself, shooting above 50% in each half and 52.5% for the game (31-59). The Flying Dutchmen sank 53.8% on 3-point attempts (7-13).
Junior center Gabe Quillan (Ada, Michigan / Grand Rapids Catholic Central) topped Hope with 19 points on 100% field-goal shooting (7-7).
Junior forward Josh Decker (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio / Woodridge) chipped in 14 points off the bench with three 3-pointers.
Dykhouse (Zeeland, Michigan / Zeeland East) contributed 13 points and a team-best four assists.
The Flying Dutchmen received 12 points apiece from freshman forward Parker Hovey (Shelby, Michigan / Hart) and fifth-year senior forward TJ McKenzie (Muskegon, Michigan / North Muskegon).
"Our locker room is hosting, but I could not be prouder of a team that I've coached," Mitchell said. "The trust and love for each other is unlike any team I've coached."