GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Calvin University men's basketball team defeated Hope College 68-60 to secure the regular season sweep of the Flying Dutchmen on Saturday at Van Noord Arena.
Calvin (13-6, 8-0 MIAA) never trailed in the game as the Knights held the Hope (9-10, 4-4 MIAA) offense to just 33.3 percent from the field and 30.0 percent (6-20) from beyond the three-point line for the game.
The Knights took control from the start, taking the lead on a Brady Ewing jumper in the second minute of the game and never giving the lead back. Calvin led by as many as 12 points at 30-18 with 3:20 remaining in the first half, but the Flying Dutchmen closed the half on a 10-1 run to close the Knights' halftime lead to 31-28.
Uchenna Egekeze (Huntley, Ill./Huntley) led Calvin with nine early points, while Marcus Wourman made three big shots as the shot clock was expiring in the first half to keep the Flying Dutchmen in the game with eight first half points.
Calvin answered the Hope run to end the first half with one of its own to start to the second half. The Knights opened the half on an 11-2 run to push the lead into double figures while holding Hope to only one field goal for more than seven minutes to start the half.
The Knights remained in control throughout the second half, pushing their lead to 15 at 53-38 on a three-pointer by Owen Varnado (Muskegon, Mich./Western Michigan Christian) that made the home crowd of more than 4,000 fans explode with 8:40 to play.
Hope made the Knights work to close the game out with pressure defense that forced several Calvin turnovers in the final minutes, but the Knights' defense held strong down the stretch and never allowed the lead to dip below six on the way to securing the win.
Calvin finished the day shooting 46.8 percent from the field and made seven of 19 attempts from three-point range in the win.
Egekeze led the Knights with 16 points on 5-9 shooting from the field while also adding five assists and six rebounds.
Trevin Winkle (McBain, Mich./Northern Michigan Christian) finished with 10 points, while Luke Ressler (Caledonia, Mich./Catholic Central) added nine points and four assists.
The win was the Knights' 12th straight on the season and pushed them to 8-0 in MIAA conference action.
COACH'S COMMENT: "It was a typical Calvin/Hope game," Calvin head men's basketball coach Bill Sall said. "The energy level and how hard both teams played and how hard it is to even get yourself into a look. It's kind of like a heavyweight boxing match where we just kind of survived more than anything else. Credit to Hope because I thought they played really hard, but a couple possessions went our way and we were able to come out with a win."
PLAYER COMMENT: "We know these games are going to be intense," Calvin senior Uchenna Egekeze said. "Runs can vary greatly, so we're just trying to be as consistent as possible, stay within our offense, and have the confidence to hit those shots and get our momentum back."
NEXT UP: Calvin men's basketball will return to action on Wednesday, February 5, when it travels to Alma College for a game scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM
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