MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Gregory Sager]

Seen this before, it is really difficult to beat a team 3 times in a season, especially when they are even to begin with.  Hope had the better coach tonight, GVW went to a match up zone in the second half and pulled ahead by 17.  Calvin started their press too late and then backed off with two minutes to go.  Strange coaching again by KVS.  Anyway, congratulations to both teams for a fine season.  Hopefully, both get into the tournament

Calling Greg Sager!   3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

Well, I can at least give him partial credit, since his "especially when they are even to begin with" takes a little bit of the edge off of the dumb cliche.

Hey, he's a Calvin fan. I'm not piling on him tonight.

[Happy Calvin Guy]

Just got back from my 2nd ever game at the Noord (1st was last night) and I believe this game was won/lost in the last 9min of the first half even though Hope actually went on the big run in the 2nd half.

With roughly 9 minutes left in the 1st half Calvin was in the bonus plus had 2 fouls on Remink (sp?) and had about a 6 point lead.  Instead of taking the ball to the basket and heading to the charity strip they continued to launch the 3's and finished the half 1-13 from 3-pt. and let a 6-point lead turn into a 2 point deficet.  That was the point in the game that they really could've created a cushion and some separation going into the half.

Great analysis standout.  I felt the same way.  When Reimink was playing all those first half minutes with 2 fouls, why not go right at him?  Tim Katt did exactly that once and picked up an easy layup.  Do that more, and perhaps you can pick up foul #3 on him.  Of course that came back to haunt as Jesse was able to hit dagger after dagger in the 2nd half without ever worrying again about foul trouble.  

I also agree about the fact that tonight GVW won the coaching battle.  Calvin seemed a little lost about how to counteract the zone defense.

As an aside, I think the officiating quality in the MIAA is a huge problem.  Once again, terribly inconsistent and I've seen it all season.  And this is not sour grapes--I think Calvin benefited from the poor officiating tonight.  It's hard to personally blame the refs as I'm sure they are doing their best and probably don't get paid peanuts to do this, but somehow the league needs to make this a priority to get better talent.  Just my opinion.  

[HopeConvert]

Well, I'm still abuzz - and not from margaritas (at least, not yet!). Quite a game at the 'Noord tonight, and a great environment. Some quick thoughts:

1. Zach did a great job defending Mantel. Kept his feet on the floor, stayed in front of Big John, and made him work for everything he got. MVP to Jesse, but a game ball to Zach.

2. A big difference in this game from earlier ones: 3-point shooting. Hope shot much better than they did at DeVos, and really played superb perimeter defense on Calvin. The strategy clearly was "if Calvin is going to beat us, they'll have to do it inside." No go.

3. A nervous moment after Veltema hit his 3 to pull the Knights within 6, but Hope did a good job keeping its composure. I was yelling for Hope to keep attacking at the 5 minute mark, but I have exactly 0 college wins. The fact is, if you have a 15 point lead (minus missed wide-open layups  ), if you can milk the clock, the other team has to play perfectly for that time to win. Calvin got a nice little run going, but the hole was too deep.

4. How about David Krombeen? Flawless at the point: 5 assists, only 1 TO. And a big 3 to boot. Jesse won't be replaced, but the backcourt looks good for a few years.

5. Some big minutes from Andy Venema.

6. Without question the ugliest incident I have seen at a basketball game. Glad they threw the offenders out.

7. Knight Fans: This is our house.
   Dew Crew: You can't fill it.
   KF: You can't beat us.
   DC: 86-85! 86-85!

8. Hope played great defense tonight. If they keep up that intensity, they'll be a tough out in the big dance.

I'm sure more will come to me. Congrats to Calvin's seniors on their 4 fine years. I remember graduating in the old fieldhouse. Good years. Oh - I ran into someone tonight with whom I had gone to college and he was shocked - SHOCKED! - to see me in a Hope sweatshirt. Good to catch up, and some good natured ribbing. His brother was my roommate for 3 years, and he had to take a picture to send him. All part of what the RIVALRY is about.

Finally, Jesse was interviewed on Fox 17 about whether it is tough to beat a team 3 times in one year. I couldn't quite hear over the celebratory din, but I believe he said "Ask Greg Sager."

[cmlundy]

Ugly incident for people who weren't at the game.

Hope and Calvin each have a student running in the upper bowl Calvin student chases after a Hope player (each are carrying their school flag)  2 Calvin students trip the Hope student then get in the face of the Hope student then run and hide. 

At the end of the game the student section from Calvin throwing debris into the celebration.

[Gregory Sager]

Finally, Jesse was interviewed on Fox 17 about whether it is tough to beat a team 3 times in one year. I couldn't quite hear over the celebratory din, but I believe he said "Ask Greg Sager."

I hope he pronounced my name correctly.

[SBell]

Vote for Mr. Basketball

Poll on the right side http://www.bankhoops.com

[GoVols]

7. Knight Fans: This is our house.
   Dew Crew: You can't fill it.
   KF: You can't beat us.
   DC: 86-85! 86-85!

Others included, "Leprechaun" when Dan Cox took the floor and the many chants of All-i-son when Peter Bunn had the ball, a reference to his girlfriend who attends Calvin.
And at the end, the Hope fans: "This one matters!"

[oldknight]

When Calvin went up 32-26 at the 4:28 mark of the first half, I thought they were in the process of slowly taking control of the game. Then the lid went on the basket. Over the next 18 minutes the Knights would only score 11 points while Hope racked up 36. The Flying Dutchmen played a nice game but I can't say it was anything they did that was unusual or surprising. The Knights only made 8 turnovers, outrebounded Hope by 7, and had their share of open looks that simply didn't go in. The only criticism I might level was the tendency to put up the 3 ball a little early in possessions after they got down, rather than giving the ball to Mantel in the post more often. Next year I think John needs to demand the ball from his teammates in these situations. But congratulations to Hope and good luck in the tournament.

[AlwaysHope]

First off Caleb = Clutch
Reimink = Choke

Second off, I have noticed Hope fans criticizing Van Noord saying it is boring. I believe they are just jealous of a few things such as: Calvin's scoreboard is in color, they have two huge screens which when they work next year will be awesome, it has a luxury box, it holds more people and is able to have concerts such as Lupe Fiasco this spring, oh yeah and I almost forgot it has two Men's Basketball National Championship banners. Yep just jealous.

Classy

I don't know who originally posted the words "Clutch" and "Choice" after the previous Hope/Calvin game, but in the MIAA Tournament Championship game, which may have determined which seniors played their last college game:

Caleb Veldhouse - 2 of 12 FG shooting (1 of 5 beyond the arc), 7 total points
Jesse Reimink - 8 of 17 FG shooting (5 of 6 beyond the arc), 25 total points, despite being double teamed frequently.

Pick your words carefully...

Best wishes to Caleb, who was an incredible player for 4 years.  Who will ever forget (even though I tried) his 3 point shot as a freshman over Greg Immink to give Calvin the MIAA crown in his freshman year.  It seems like he has been around about 8 years!

[sac]

Hope 69 Calvin 59

You can put me in the camp that thought Calvin could/should have won the game the last 5 minutes of the first half.  Not only was Jesse in foul trouble but Will Bowser also had two, for most of the game Will was Hope's most effective rebounder and ended with a team high 10.  If Calvin had been able to get the lead to 9 before the first half buzzer, that was danger territory for Hope.  Instead Hope pulled things together dodged a couple bullets and instead of trailing were actually leading at the half.

This is where I thought the game got away from Calvin, Mantel had just missed a short one that could have cut a 6 point lead to 4 and maybe thwarted a little of the Hope momentum that was building.

09:58  43-50  V 7  GOOD! FT SHOT by Peter Bunn
09:58  43-51  V 8  GOOD! FT SHOT by Peter Bunn
09:18  43-54  V 11 GOOD! 3 PTR by Jesse Reimink
09:18              ASSIST by Zach Osburn
08:39  43-57  V 14 GOOD! 3 PTR by David Krombeen
08:39              ASSIST by Zach Osburn

It was Krombeen's 3 that was a killer in my opinion........in a little over a minute a close game became 14, over these 2 or 3 minutes Calvin really started forcing shots and most of them were bad decisions.  They didn't handle the momentum swing of the game very well, and probably added to Hope's confidence a bit with some of their shot selection.

Hope kind of botched the final few minutes, Will Bowser had a nightmare finish to the game with a missed layup and a couple il-advised 3's.  Everyone knew the run was coming and it was kind of punctuated by a deep Matt Veltema 3, which from my seat was one of the prettiest shots I've ever seen.  With the noose tightening though it was Peter  Bunn providing the clinching shot to go back up 8 and stem the Calvin rally and another layup just a minute later when maybe it hadn't been settled, the air seemed to go out at that point.  There would be no miracles tonight.

I think people are underestimating the defense tonight, it was pretty good on both ends.  Most of Calvin's shots were pretty well contested, even a number of the 3's.  I thought Hope was a little better at breaking down the D to get a few easy one's.  Zach Osburn and Andy Venema seemed to be on the winning end of a few of those.  Both teams had to work pretty hard for anything they got.

In the end it was a fantastic night for Hope basketball, what a conclusion to a pretty interesting MIAA season.

Go Hope!

[AndersDY]

I did not realize Jesse dropped 5 threes. I knew he was certainly keying the offense, but I guess I was too excited over each three to pay attention to who launched it. That Bunn pull up jumper to make it 8 points inside two minutes was huuuuge. I was feeling a little comfortable at 19 until the threes started falling, but then that bucket was finally a crucial score at the point we needed it to hang on.

Getting to be there for a celebration like that reminds you why you put yourself through those first two gut-wrenchers, because you know you want to be there when it does go the right way.

Since people were bringing up various cheers, what is the Michael Phelps reference that was being thrown at Veldhouse, did that get deciphered after the first game?

[sac]

Thoughts and observations from a giddy drive home.

***  The sunset on the drive West to Grand Rapids was Orange.

***  I was told from one eye-witness reporter this is the loosest he's ever seen a Hope team for a game, particularly a big game.  He was confident Hope would play well tonight and they did.  I can't argue with the result.  Stay loose boys.

***  I should stay away from mentioning the 'incident' but that was ugly and it might have been pure luck that Ray Smith and John Northuis were in the area.  Some ugliness has returned to the rivalry and I hope it gets addressed for the future.  There's no need to steal stuff from each other's students, taunt the other team after a win, or throw stuff (even harmless towels) into a celebration.........geez even your mascot looked like he wanted to rumble.  If someone running around with a flag makes you that angry you need to rethink things.  I'd hate to see this rivalry marred by something serious, but we seem to be headed that way.  Everyone's better than that, cheering in support of said incident included.


***  This was what Hope's 2 opponents shot from the floor this weekend

Albion  .283
Calvin   .333

Hope did something right on that end of the floor, I've wondered all year if Hope could find a higher level of defensive play, perhaps they found it this weekend.  It was sure a welcome sight at times.

***   Hope's coaches have talked all year about being better from one month to the next, and it had played out all year.  The toughest month was going to be February and for awhile it didn't look like they would be better than January.  I think the proof came yesterday and today..........yesterday for leading by 16 with Reimink and Bunn combining for 5 in the first half, even in Jan. that team would have trailed.........today because the Dutchmen were holding the MIAA Tournament Championship trophy, in a week when Calvin was looking a little unbeatable.


***  What an awesome thing to see this young Hope team get to play in the NCAA's, its the ultimate in college athletic experiences.  The opponent and location don't matter to me, I never saw an NCAA caliber team all year in the Dutchmen and next week they'll be one.  Congrats to Jesse, Zach and Brandon for the great Senior leadership all season, I imagine its not easy seeing so many new faces around DeVos after the last 3 years.   A pretty tumultuous season which started with a quarantine, 2 players leaving before christmas, a season ending injury, and another player joining the team in midseason.  Somehow this team kept it on track and never lost site of just getting better.  Great stuff guys.

***  By chance the cd in the sacmobile at the moment is just long enough that from Lansing to Grand Rapids it ends with a song titled "One Little Victory".  I thought yesterday how appropriate and meaningfull such a thing was.  Three simple words.....one little victory, yet it was exactly how I was feeling then, just give us one more victory Hope.  Of course these words really have nothing to do with sports but more with life and recovering from epic life events.  But they can be inspirational and  at times such as this weekend take on the sporting meeting.  Just one more victory.

I'll just finish with the only verse from the song that can relate to sports......

Celebrate the moment
As it turns into one more
Another chance at victory
Another chance to score.

[scottiedawg]

7. Knight Fans: This is our house.
   Dew Crew: You can't fill it.
   KF: You can't beat us.
   DC: 86-85! 86-85!

Others included, "Leprechaun" when Dan Cox took the floor and the many chants of All-i-son when Peter Bunn had the ball, a reference to his girlfriend who attends Calvin.
And at the end, the Hope fans: "This one matters!"

Some pretty good cheers finally from the Knights.  It made things fun.  Also in repsonse to the "You can't beat us" chants, we started some "Yes We Can!" chants which were pretty fun. 

8 turnovers for both teams?  And only 8 each in the last matchup?  What a high level of play we were treated to.

6 rebounds for Krombeen deserves major kudos. 

A lot of class exhibited by the leader of the Knights student section, especially after the game.  It was very nice to see.  Much appreciated.

[scottiedawg]

Just perusing the scoreboard for tonight I see:
Unranked Whitworth beating #3 Puget Sound
Unranked Nazareth beating #8 Ithaca
#15 John Carroll beating #11 Capital
Unranked Southwestern beating #13 Trinity
Unranked Springfield beating #24 WPI

Calvin needed chalk to win, and these upsets are certainly dimming their chances for a Pool C.

[arena]

Thoughts and observations from a giddy drive home.

***  The sunset on the drive West to Grand Rapids was Orange.

***  I was told from one eye-witness reporter this is the loosest he's ever seen a Hope team for a game, particularly a big game.  He was confident Hope would play well tonight and they did.  I can't argue with the result.  Stay loose boys.

***  I should stay away from mentioning the 'incident' but that was ugly and it might have been pure luck that Ray Smith and John Northuis were in the area.  Some ugliness has returned to the rivalry and I hope it gets addressed for the future.  There's no need to steal stuff from each other's students, taunt the other team after a win, or throw stuff (even harmless towels) into a celebration.........geez even your mascot looked like he wanted to rumble.  If someone running around with a flag makes you that angry you need to rethink things.  I'd hate to see this rivalry marred by something serious, but we seem to be headed that way.  Everyone's better than that, cheering in support of said incident included.


***  This was what Hope's 2 opponents shot from the floor this weekend

Albion  .283
Calvin   .333

Hope did something right on that end of the floor, I've wondered all year if Hope could find a higher level of defensive play, perhaps they found it this weekend.  It was sure a welcome sight at times.

***   Hope's coaches have talked all year about being better from one month to the next, and it had played out all year.  The toughest month was going to be February and for awhile it didn't look like they would be better than January.  I think the proof came yesterday and today..........yesterday for leading by 16 with Reimink and Bunn combining for 5 in the first half, even in Jan. that team would have trailed.........today because the Dutchmen were holding the MIAA Tournament Championship trophy, in a week when Calvin was looking a little unbeatable.


***  What an awesome thing to see this young Hope team get to play in the NCAA's, its the ultimate in college athletic experiences.  The opponent and location don't matter to me, I never saw an NCAA caliber team all year in the Dutchmen and next week they'll be one.  Congrats to Jesse, Zach and Brandon for the great Senior leadership all season, I imagine its not easy seeing so many new faces around DeVos after the last 3 years.   A pretty tumultuous season which started with a quarantine, 2 players leaving before christmas, a season ending injury, and another player joining the team in midseason.  Somehow this team kept it on track and never lost site of just getting better.  Great stuff guys.

***  By chance the cd in the sacmobile at the moment is just long enough that from Lansing to Grand Rapids it ends with a song titled "One Little Victory".  I thought yesterday how appropriate and meaningfull such a thing was.  Three simple words.....one little victory, yet it was exactly how I was feeling then, just give us one more victory Hope.  Of course these words really have nothing to do with sports but more with life and recovering from epic life events.  But they can be inspirational and  at times such as this weekend take on the sporting meeting.  Just one more victory.

I'll just finish with the only verse from the song that can relate to sports......

Celebrate the moment
As it turns into one more
Another chance at victory
Another chance to score.

plus karma for a Rush lyric.