MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[neilrocks]

Hope struggling to contain Alma in 1st half, actually lucky to be within seven points.

Alma 16-30 for 53.3% and 6-13, 46.2% from three land (Jacob Murwaske is 4-4).

Hope 8-14 from FT line, 57.1%.  Guess the players missed Coach Neil's comment in the paper this morning.  Especially, Billy Seiler who missed the first 4 and is currently 0-4.

Colton Overway with 8 rebounds at half and his partner Ben Gardner with 11 points to keep Hope in it.

Snuggs played 10 minutes and had 8 points (but, no he did not start)

Well, somebody awoke a sleeping giant at halftime tonight at the DeVos (The Hope team and Snuggs)

Snuggs goes 9-12 from the floor for 19 points in 22 minutes.
Chase DeMaagd has a huge 2nd half.

Both players led Hope on a 16-0 run from the 10:53 to 4:51 of the second half to change the game from 57-54 Alma to 70-57 Hope.

Hope dominates the boards with a 46-27 advantage.  Still, only 13-23, 56.5% from the FT line (worrisome).

Alma goes 7-26, 26.9% in the 2nd half and 2-11, 18.2% from three land in the 2nd half.

Isiah Law with 21 and Jacob Murawske with 16, but for both players the majority in the 1st half.

[thealmascots]

Looks like Adrian played someone tonight.

56-50 Calvin upsets Adrain

That was hardly an upset.  Calvin has more size, experience and shooting ability.  That was only as close as it was because Calvin played poorly.  Kruis has to learn to finish and Calvin has to get Snikkers the ball in the post more often.  Tough to watch Calvin make their offense so difficult.

[Adrian Bulldawg Alum]

It's hard to tell from the livestream, but no matter what the reason, Adrian's offense looked poor.  I know Adrian puts their energy into their D, but they need to execute much better on the Offensive end.  Was it poor shot selection, poor play structure, or great defense by Calvin?  Combination of all 3 seems about  right.  Big guys need to be a bigger part of it regardless which I'll get to in a minute.

Adrian shoots only 2 of 10 from 3, 34.5% FG (Even with Eric Lewis keeping them close on 7 of 14 shooting), and only 67% from the line (where Calvin clinched the game with their impressive 13 of 15 from the line, most of which came in the last 2 minutes).  This was surprising after seeing Adrian shoot so well when I saw them live.

Adrian big guys need to step it up!  Sean Gallant, Brad Hohman, and Adam Meier combined 4 for 15 FG, 0 for 5 from 3 (all Gallant), 4 for 8 FT (12 points), and 11 rebounds.  I know they were outsized a good amount, but this stat line can't happen.  Snikkers, Dykstra, and Kruis scored 29 and 19 boards, hit their free throws and had a much better shooting percentage.

Adrian is always going to keep it close with Mark White's defensive minded team, but if they want to take that 'next step', they have to execute well on offense.  They'll need to bounce back immediately with Hope on Saturday.

[knights2000]

Looks like Adrian played someone tonight.

56-50 Calvin upsets Adrain

That was hardly an upset.  Calvin has more size, experience and shooting ability.  That was only as close as it was because Calvin played poorly.  Kruis has to learn to finish and Calvin has to get Snikkers the ball in the post more often.  Tough to watch Calvin make their offense so difficult.

When an unranked team beats the undefeated #7 team in the nation, it's an upset.

[ziggy]

Looks like Adrian played someone tonight.

56-50 Calvin upsets Adrain

That was hardly an upset.  Calvin has more size, experience and shooting ability.  That was only as close as it was because Calvin played poorly.  Kruis has to learn to finish and Calvin has to get Snikkers the ball in the post more often.  Tough to watch Calvin make their offense so difficult.

I wouldn't call it an upset either but Adrian deserves some credit. Did I ever believe them to be the number seven team in the country as the D3Hoops poll suggests? No, but I do respect the program they have become, especially on the defensive end.

[Knight2Day]

Looks like Adrian played someone tonight.

56-50 Calvin upsets Adrain

That was hardly an upset.  Calvin has more size, experience and shooting ability.  That was only as close as it was because Calvin played poorly.  Kruis has to learn to finish and Calvin has to get Snikkers the ball in the post more often.  Tough to watch Calvin make their offense so difficult.

I wouldn't call it an upset either but Adrian deserves some credit. Did I ever believe them to be the number seven team in the country as the D3Hoops poll suggests? No, but I do respect the program they have become, especially on the defensive end.

Adrian is a quality team and this was a quality win especially considering Calvin's recent record vs Coach White. Nice way to kick off the MIAA season, but I agree, Adrian was definitely not a top 10 caliber team. Their schedule was extremely forgiving, though the win at wooster was huge. Adrian is a tough team, but this is a game Calvin SHOULD win more times than not. Congrats to KVS and the boys.

[GoKnights68]

Looks like Adrian played someone tonight.

56-50 Calvin upsets Adrain

That was hardly an upset.  Calvin has more size, experience and shooting ability.  That was only as close as it was because Calvin played poorly.  Kruis has to learn to finish and Calvin has to get Snikkers the ball in the post more often.  Tough to watch Calvin make their offense so difficult.

I hope the offense can get clicking soon.  It was especially an ugly first half of basketball to watch offensively.  While Kruis finished with 14 tonight, he struggled quite a bit for going against an opponent with such a size advantage, and you're right about him needing to finish better.  Adrian did quite a good job at preventing Calvin from getting the ball in down low, but some better cuts to the basket from Calvin would have helped.  While Powell took a few questionable shots, I did like his offensive intensity tonight and the fact that he was looking to score.

[wiz]

Any first hand reports on the Trine/Kalamazoo game?  Seems a lot closer than I would have expected.

[KnightSlappy]

All of Calvin's s starters played at least 27 minutes. Kruis and Snikkers had 30+.

[maroonandgold]

[quote from Knights 2000]Hate to sound pessimistic, but the story of the half for Calvin was turnovers. The first three possessions of the game resulted in turnovers, and the Knights finished the half with 9. The officials seem to be letting a lot of contact go under the basket, but I like it. Calvin is where you want to be after a half of basketball though; in a position to win the game in the second. [/quote]

What is interesting is the comparison between first half and second half turnovers.  Adrian taught the Knights a lot about protecting the ball, driving with the ball, and coming out to receive passes.  Calvin played a much better floor game the second half and won in the end by protecting the ball successfully against an ineffective press.  In neither half did Calvin shoot as well as they are capable of shooting.  Both teams seemed to feel a lot of pressure on their shots, but Calvin's defense and size put more consistent pressure on Adrian.  Calvin had better shots overall.

[goodknight]

sac was in the house at the VanNoord tonight.  Kiddingly, I asked him if he had been frisked by the Calvin security staff upon his arrival in the building. He took it well.  The kidding, that is.  The frisking he did not enjoy at all.   
An honor to have the dean of the board in Grand Rapids when his Dutchmen were in action. 
I trust that he found the Calvin-Adrian slugfest mostly entertaining, albeit not a thing of beauty.
The Knights did get tougher in the second half, and beat Adrian at the game the Dawgs play very well indeed.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Did he keep control of his 'errant finger'?

[oldknight]

Did he keep control of his 'errant finger'?

No; he used it to tap me on the shoulder when I was in the concession line, then took advantage of my surprise to slip in ahead and order before I could. All kidding aside, sac was a model of decorum and I'm sorry I didn't linger afterwards to talk, but my daughter wanted to go home.

[oldknight]

It's hard to tell from the livestream, but no matter what the reason, Adrian's offense looked poor.  I know Adrian puts their energy into their D, but they need to execute much better on the Offensive end.  Was it poor shot selection, poor play structure, or great defense by Calvin?  Combination of all 3 seems about  right.  Big guys need to be a bigger part of it regardless which I'll get to in a minute.

Adrian shoots only 2 of 10 from 3, 34.5% FG (Even with Eric Lewis keeping them close on 7 of 14 shooting), and only 67% from the line (where Calvin clinched the game with their impressive 13 of 15 from the line, most of which came in the last 2 minutes).  This was surprising after seeing Adrian shoot so well when I saw them live.

Adrian big guys need to step it up!  Sean Gallant, Brad Hohman, and Adam Meier combined 4 for 15 FG, 0 for 5 from 3 (all Gallant), 4 for 8 FT (12 points), and 11 rebounds.  I know they were outsized a good amount, but this stat line can't happen.  Snikkers, Dykstra, and Kruis scored 29 and 19 boards, hit their free throws and had a much better shooting percentage.

Adrian is always going to keep it close with Mark White's defensive minded team, but if they want to take that 'next step', they have to execute well on offense.  They'll need to bounce back immediately with Hope on Saturday.

That's pretty good analysis from a guy who only saw the game from a computer screen. Adrian's offense never really got going in part because Calvin's defense was very good and in part because Adrian's offense really isn't all that good. While Adrian is an outstanding defensive team, most of the game their offense consisted of Cody Barnes or Eric Lewis breaking down his defender off the dribble. The Bulldogs were fortunate this pair shot well because if they hadn't, Adrian wouldn't have scored 40. Calvin really beat Adrian at their own game in the second half, winning the battle of the boards and taking care of the ball (only 4 turnovers after the break). I sensed that Adrian tired down the stretch and maybe all those minutes in a close game was the reason. Lewis, Barnes and Gallant played 17, 19 and 20 minutes in the second half and it didn't seem to me they had enough gas in the tank the last 5 minutes when Adrian needed to force turnovers. I think the Knights are deeper than the Bulldogs. Mickey DeVries is one of those players who doesn't always show a great stat line but he does the little things coaches and teammates appreciate. Kruis was effective even if he did struggle to finish around the basket, but he did come up with a huge one in the lane and then made the free throw to put the Knights up 6 at about the 7 minute mark. Calvin won without any meaningful contribution from Jordan Brink who had a quiet night, going 1-6 from the floor. The player of the game for Calvin was Snikkers who was steady from start to finish. He has become such a great relief valve and playmakes extremely well. Tom's ability to find people open while under pressure was outstanding and on serveral occasions he single handedly neutralized Adrian ball pressure

[Gregory Sager]

Did he keep control of his 'errant finger'?

No; he used it to tap me on the shoulder when I was in the concession line, then took advantage of my surprise to slip in ahead and order before I could.

He probably had to do that out of worry that the VanNoord concession stand wasn't up to DeVos standards in the most vital stats area: