MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[hoof02]

You have to protect the players. It's all fun and games...

[hoof02]

Like I said, though, Hope's inability to get a rebound was the real difference maker. Oh and the fact that Calvin hit some huge shots 

[GoKnights68]

and here it starts.

Yes - the start of reality - Hope players were getting fouled (mugged, hacked, whatever you want to call it) and it wasn't being called, specifically in the 2nd half. I honestly believe it came down to the fact that the rotation of the officials had Kooiker under the Calvin basket, while Palmer was under the Hope basket. It appeared to me that these two officials were calling the game very differently. 

Yes, Hope could have/should have done a couple of things better and won the game, but the officiating contributed to the final outcome. That's not an excuse, it's the reality of what happened IMHO

I guess we're even after the 2006 Calvin at Hope ncaa tourney game, or after all the hand checking Hope got away with during the GVW a years.

[HOPEful]

Like I said, though, Hope's inability to get a rebound was the real difference maker. Oh and the fact that Calvin hit some huge shots 

I would have to agree with this assessment.

[Knight2Day]

and here it starts.

Yes - the start of reality - Hope players were getting fouled (mugged, hacked, whatever you want to call it) and it wasn't being called, specifically in the 2nd half. I honestly believe it came down to the fact that the rotation of the officials had Kooiker under the Calvin basket, while Palmer was under the Hope basket. It appeared to me that these two officials were calling the game very differently. 

Yes, Hope could have/should have done a couple of things better and won the game, but the officiating contributed to the final outcome. That's not an excuse, it's the reality of what happened IMHO

If you would have won the game you would have been touting how tough Hope played and how they withstood a great Calvin attempt. Instead you're bitching about refs. How about you not bitch eh? Watched the whole game and there were plenty of non calls on both sides of the ball. The refs let them play at the end, Benson couldn't make the free throws when it counted and Otto hucked up a bad shot, that's the reality. Brink went lights out in the last 3 minutes and played like an All American. That's what happened. Everyone knows I can't stand KVS' coaching, but give a little more credit or go wipe your tears with your national runner up banners.

[almcguirejr]

Mlive article: http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2015/02/calvins_stunning_comeback_agai.html#incart_river

[KnightSlappy]

Both teams played hard.

[KnightSlappy]

Calvin's four seniors combined for 52 points on 18-25 from the floor (and 12-15 from the line).

[ziggy]

I don't buy the officiating excuse as it isn't like the game flipped after halftime. Hope mostly maintained a comfortable lead until it got to be "you know what" measuring time. Hope shriveled, Jordan Brink and company stepped up. Heart of a champion.

[realist]

The sequence that turned the game actually involved Tyler Dykstra.  He blocks on one end, and gets a lay up on the other off a feed from Brink.  Tyler's 4 blocks also factored into the game.
When you look at the box score, and see that Hope's bench only scored 3 points to Calvin's bench contributing 18 you can start to understand the end of the game.   Calvin had a 13-5 offensive rebounding advantage, and a 31-23 advantage on rebounding overal. 

[almcguirejr]

Jordan Brink's last shot at VNA!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UJyLyFOPTwY

[Flying Dutch Fan]

and here it starts.

Yes - the start of reality - Hope players were getting fouled (mugged, hacked, whatever you want to call it) and it wasn't being called, specifically in the 2nd half. I honestly believe it came down to the fact that the rotation of the officials had Kooiker under the Calvin basket, while Palmer was under the Hope basket. It appeared to me that these two officials were calling the game very differently. 

Yes, Hope could have/should have done a couple of things better and won the game, but the officiating contributed to the final outcome. That's not an excuse, it's the reality of what happened IMHO

If you would have won the game you would have been touting how tough Hope played and how they withstood a great Calvin attempt. Instead you're bitching about refs. How about you not bitch eh? Watched the whole game and there were plenty of non calls on both sides of the ball. The refs let them play at the end, Benson couldn't make the free throws when it counted and Otto hucked up a bad shot, that's the reality. Brink went lights out in the last 3 minutes and played like an All American. That's what happened. Everyone knows I can't stand KVS' coaching, but give a little more credit or go wipe your tears with your national runner up banners.

You have no idea of what I would have said if the outcome had been different. The fact is that I believe the officiating was awful(both ways), and while the first half was fairly even the second half was decidedly in Calvins favor. You are correct that missing FTs and shots and rebounds made the difference,  but the officiating did contribute to the final outcome.  That is not unique to this game, it happens to lots of teams at all levels, but it does happen. Calvin outplayed Hope the last 3 minutes and won the game, but I believe the officiating helped them get to a point where they could win it in the end.

And there is no reason to get pissy about it. I'm sharing my opinion and that's it.

[oldknight]

Calvin should have sent a few people in to keep the students under control until the teams were done shaking hands. Then let the pplayers and fans celebrate.

I don't mind court storming. I actually quite like it. And this win was definitely worth storming the court over considering the circumstance. I would have just hoped that instead of ignoring the fact that Ben was still lying on the ground beneath them, calvin's players would have helped him up and out before continuing the celebration.

They did and you would know that if you took the time to go the archived video on Calvin's website instead of making an unwarranted criticism. More than one Calvin player made great efforts to keep the madhouse from crushing Gardner, keeping the crowd at bay, and then  helping Gardner off the floor so he could exit. It's hard to make them out for sure but I believe you can see Michael Welch and TJ Huizenga pushing the crowd back. You can thank them anytime for their sportsmanship.

As for the game, until the final seconds, there was no point at which time I expected Calvin to win this game. A lackluster start, an inability to get over the large hump they created, and just bad luck seemed to conspire to make this the final game of Calvin's season. Gardner's banked three after the Knights played over 30 seconds of great D seemed to underscore the impossible task they had. Fortunately, the Calvin players are made of sterner stuff than me. It's a cliché to mention this but there's no substitute for having a never-say-die attitude if you want to have the heart of a champion. Being a senior also has a way of focusing the mind on the task at hand. Other notes:

--Speaking of seniors, where did that magnificent Dan Stout second half come from? 4-5 from the floor and some inspired D on Benson from a guy whose balky knees kept him on the bench against Alma wasn't what I saw coming down the road.

--When Tyler Dykstra decides to play defense, you don't want him guarding you. Blackledge is a really, really tough guy to stop from scoring any field goals and yet Harrison failed to do so in 33 minutes of action. Other than Dykstra, I'm not sure there's any defender in D3 who could have done that to the Hope sophomore.

--Hate to keep beatin' the drum but TJ Huizenga just keeps making contributions you don't see on the stat sheet. Sam Otto was terrific for Hope but once TJ matched up on him, life got a little more difficult for Sam.

--Speaking of Otto, several of us—led by knightvision—expressed wonder on this board earlier why Sam was not a starter. Tonight's performance obviously validated that and not just because he scored 24. Otto is simply a much steadier hand on the wing than anyone else Hope can throw at an opponent.

--The TJ Huizenga three point play was probably just as critical but to me one just as important—and possibly the most astonishing moment of the year—occurred when the game was at 67-62. Hope missed, and Calvin had a semi-break when the ball came to Brad Visser coming past the Calvin bench. Visser actually had a brief opening to take three himself and I would easily put down $20 that the ball was going up. It was almost as if I could see the bubble going up over his head with the words "I would like to put this up but Jordan Brink just made a three, he's a senior, and he's earned the right to take this shot." Brad listened to the angels of his better nature, passed the ball, and within five seconds Brink hit a triple to cut the deficit to 67-65. Fortunately, my wife had smelling salts that allowed me to watch the rest of the game.

--Is there anything more to say about Jordan Brink? I didn't think so either.

--While the game wasn't close to a sell-out, the last five minutes may have been the loudest five minutes of action I ever heard in VNA.

[sac]

I hope this reaches the right people, and I'm asking for help of fellow posters and anyone else who might have been at the game tonight.


Hope and Calvin are in a position to be leaders on an issue that is getting more and more national attention.  As silly as it sounds, court rushes.  What happened at the end of this game was extremely dangerous.  I care too much about what goes on in this game to see it marred permanently by something that can be prevented.

I'm asking those of you in attendance tonight to let both the Hope and Calvin AD's know that you'd like a copy of the video sent to ESPN about what could potentially go wrong at the end of a game.  We were way, way to close to something very serious happening and its just not worth it.

It does not take much for a person to be crushed and seriously or permanently injured. 

Thanks.

[jspiii]

I hope this reaches the right people, and I'm asking for help of fellow posters and anyone else who might have been at the game tonight.


Hope and Calvin are in a position to be leaders on an issue that is getting more and more national attention.  As silly as it sounds, court rushes.  What happened at the end of this game was extremely dangerous.  I care too much about what goes on in this game to see it marred permanently by something that can be prevented.

I'm asking those of you in attendance tonight to let both the Hope and Calvin AD's know that you'd like a copy of the video sent to ESPN about what could potentially go wrong at the end of a game.  We were way, way to close to something very serious happening and its just not worth it.

It does not take much for a person to be crushed and seriously or permanently injured. 

Thanks.

The court rush happened prematurely with 0.5 seconds on the clock and they had to get them off the court. Someone should have been stationed at the ready after that.