MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[NW Hope Fan]

I would assume no problem, as we never even had Good Friday off from school. I believe it is only a Sunday thing.

I'm glad Hope does that, but as lawn mowing became acceptable on Sundays and alcohol is now being sold in Zeeland  , we may someday see an end to that policy as well.

[ChicagoHopeNut]

I'm glad Hope does that, but as lawn mowing became acceptable on Sundays and alcohol is now being sold in Zeeland  , we may someday see an end to that policy as well.

I always knew Zeeland was secretly Holland's troubled little brother! Now we have proof.

[hopehoopfan]

It'll be interesting to see what sort of effort Calvin puts up in the MIAA tourney. Right now it looks like they are wandering in the desert but maybe the chance for one last run at the NCAA tourney will inspire the team.

Careful with your comparisons, if wandering in the desert is to Calvin, what it was to Moses and his faithful, they may end up on top!! (Granted, if it takes 40 years, then I'm okay with that )

[MWKnight]

Calvin was down by a few when Koetsier goes out......lose by 17

This is not coincidence

[GoKnights68]

Congratulations Olivet fans.

Griffin shoots 1 for 11 from the 3-point line.

Calvin does get a rematch on Wednesday against Olivet.  At least Calvin knows they will have to come out and play unless they want to be one and done.

[sac]

5 hours later, let me be the first to congratulate the 2008 MIAA Champion Hope men's basketball team.  Back-to-back outright MIAA titles for the first time since the great run of 4 straight from 1995 to 1998.

Hope 74 Tri-State 57

Hope opened with a 7-0 run holding the Thunder scoreless for the initial 4 minutes of the game, but they were unable to build on the momentum and TSU tied it at 7 just 2 minutes later.  Hope followed with an 11-2 run over 4 minutes to push the lead to 18-9 and the Dutchmen were really in control from there.  TSU did get the game down to 5 but Hope held the Thunder to just 4 points and 1 FG over the final 6 minutes of the first half to lead 31-21.  Really some very good defense from the Dutchmen, offensively they struggled to cash in, but the lead of 10 felt pretty fair.

Tri-State put more defensive emphasis on guarding the perimeter, and Hope found the inside matchups to their likeing with VanderHeide and Klein finding lots of opportunities and cashing in on most.  It seemed like all TSU could do was foul on defense if the ball went inside.  I think Hope made 4 old fashioned 3 point plays in the first and had attempts at 2 others.

Hope opened up the game by finishing the first half with a Jesse Reimink 3, and scoring the first 5 of the second half to push the lead to 15.  Within another 4 minutes the lead was 20 after a wide open VanderHeide 3, it was early, but it felt like the dagger.  TSU was never able to get closer than 14 as the two teams didn't do much more than trade baskets, missed shots and turnovers the rest of the game.  Neither team could grab momentum.

TSU put more defensive pressure on the inside in the second half, but Hope responded with 6 triples on 11 tries which ultimately thwarted any TSU comeback.  Maybe it was Ty Tanis's 3 with about 3 minutes left that was the ultimate capper.

Doug Sharples finished the game with a big block of Randall Harris' short jumper, perhaps it was symbollic of the Dutchmen's rejection of the MIAA's attempts to wrestle away the MIAA Championship in 2008.

VanderHeide 18, Wolfe 11, Reimink 11, Klein 9, VanSolkema 8........should mention Zach Osburn provided some very solid and vital minutes off the bench as Hope battled some foul troubles, and Ty Tanis put together a second straight solid defensive effort.

Benford 14, Moore 12, Mislin 12.....Benford took 21 shots and alot of them were forced, he didn't have his shooting eye today.

A pretty solid effort on the road vs a team that I thought played pretty hard, and pretty determined.  Hope had to flex its muscles today and responded with some superior physical play and execution.  Just what you expect from a Championship team.

[hope1]

yes nice job today for hope on winning the miaa  now no to wed  night when hope plays alma  wed night  then maybe friday some good games albion vs calvin if calvin can beat olivet wed vanderheide played a really good game today it seemed like the thurnder could stop him he made my case for the mvp today

[sac]

Today's top performances

Double-Doubles
Tony Benford, TSU 14 pts, 10 rbs vs Hope
John Moore, TSU 12 pts, 10 rbs vs Hope
Brandon McClary Olivet 16 pts, 11 rbs vs Calvin
Michael McClary Olivet 13pts, 17 rebs vs Calvin
Ian Weber, Adrian 15 pts, 14 rebs vs Kzoo
Mat Kellog, Kzoo 15 pts, 13 rebs vs Adrian

Rebounds
Michael McClary, Olivet 17 rebs vs Calvin
Ian Weber, Adrian 14 rebs vs Kzoo

Scoring
Jordan Redditt, Alma 30 pts vs Albion
Henry McCain, Kzoo 23 pts vs Adrian
Desmond Young, Adrian 22 pts vs Kzoo
Drew Yancey, Albion 20 pts vs Alma
Brandon Way, Olivet 20 pts vs Calvin


The unique
Tony Benford played all 40 minutes for Tri-State
Ryan Gallus and Desmond Young played 43 of 45 minutes for Adrian
35 of TSU's 57 shots came from Benford or Chris Mislin.
41 of Calvin's 65 shots came form Veldhouse, Griffin or Smith
75 of 79 Adrian points came from the starting 5
The McClary's bro's combined for 12 offensive rebounds v Calvin

[sac]

No one posted the tournament matchups so here they are:

Wednesday First Round Games
#8 Alma at #1 Hope, 7:30 p.m.
#7 Kalamazoo at #2 Albion, 7:30 p.m.
#6 Olivet at #3 Calvin, 7:30 p.m.
#5 Adrian at #4 Tri-State, 7:30 p.m.

Hope and Alma meet for the 11th time in the tournament.

The other 3 games are really pretty interesting matchups,  You've got Albion who's last loss came to Kzoo.  Olivet/Calvin with the Comets just pulling off the big win, what must be going through the Knights minds right now.........and lastly Adrian/TSU which have been typically tough physical games with TSU winning both this year by 10 and 2.   Should be a fun night, and could be interesting.

[sac]

Hope OCSID doesn't mind if I share this info..........

The last time Olivet beat Calvin was Jan. 20, 1999 ... a 74-73 win at the Upton Center ...

.............. today was the last game at the Upton Center.

[hope1]

sac
  i can not rember in a long time i was thinking i dont rember calvin losing 2 games in a week when was the last time they did that 

[sac]

sac
  i can not rember in a long time i was thinking i dont rember calvin losing 2 games in a week when was the last time they did that 

Not that long ago,  they've lost in the same week 3 times this season.

Wheaton/Aquinas  3 days apart
Keene St./Montclair St back-to-back nights in December
Hope/Olivet 3 days apart

Technically, they lost the first Aquinas game within 7 calender dates of the Wheaton loss this year.  Then to Aquinas again 3 days later.

In the MIAA, they lost to Adrian and Hope in the second week of last season.

[sac]

another tidbit

Hope's 58.6 points allowed average for the conference season is just 3 points over what I believe to be the MIAA record of 58.4 that Hope set in 2006.  This is the 3rd year in a row Hope's led the league in this category.

Hope really played some great defense down the stretch, they did not allow a single MIAA opponent to score 60 points in the second half of the season, and allowed only 3 MIAA opponents to score more than 60 all season.

[bulldogalum]

Looking forward to another MIAA tournament.  Unfortunately, I'll be unable to watch the grudge match between Adrian and Tri State this Wednesday, as I'll be glued to a poker table in Vegas for the week.  But hopefully I'll see everyone at the MIAA semis and finals later in the week.  Best of luck to everyone in the tournament.

[Happy Calvin Guy]

another tidbit

Hope's 58.6 points allowed average for the conference season is just 3 points over what I believe to be the MIAA record of 58.4 that Hope set in 2006. 

Too bad GVW didn't throw the four corners offense out there to slow things down a bit at the end and go get that record.  Enough talk on this board about KVS's coaching this year...let's talk about this missed opportunity for the Dutchmen!   

Seriously, congrats to Hope and all their fans on another great regular season.  Looking back, they are only a few plays away from being unbeaten and #1 in the country right now. 

It's not looking good right now, but hopefully Calvin can rediscover the WashU-type form quickly, steal the tourney this week, and maybe we can both end up in the NCAA tourney.  (and it would be nice and well deserved if the MIAA and Albion get some respect and consideration too....)