Hope started VanArendonk and Benson together again. Unlike the Trine game where that created an advantage, against Calvin it was probably more about matching up with the forest.
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| you've probably had to read along last year to get this |
We (Hope fans) have been on the good side of this rivalry for a pretty good long time now. Coming into this one its been 12 years of winning at least one of these games, now 13, a school record. This run started with an upset of Calvin at the 2002 MIAA Championship game. Since, and including that game we've squeezed in 37 of these, Hope's won 25 of them.
For a person like me who spent his college years watching Hope unable to get past Steven Honderd and Calvin's excellent early 90's teams, saw Todd Henink, Aaron Winkle and Caleb Veldhouse prayers be answered this is practically a kind of nirvana. I'm still conditioned to feel the worst, to expect the big run that turns the game, to expect the shot from 30 feet to go in, to expect Calvin's students to lift their team into an unbeatable cauldran of noise that makes teams melt into a pudding of turnovers. Except yesterday.
Not very long into yesterday's game my mood changed completely and it was simple. Ben Gardner who never smiles turned around after a Hope basket and smiled, not a light smile but a grinning ear to ear smile. Grant Neil smirked with a look of holy cow this is happening after another Eidson 3 ball. Nate VanArendonk carried himself around the court with a look of confidence and desire rarely seen. Nine Hope guys played and all nine made plays that stood out in your minds rewind. Hope simply looked like and played like the better team all day. It just felt like it was going to happen, they believed it would happen and they made it happen.
Last year's games in that gym were humbling. Hope was kicked in the teeth twice. A year ago at Calvin I watched Hope lose by 26 only scoring 49 points and I was thankful it wasn't much, much worse. 12 months later the feeling couldn't be more different. This very young Hope team has a win at Calvin.
Key stretch:
There were more than one but the one that turned the game the most in Hope's favor was the 18-4 run in the middle of the second half from 14:19 to 6:08, Hope basically bookended that run with back-to-back threes first by Eidson's pair and then from the Freshmen Stuive and Carlson who were probably watching this game in the stands last year as Calvin recruits. A two point game in doubt was now incredibly 16. Calvin didn't score a FG again until Jordan Brink's 3 at 4:25 that sparked their very late and too little rally to finish the game.
Hero:
With 9:39 left in the first half Fr. Cody Stuive made his first appearance and played 25 of the remaining minutes. His height and length helped to balance Calvin's advantage in those areas and allowed a better set of defensive match-ups for Hope. Offensively he contributed significantly making a couple of big shots at key moments.
In Summary:
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| It wasn't a tire fire, also a reference to last year |
Estimated number of possessions: Hope 69 Calvin 74
Some funky math to get that big of a difference. I'll call it a little up tempo.
Offensively Efficiency: 102.23
A little low, some missed ft's at the end hurt the final number. Calvin's a good defensive team too and for the most part they played a good defensive game in some situations, but some really big breakdowns. Its a higher eff than maybe what Calvin defended because of Hope's 3-point shooting.
Defensive Efficiency: 85.22
Hope's best effort of the year. It should be stated I've always thought when you get a number this low there's usually an element of offensive ineptness. Calvin wasn't good on this day, Hope had at least a little and maybe a lot of something to do with that.
Rebounding Efficiency:
Hope: 35.3% of available offensive rebounds
Calvin: 25.0% of available offensive rebounds
2nd Chance points: Hope 17 Calvin 7
A pretty convincing win for Hope here. Calvin hasn't been quite as good on the their own boards as a year ago but they're still pretty good. For the game Hope ended up collecting 44 rebounds to 36, mostly a product of Calvin missing 40 shots. But the overall effort was pretty sound, a lot of the physical battles for balls they lost last year in this game were won this time.
Other Interesting Stats.
Assists:
Calvin came into this game hovering around 65% of their FG's with as assist attached. Saturday only 40%, for whatever reason Calvin wasn't making or maybe looking for the extra pass. From a Hope defensive stand point that extra pass might not have been there.
3-point shooting:
Interesting, both teams shot 15 3's, about 5 or 6 for Calvin were the late game, desperate variety. There was a striking difference in the quality of 3's attempted noticed in the second viewing. Nearly all of Hope's were a product movement and screens resulting in open looks. Most of Calvin's seemed hurried, rushed, defended or even more obvious off-balance. The difference was not only in execution but quality of shot taken.
In all 4 of Calvin's losses they've shot under 30% from beyond the arc.
Blocked shots:
How many times do you see a team have 13 shots blocked and still win?
Going Forward:
No matter the league, no matter the level of talent, league play is difficult. Every MIAA season you're tested 7 times on the road. This was just one, a big one, but it was just one. Six more lie ahead, each with its unique challenges and characteristics. Savor it while you can but remember its only one step on this long journey.
For Hope its next test is venerable old Kresge Gymnasium and the Albion Britons. At times in the past this has actually been Hope's stiffest test of any season. Maybe the greatest growth of any young team is handling success, understanding that great efforts don't happen without great effort. I have no doubt they'll face a team Wednesday that will play them harder than anyone has to this point.
Me vs remembering this is an ongoing process and not a finished product
Wednesday Jan 15. @ Kresge
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