This was the theme of Coach Vande Streek's post game comments. Good teams find a way to win games. When shots aren't falling and you find yourself in a hole, you need to find something, anything, to pull yourselves out of it.
For Calvin last night, that was rebounding and free throw shooting.
Calvin totaled only 29 points in the first half (on only 10-36 from the floor), but they did the little things in the second half to bring home the victory.
In the second half alone, the Knights out rebounded the Thunder by a 27-10 margin. That included a 19-3 advantage for the Knights on their defensive end (Trine's offensive) and a 8-7 advantage on the offensive end (Trine's defensive). It's not very often that you actually out-rebound the defense, but Calvin did it in the second half (they were even for the game).
Ending your opponent's possessions early while extending your own is nice way to grab the lead when you're not shooting the ball particularly well.
Calvin got to the line 17 times in the second half, making 16 of them. The only miss came in the final seconds when Danny Rodts was at the line. He didn't connect on the front end, but hit the second and the game was sealed.
Stats
| Player | %Min | %Shots | eFG% | PPWS | FTr | Ar | TO% | Rb% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rodts | 0.70 | 0.20 | 0.722 | 1.41 | 0.56 | 0.20 | 0.08 | 0.07 |
| Snikkers | 0.65 | 0.31 | 0.231 | 0.67 | 0.31 | 0.25 | 0.35 | 0.09 |
| Schuster | 0.68 | 0.16 | 0.500 | 1.13 | 0.29 | 0.08 | 0.11 | 0.23 |
| Powell | 0.35 | 0.44 | 0.200 | 0.40 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.09 | 0.03 |
| Salo | 0.60 | 0.08 | 0.000 | 0.82 | 1.33 | 0.07 | 0.00 | 0.14 |
| Brink | 0.55 | 0.14 | 0.300 | 0.84 | 0.40 | 0.00 | 0.34 | 0.09 |
| Haverdink | 0.28 | 0.34 | 0.333 | 0.67 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.13 |
| Schnyders | 0.35 | 0.22 | 0.600 | 1.44 | 1.40 | 0.00 | 0.19 | 0.13 |
| Kruis | 0.58 | 0.16 | 0.333 | 0.67 | 0.50 | 0.18 | 0.12 | 0.20 |
| DeBoer | 0.10 | 0.15 | 1.000 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.50 | 0.12 |
| DeYoung | 0.18 | 0.00 | 0.000 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Total | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.377 | 0.91 | 0.42 | 0.39 | 0.24 | 0.64 |
Nothing flashy in the team line, except the rebounding margin and the free throw rate. The rest of the numbers look downright poor.
Really good games by Rodts, Schuster, and Schnyders. This is the time of year where the seniors must step up and lead the team to a win. I'll say this is especially true for Danny Rodts on the offensive end. He's never been a player to force up a bad shot, but I think he's almost too cautious with his shooting. He's usually always guarded by a smaller player; I'd like to see him shoot over defenders more often.
Maybe we can do somesort of mindset transplant between Rodts and Powell. That might work.
Up Next
It's going to be a big game on Saturday at (historic) Kresge Gymnasium versus Albion. The winner will earn the #2 seed in the MIAA Tournament, and the loser gets the #3.
The #2 seed will get a home game against Trine next Wednesday in the first round. #3 will probably host Kalamazoo, but it would be Adrian if Kalamazoo knocks off Hope on Saturday.
Trine is surely the toughest #7 seed that I've ever seen, but I'd rather not have to face Kzoo or Adrian in the first round. That would not be fun. Especially Adrian.
