Calvin 92, Grace Bible 88 (box score)
With the game on the line and the Calvin Knights in desperate need of some clutch three point shooting, it wasn't necessarily a surprise to see a number 30 rise up and bury the shot. What was surprising, though, was that this number 30 jersey was occupied by Tom Snikkers, and not either of the former three point sharpshooters Andy Draayer or Matt Veltema.
Trailing by five points with only 58 seconds remaining in the first overtime, the Calvin Knights were looking for a quasi-miracle. Snikkers hit a three to give Calvin a breath of life, but they were still down, and Grace could afford to milk the clock before attacking the basket. Calvin fouled Ryan Krombeen with 14 seconds left needing a miss and a three to tie the game. Krombeen obliged by missing one of his two free throws, and the Knights received the opportunity to tie the game.
After a timeout and several passes, Tom Snikkers ended up with the ball with time ticking off the clock. So he simply put up a shot -- from way deep -- and buried it. Exactly like Draayer or Veltema would have done.
It wasn't a really pretty game, but the Knights battled hard to win. At halftime, the two sides were dead even in rebounding, but Calvin hit the glass hard in the second half and in overtime to win that battle by a 56-42 margin.
Snikker lead the way with 27 points and 11 rebounds, but Mitch Vallie also chipped in a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds (I'm pretty sure Zac has his Whitney Houston CD on continuous loop right now). It's also impossible to look past what Mickey DeVries did tonight. He came away with 13 points and 7 boards off the bench, and played nearly all of the crucial minutes down the stretch. He played the same number of minutes as Tyler Kruis did, but Mickey was mainly the guy on the floor during crunch time.
Overall this was a fun game to watch. One of those back and forth contests that keeps everyone on the edge of their seats. The largest lead by both teams was six. No game is ever out of reach for either team when the margin never surpasses two possessions. I'm just glad/relieved that it was Calvin that ended the game on top.
Want to stay up to date on the happenings at FFTMAG? Follow me on Twitter, “like” us on Facebook, and grab our RSS Feed. Need a ride to a game? Check out the Ride Board and post your needs.
