Previously:
10. Andy Draayer En Fuego
9. Calvin Claims Final GRSHOF Tournament Championship
8. Calvin Wins "Home" Tournament Game in Aurora
7. Matt Veltema's Only Field Goal Was a Good One
6. Hope's First Loss at DeVos, and Lightning Strikes Twice
5. Kyle Trewhella Stuns the Trinity Trolls (November 30, 2005)
The game was against Trinity, so there was no excitement to begin with*. But when the Knights stumbled out of the gate and then continued to dig themselves into a hole, whatever sort of zip or buzz that may have been in the Calvin Fieldhouse evaporated quickly.
*Trinity is not a rival. They’re a relatively regional Christian school, sure, and some Calvin students know friends who made their way to Trinity for the furthering of their education, but there’s no basketball rivalry here. No one ever cares about this game, but it still gets played every year. I understand playing Cornerstone and Aquinas; they both have a tradition of being top-tier NAIA-II teams and they’re right in Calvin’s back yard. Trinity is neither good (at least not usually), nor local. Let’s ditch this game and schedule a series of home-and-homes against the likes of Heidelberg, Elmhurst, North Park, Defiance, Wabash, Ohio Wesleyan, Wittenberg, Ohio Northern, John Carroll, or Wooster, or any other in-region D3 opponent. Calvin is in the bottom 5% of D3 for number of in-region games played. Let’s go ahead and sacrifice this yearly Trinity game for an in-region one. //rant
Anyway, Trinity used a 10-12 performance from beyond the arc in the first half to mount a 16 point lead. Calvin, on the other hand, shot only 35% from the floor and connected on only 11 field goals in the half. After reaching the Final Four in the previous season, the Calvin faithful were staring a 2-4 November directly in the face.
The Knights began to claw their way back into the contest in the second half, but it appeared that their efforts were too little, too late. With only 48 seconds left in the game, they still trailed by six. But they had the ball, and they had Kyle Trewhella, and 48 seconds would prove to be plenty of time.
Immediately, Trewhella knocked down a three pointer, but with only 40 seconds left, they were still going to have to force the issue. The students (that had stayed) had finally been energized and were standing and making noise. Calvin quickly forced a Trinity turnover, and, in a blink, Kyle got the ball back and hit his second three point basket in as many possessions.
With the game tied and the shot clock off, Trinity put up a shot that wouldn’t fall. Andy Draayer pulled down the rebound and found Trewhella with the outlet pass. Trinity had to foul him to prevent the easy layup. And with one second on the clock, Kyle Trewhella stepped to the line and knocked down his first free throw to give Calvin the lead for the first time. His second toss was missed, but with only one tick left and the length of the floor to go, there was nothing the Trolls could do.
Kyle’s performance wasn’t quite Reggie-Miller-at-Madison-Square-Garden, but he poured in the final seven points in a span of only 41 seconds to turn a sure loss into sweet victory. It was one of those events that makes you stay until the end and keeps you coming back for more.
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