February 5, 1999 Calvin College Chimes

Scots stun Knights 82-76 Torrid league stretch disappears under 12 Alma three pointers, Knights cling to first place By Nathan Bierma Sports Editor Sam Hargraves was the first to his feet to applaud every Alma basket and Calvin turnover Wednesday night, unusual behavior for a man named second team All-MIAA as a Knight just last season. photo by Vos HOPE OF A REPEAT: Scott Plaisier, shown here against Hope, travels with the Knights to Holland on Wednesday. Hargraves was making his return to the Fieldhouse as assistant coach for Alma, but the Knights would have preferred he came off the other bench Wednesday, as the Scots upset Calvin 82-76. Fittingly, Alma used the very weapon Hargraves himself fashioned so dangerously for Calvin in his career – the three point shot. The Scots scorched the nets from downtown, connected on 12 of 18 tries. “I have good feelings for Calvin still; I had a lot of good times here,” Hargraves said. “But it still feels good to beat them.” Hargraves was the only present Calvin alumnus pleased with the outcome of Wednesday’ shocker. With it, Calvin suffered just its second loss in the MIAA, although they did hold on first place as Albion matched the Knights’ upset loss with a 77-69 defeat by Hope. “I’m disappointed,” Calvin coach Kevin Vande Streek said. “We didn’t seem to have much urgency. They took advantage of opporunities. They made it happen.” Alma owned the lead much of the game, though it was knotted at 40 at the half. The Scots stretched it to as high as seven at 73-66 before five straight Calvin points and a breakaway layup by Scott Plaisier that would have tied it. The shot rolled off the rim and Alma reeled off six more to put the game out of reach. “We’ve been winning by playing great defense,” said Aaron Winkle, who finished with 14 points despite shooting 3 of 14 from the field. “When you keep giving someone chances they’ll take it. They shot the ball really well.” The loss came after three tense league wins for Calvin by a total of 10 points. With a brutal upcoming four game stretch starting with the Hope rematch next Wednesday, the matchup with sixth-place Alma loomed as a dangerous chance for a letdown. “Call it what you want,” Winkle said. “We just didn’t play well.” Hargraves said it was a particularly gratifying win for Alma. “We’ve been struggling all year, with a lot of tough losses.” The Scots now stand at 3-6 in the MIAA. After the highly hyped rematch with Hope, the Knights, ranked 11th in a recent national poll and first in their region, invite Olivet to the Fieldhouse in a rematch of their other league loss. From there they travel to current league co-leaders Albion before battling Kalamazoo at Homecoming and then entering the MIAA Tournament.