Calvin Christian came to the Hopkins gym Friday ranked as the sixth best Class C boys’ basketball team in the state, and it looked like it.
The Squires, undefeated thus far this season, started fast from the opening tip and never looked back in a 72-39 party. They exploited their strengths, speed and size, and never were threatened in the contest.
Calvin made quick work of the whole affair, shooting out to a 7-0 advantage in the first minute, featuring a three-ball by Jake Arnoys and a goal tending call against Hopkins 6-7 center Jake Sapp.
By the time coach Darrin Smith called timeout with 6:18 left in the opening period, the Vikings had taken only one shot at the hoop and were down 9-0. It wasn’t until Sapp got a layup inside that they broke into the scoring column and by the end of the first quarter they trailed 25-8.
Calvin Christian’s full-court press was moderately effective, but the crucial factor in the decisive early portion of the battle was the Squires’ terrific advantage in rebounding. Only Sapp was able to pick up rebounds off the rim, and those mostly were on the defensive end. Hopkins usually got just one shot against Calvin’s zone. And the Squires would get the ball down the court in a hurry.
Jake Bouma and Ben Miedema both swished a couple of threes in the first half and their team was enjoying a 41-16 cushion at intermission. Calvin Christian nailed 11 three-point baskets for the evening.
The Vikings did show one brief flash of brilliance in the third period. After trailing by a 57-21 count with 3:35 left in the quarter, they scored straight unanswered points, highlighted by a pair of threes from Curis Opatic and a couple of layups from Mark Davis off the bench. They were down 57-33 at the start of the final quarter.
But Hopkins managed only six points the rest of the way. Both coaches empties their benches midway in the last stanza.
Sapp collected 14 points and had a lot of rebounds. Opatic finished with nine points, all on threes.
Calvin Christian really spread its scoring around, with Tony DeWitt lading the way with 14 points, Bouma 13, and Nate Knee and 6-foot-9 sophomore Blake VerBeek 10 apiece.
PHOTO: Justin Weick (2) tries to score a long layup on the left side of the hoop.
