Men's Basketball Set to Renew 'The Rivalry' at Calvin

The Hope College men's basketball team enters the 205th game in The Rivalry on a season-high, five-game winning streak. Tipoff is 8 p.m. and will be televised on WGVU and available to watch through the Hope Athletics YouTube account. Listen on the game on the radio on 92.7 The Van or online at 927thevan.com.

The Flying Dutchmen grabbed sole possession of the MIAA lead with a 61-48 victory against preseason favorite Trine University on Monday at DeVos Fieldhouse, despite playing without three sidelined starters. Hope is 2-0 in MIAA play and 9-4 overall. The Flying Dutchmen's last loss was to No. 2-ranked Wisconsin-Platteville, 73-63, on December 11, 2021, at DeVos Fieldhouse.

During its current win streak, the Flying Dutchmen defeated Wisconsin-Stevens Point, North Central (Ill.), Central (Iowa), Olivet, and Trine by an average of 16.4 points. Hope opened MIAA play with a 95-62 win vs. Olivet College on Saturday at DeVos Fieldhouse. The 48 points yielded to Trine marked a season-best defensive effort for the Flying Dutchmen.

Hope Stats | Calvin Stats | MIAA Leaders

Hope leads the all-time series with Calvin, 104-100. The Flying Dutchmen won the last meeting, 79-77, at Calvin on January 30, 2021. Two Preston Granger go-ahead free throws with 1.8 seconds remaining helped the Flying Dutchmen improve their record at Van Noord Arena to 10-11. Granger finished with a game-high 25 points.

The 2020-21 season marked the first time in 77 years that Hope and Calvin did not play each other at least twice in the same season. The 2020-21 rematch at DeVos Fieldhouse was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. In 1944-45, Hope and Calvin did not play at all for the second consecutive season because of World War II.

Head coach Greg Mitchell is 6-10 against Calvin as the Flying Dutchmen's head coach. He is 1-2 against Bill Sall-coached Knights. As a basketball student-athlete at Hope, Mitchell went 4-5 against the Knights.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Junior forward Evan Thomas is Hope's leading scorer at 15.3 points per game and rebounder at 8.3 per game. Both are career-highs. He has reached double figures six consecutive times and nine times overall this season, including a season-high 26 points during a 72-63 win at Benedictine (Ill.) on November 20. He has recorded double-doubles in both MIAA victories this season and three double-doubles this season.

Junior point guard Clayton Dykhouse is the Flying Dutchmen's third-leading scorer at 12.7 points per game, a career-best. He has reached double figures six times this season, including a season-high 24 during an 87-74 loss at No. 3-ranked Illinois Wesleyan on November 12. He is averaging a career-best 3.0 assists per game, including a season-high five against Trine. He grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds against Olivet.

Sophomore forward Noah Hedrick has set career-highs in scoring coming off the bench in both of the Flying Dutchmen's last two games. He netted 16 against Olivet and a team-high 17 against Trine, shooting 62.5 percent from the field (10-16) and 75 percent from 3-point range (6-8). Fifteen of his points against Trine came during the second half. He has reached double figures in four games this season.

THE RIVALRY NOTES

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