MIAA Men's Basketball Tournament Preview: Adrian at Hope

Senior Clayton Dykhouse, pictured

ADRIAN (7-18) AT HOPE (16-9)

TIPOFF

Rescheduled: Thursday, Feb. 23, 6 p.m. at DeVos Fieldhouse

TICKETS

$7 for general admission, $5 for MIAA faculty and staff, $5 for non-MIAA students. Order

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TEAM MATCHUP

Scoring Offense: Hope 72.9 (3rd-MIAA), Adrian 67.2 (7th)
Scoring Defense: Hope 69.9 (3rd), Adrian 75.8 (6th)
Rebounding Margin: Hope plus 4.8 (2nd), Adrian, minus 5-1 (7th)
FG%: Hope 42.9 (5th), Adrian 42.3 (6th)
3-pt FG%: Hope 31.2 (6th), Adrian 28.7 (8th)
FT%: Hope 73.2 (1st), Adrian 68.6 (2nd)

LEADING SCORERS

Hope: F Evan Thomas (16.0 ppg), C Gabe Quillan (14.1), G Clayton Dykhouse (13.0)
Adrian: F De'Ovion Price (18.0 ppg), F Nick Seifert (11.1), F Kendall Bellamy (8.0)

GAME NOTES

Hope is seeded third in the MIAA Tournament, Adrian sixth. The winner advances to play second-seeded Trine University on Friday, Feb. 22, at 5:30 p.m. at Calvin University.

This is the Flying Dutchmen's 32nd MIAA Tournament appearance. Hope owns a 50-17 all-time record in postseason play since the format to determine the MIAA's recipient of an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championships began in 1992. Adrian is 16-25 in the MIAA Tournament.

Hope is 17-2 all-time in MIAA Tournament quarterfinals, including a current winning streak of two games: 80-58 vs. Kalamazoo College in 2022 and 99-71 in 2021. The Flying Dutchmen's quarterfinal losses came in 2020 at Adrian, 83-73, and in 2019 at Calvin, 68-66.

This is the 176th all-time meeting between Hope and Adrian. The Flying Dutchmen lead the series, 126-49, including an 8-3 mark in MIAA Tournament action. In the last Hope-Adrian MIAA Tournament game, Hope won a 2021 quarterfinal, 99-71, at DeVos Fieldhouse. Ryan Gamm's 21 points led four Flying Dutchmen in double figures.

In Adrian's last postseason win, the Bulldogs defeated visiting Hope, 83-73, despite 22 points from current Hope forward Evan Thomas, then a freshman. Jordan Harris scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Bulldogs.

The Flying Dutchmen have been MIAA Tournament champions 14 times, including last season. Adrian won the MIAA Tournament once: in 2020. The Bulldogs were runner-up in 2012, 2004, and 2001. None of Hope's titles came as a No. 3 seed, though. When seeded third, the Flying Dutchmen lost in the championship game in 2021 and in the semifinals in 2015, 2005, 2000, and 1994.

Hope won both regular-season meetings against Adrian this season: 74-60 at DeVos Fieldhouse on January 18 and 72-63 at Adrian on February 4. Evan Thomas totaled a game-high 19 points in the game at Hope but did not play in the rematch. Sophomore Gabe Quillan's 19 points and Tanner Wiegerink's 17 points topped the Flying Dutchmen at Adrian. The Bulldogs' leading scorer was De'Ovion Price, who averaged 18.5 points over two games.

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