Feb. 10, 2007

BULLDOGS HANG WITH HOPE, BUT FALL SHORT
Defending champs pull away in second half

By Ed Patino
Sports Information Assistant

HOLLAND, Mich. – It was closer, but no cigar for the Adrian College men’s basketball team.

A late second half run helped the Hope College Flying Dutchmen pull away for an 84-71 victory over the Adrian College Bulldogs before a big crowd at the DeVos Fieldhouse.

Adrian (8-13, 7-5 MIAA) was looking for redemption from a 39-point home loss to the Dutchmen on Jan. 17. This time, the Bulldogs hung with the defending MIAA champions for most of the game, but a 12-4 run in the second half lifted the Dutchmen to the win.

Coming of its first-ever loss at DeVos Fieldhouse, Hope (19-3, 11-1 MIAA) netted its fifth straight victory over the Bulldogs. The last time Adrian defeated the Dutchmen was Jan. 8, 2005 at the Holland Civic Center.

The good news for the Bulldogs is that they’re only one game behind Tri-State for the No. 3 seed in the MIAA, thanks to Alma’s victory over the Thunder. Adrian also needs one victory in its final two games to clinch a home game for the first round of the upcoming MIAA Tournament.

Consecutive 3-pointer by Andy Kubish in the first two minutes got the Bulldogs off to a good start, but Hope took control with a 16-0 run over the next six minutes. Midway through the first half, Tim Partridge hit a jumper, giving the Dutchmen a 27-13 lead.

The Bulldogs chipped away at the deficit in the final five minutes of the half, pulling to within nine on a Ryan Gallus jumper. The teams again matched scores, and Tyler Wolfe’s basket with a minute left gave the Dutchmen a 47-36 lead at halftime.

Jumpers by Kubish and Desmond Young in the opening 30 seconds of the second half brought Adrian to within seven. Hope rebuilt its lead to 11, but Steve Thornton buried two straight jump shots, pulling the Bulldogs to within 55-48. After another exchange of baskets, Ian Weber’s jumper made it 62-54 midway through the half.

That would be the closest the Bulldogs would get, however, as Wolfe’s basket second later kicked off Hope’s big run. A 3-pointer by Derek Van Solkema with just under six minutes left stretched Hope’s lead to 15, then Stephen Cramer’s jumper gave the Dutchmen their biggest lead of the day at 74-58.

Hope held on as the teams traded baskets the rest of the way.

Young finished with 20 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bulldogs, with 18 of his points coming in the second half. Kubish added 14 points, while Thornton had 13 points. Weber grabbed seven rebounds and Gallus scored nine points and handed out four assists for Adrian.

Four players scored in double figures for Hope, with Marcus Vanderheide leading the way with 20 points. Wolfe added 16 points, while Cramer and Ryan Klein each had 10 points. Jesse Reimink handed out five assists and Van Solkema had nine points and four assists for the Dutchmen.

The Bulldogs will return to action Feb. 14 when they travel to Angola, Ind. for a showdown with Tri-State University. Adrian will try to avenge a 74-59 home loss to the Thunder on Jan. 20. The winner on Valentine’s Day will likely be the No. 3 seed in the MIAA Tournament.