HOLLAND, MICH.— Hope rallied back late in the second half and pulled out a 65-62 overtime victory over Trine's men's basketball team in the MIAA-Semifinals Wednesday night at DeVos Fieldhouse.
The Flying Dutchmen outscored the Thunder 18-8 over the final 11:29 of regulation and were able to make enough plays in the extra stanza to earn the victory. Nate VanArendonk notched a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead Hope. Caleb Byers scored a game-high 18 points for the Dutch. Will Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind./Zionsville led Trine with 26 points on 10-of-24 shooting. Trine concludes the season 15-11 overall. Hope advances to the MIAA-Championship to face Calvin Saturday afternoon.
The two teams played virtually even through the open 13-plus minutes before the Thunder used an 8-2 run to seize control. Dustin Hall (Fort Wayne, Ind./South Side) hit a corner jumper with the shot-clock winding down, while Dixon and Jake Bagley (Van Wert, Ohio/Van Wert) each drained threes from the left wing to put Trine up 24-19 with 3:30 remaining in the first half.
The Thunder outscored the Flying Dutchmen 15-8 over the final 6:28 of the first half to take a 31-25 lead into the break. Dixon led the way with 12 points in the first half. Bagley provided a huge lift with eight points on a pair of threes and a put-back to go along with five rebounds. The junior's four offensive rebounds proved valuable as the Thunder scored on two of the extra possessions produced by Bagley's work on the offensive glass. Bagley finished the night with eight points and six rebounds.
Trine was able to push their lead for the first time early in the second half when Dixon hit a slick up-and-under move in the lane to make it 39-29 with 17:29 to play. The Thunder lead would stay between seven and 10 until Hope made their push.
An 8-1 run that spanned seven-plus minutes pulled the Dutch within 52-49 with 4:27 to play. Nick Tatu (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) answered with a three, but Stuive matched it at the other end to keep it a one-possession game.
After a pair of Dixon free throws, Stuive answered with another three before a Dixon floater made it 59-55 with 2:03 on the clock. Ben Gardner then tracked down a loose-ball for the Dutch and drove the lane for the layup. After an empty possession for the Thunder, Van Arendonk drew a foul and knocked down a pair of free throws to tie the score. Neither team was able to score on their final possession, and the two teams headed to OT.
Gardner went to the hole to get the Dutch on the board in the overtime stanza, which was answered by a floater by Good. The teams traded empty possessions before VanArendonk drew a foul and split a pair of free throws to make it 62-61 in favor of Hope. Alex Eidson hit a pair of free throws with 14 seconds remaining to push the score to 64-61.
Dixon was fouled at the other end and hit the first. Caleb Byers rebounded the intentional miss on the second free throw and was fouled. Byers made the first free throw. The Thunder rebounded the second miss and had a chance to tie, but the desperation heave fell just short.
Trine shot 44 percent on the night (24-of-55). Hope hit 21-of-46 from the field (47 percent). Tyler Good (Swanton, Ohio/Evergreen) added 13 points for the Thunder. Jared Holmquist (Reed City, Mich./Reed City) scored eight points and notched eight rebounds.
Gardner added 11 points for Hope and hit 3-of-7 from the field. Corey McMahon notched seven points for the Dutch.
