Calvin men’s basketball defeated rival Hope in thrilling fashion, 74-70.

The victory, which improved Calvin to 7-7 overall and 2-1 in the MIAA, marked the first time Calvin men’s basketball defeated Hope since the 2017 MIAA Championship.

Junior Derrick DeVries led the way for the Knights, scoring 21 points in the first half and finishing with a game-high 29 points. Junior Tony DeWitte was the only other Knight to break double digits with 12 points.

Four Dutchmen scored at least 12 points, including senior Jason Beckman who lead the team with 20 points.

Calvin jumped out to an early 17-6 lead in front of over 3,200 fans, and never let this lead slip away.

After a series of empty possessions by the Knights, the Dutchmen trimmed their deficit down to 28-27 with four minutes to play in the first half. By halftime the Knights led 37-34.

With both teams trading blows, the second half began just as the first half ended. Four minutes into the half, Calvin held a miniscule two-point lead..

Calvin managed to expand their lead from 50-46 to 54-46 in only one minute of play. Hope quickly cut the eight-point lead in half, only to see Calvin regain an eight-point lead with six and a half minutes remaining in the game. At the two minute mark, Calvin still held on to a six-point lead.

In spite of the lead, Calvin seemingly could not put Hope away. Junior Riley Lewis played a large part in Hope’s refusal to give up, scoring 18 of his 20 points in the second half.

With only 50 seconds remaining, Calvin had the ball, clinging to a 67-65 lead. After a missed shot, high-scorer Derrick DeVries pulled down the rebound and quickly scored, expanding the lead to 69-65.A highly contested corner three-pointer by Riley Lewis cut the Knight’s lead down to one point with ten seconds left in the game.

Two Derrick DeVries free throws and a Hope basket later, Calvin senior Carlos Amoros-Gutierrez stepped to the free throw line with 3.6 seconds and hopes of expanding the Calvin lead. After the free throw was missed, Calvin freshman Carson Meulenberg tipped the rebound back to Tony DeWitte. After DeWitte made both free throws, Hope turned the ball over, essentially ending the game.

The Calvin victory moves the all-time series record to 103-96 in favor of Hope. The next meeting between the two teams, coming on Feb. 2 at Hope, will mark the 200th game in the historic rivalry.

Calvin’s men’s basketball will play at Trine on Sat., Jan. 12, then will return home to play Kalamazoo on Jan. 16 in the Van Noord Arena at 7:30 P.M.