The Adrian College men’s basketball team shocked Calvin University with a comeback win in the MIAA tournament semifinal. The Bulldogs trailed by 15 at halftime and came back to win 80-78 in the final minutes of play. Adrian reaches the MIAA Tournament Championship for the first time since 2012.
The Bulldogs took an early 10-8 lead with four minutes played after a three-pointer from Trey Helinski. Calvin responded with a 9-0 run to jump up 17-10. Calvin continued its scoring a too a 10-point lead halfway through the first half. The Knights could not miss and took their lead to 16. As the half came to a close, the Bulldogs started to chip away but Calvin led 42-27 at half.
Following their big win last night @AdrianMBB is advancing to the @MIAA1888 conference semifinal game against Calvin University on Friday. Here are the highlights from last night#godawgs #bulldogs #actv #d3hoops #hoops #miaa #highlights #basketball pic.twitter.com/4hQvxdYTTG
— Adrian College TV (@AdrianCollegeTV) February 26, 2020
With five minutes played in the second half, Kendall Bellamy hit a jumper to cut into the Calvin lead and bring it to nine. Jordan Harrismade a layup with 8:52 to play to trail 58-50 before an Adrian timeout. The Knights sparked a short run and brought their lead back to double digits, but Adrian didn’t go down without fighting. The Bulldogs went on a 13-2 run late in the second half and tied the game 73-73 with 1:26 remaining.
With the game tied with under a minute to play, Adrian called a timeout to talk things over. Out of the timeout, Adrian grabbed a rebound off two missed free throws from Calvin and drew a foul. Robert Warrick went to the line to put the Bulldogs up two at 77-75. With the shot clock off, Calvin had possession but Warrick stole a passed and took it down court for a slam dunk and a four-point lead.
Watch the full interview with Head Coach Kyle Lindsay conducted by Adrian’s staff:
The entire six-team tournament field included Trine University, Alma College, Adrian College, Hope College and Calvin University. View the full story on the MIAA tournament here.
Adrian came away with the win at 80-78 and advance to the MIAA Tournament Championship. With an upset in the other semifinal game, the Bulldogs will take on Trine University for a chance at an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Adrian is 1-1 against Trine on the season and defeated them on the road during the last matchup. The championship game is scheduled for 7:30pm.
The winner of the MIAA tournament will receive an automatic bid to the 2020 NCAA Division III National Tournament.
This article is comprised of information and media from Adrian College. For more college sports, follow us on Twitter @MWSNsports or like our page on Facebook.
