It�s only November but Calvin and No. 23 Hope were in midseason form for another great Rivalry showdown. The archrivals squared off after losing their opening games in Calvin�s holiday tournament. The Flying Dutchmen built a 77-70 lead with 20 seconds left only to see the Knights mount a furious comeback. Danny Rodts hit three free throws to draw Calvin within three but couldn�t drop the potential game tying shot. Hope now leads the all-time series 88-85. The two teams will meet again twice in conference play.
Speaking of conference play, it began in the ODAC where Eastern Mennonite stayed hot with a win at Virginia Wesleyan 79-76. The Royals used a 44-17 second half run to erase a double-digit deficit and move to 6-0 on the season. Grinnell made 21 three pointers while No. 13 UW-Whitewater had none but the Warhawks still managed to win easily, 134-95. No. 18 Puget Sound couldn�t duplicate Friday night�s rally against UW-Oshkosh as UW-Eau Claire cut down the Loggers, 91-77. More Saturday men�s scores.
&&g-boxl&&In women�s action No. 6 Illinois Wesleyan added to its early case to be the new No. 1 when the next Top 25 poll comes out. The Titans handed No. 23 UW-Stevens Point its first loss 84-80. Nikki Preston led the way with 19 points while Christina Solari added 17 points and 11 rebounds. Conference mate Carthage surprised No. 14 Chicago 64-62 and the Lady Reds improved to 4-0. Thomas More picked off No. 12 DePauw 70-67 in overtime behind Nicole Dickman�s third double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds) in as many games. Casey Thousand picked up her first win at Edgewood when the Eagles defeated Concordia (Wis.) 72-70 to open Northern Athletics Conference play. More women�s scores.
Back on the men's side, Wells surprised Hamilton 70-60 in what might be the program's biggest win. The Express are in just their second season while the Continentals were picked second in the Liberty League preseason poll. Whitman nipped Redlands 94-93 when Brandon Shaw found Brady Brent for the game winning layup with three seconds left.