HOLLAND, Mich. - A strong defensive stand in the closing minutes propelled the Calvin men's basketball team to a 65-60 rivalry win at Hope Wednesday night. After opening the season with a 1-6 record, Calvin (10-6 overall, 5-0 MIAA) has ripped off nine straight wins. 

In Calvin's win on Wednesday, the Knights used a block and board by sophomore Parker Swartz with three minutes left that led to a fast-break layup and foul by junior teammate Owen Varnado. Varnado's free throw completed the three-point play to give Calvin a 61-57 lead with 2:55 remaining. 

Hope came up with a steal and a fast-break basket of its own from sophomore Parker Hovey to close to within two at 61-59 with 1:53 left on the clock. Hope had a chance to tie or take the lead inside the final minute but misfired on a three-point attempt and a follow-up shot in traffic. The second miss was rebounded by Calvin, leading to a reverse fast-break basket by senior Uchenna Egekeze with 18 seconds remaining. A free throw by Hope's Gabe Quillan cut the deficit to 63-60 but free throws by Varnado and Egekeze in the final seconds sealed the win for the Knights. 

Calvin sophomore Parker Swartz scored a career-high 19 points off the bench, doing so in 24 minutes of action. Egekeze and Varnado finished with identical double-double lines with both players recording 16 points and 10 rebounds. 

Junior Marcus Wourman poured in a game-high 21 points for the Flying Dutchmen (9-7 overall, 4-1 MIAA) while Quillan had 12 and junior Justice Mims 11. 

Calvin held a 40-36 rebounding advantage and limited Hope to 39.3 percent field goal shooting while the Knights connected on 45.3 percent of their goal tries. 

Hope still leads the all-time series 111-103 but just 10 points (14,517-14,507) separates the two teams in 105 years of rivalry play. 

The two rivals will meet again in 10 days, facing off at Calvin's Van Noord Arena on February 1 at 3 p.m.

In the meantime, Hope will prepare for a trip to Trine University this Saturday while Calvin will host Alma.