Men and women’s basketball teams climb to the top

MEN’S BASKETBALL SENIORS — Dante Hawkinsand Luke Dreyer from left to right. (Hope College)

On Saturday, the Flying Dutchmen defeated Albion College at DeVos Fieldhouse. Seniors Luke Dreyer and Dante Hawkins were honored for Senior Day, along with contributing a sum of 37 points.

Dreyer was a starter for the game and accumulated 14 points  for a career high, scoring a three- pointer in the first 14 seconds of  the game. Hawkins contributed 23 points, moving him up to the 21st all-time scorer for the Flying Dutchmen. Student assistant coach, Christian Butler, was also honored during the pre-game ceremony.

Also scoring points for Hope College were juniors Jason Beckman with 17 points, Dennis Towns with 12 points, and Teddy Ray with eight points and nine rebounds.

Hope claimed their co- championship with Olivet  College and their third consecutive title. The team will be seeded second in the MIAA tournament this week. On Friday the Flying Dutchmen will face Adrian College (No. 3 seed) at Olivet. The winner of this game will advance to Saturday’s championship game!

Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Hope ticket office, 100 East Eighth Street, on Thursday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon.

Tickets will also be sold at the door at Olivet on Friday. The cost of tickets will be $7 for adults, $5 for non-MIAA students, $5 for MIAA Faculty and Staff, and $3 for MIAA students. Tickets for Saturday’s championship game will be on sale Saturday evening at Olivet as well. Show your support and come out to the tournament games!

On the women’s side of things, the team was able to claim their MIAA title with a win over Olivet on Saturday. This was the team’s 16th league championship, coming out of their fifth-place ranking! They tied with Trine for the first place title this season.

Stand out performances in the final regular season game were seen by junior Francesca Buchanan with 16 points, Victoria Smith with 12 points, freshman Kenedy Schoonveld with 14 points and senior  Madison Geers with 11 points.

The women were also able to claim the number one seed for the MIAA tournament. Head coach Brian Morehouse commented on his team’s hard work this season; “This team, they work together. They care about each other. This is a really unique team because of the discrepancy of age. There could be a lot of hurt feelings, a lot of selfishness with having freshmen in the starting lineup. We have the opposite. It’s incredible what those upperclassmen have done to make this year work. A player-led team is a much better team than a coach-lead team.”

Hope will play against Calvin, who is seeded fourth, on Friday evening in the semifinals. This game will be held at DeVos Fieldhouse, after Trine University and Albion College compete for a spot in the championship game.

Tickets can also be purchased at the Hope ticket office on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and on Friday between 9 a.m. and noon.

Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for non-MIAA students, $5 for MIAA faculty and staff, and free for MIAA students with ID. Doors will open at DeVos Fieldhouse on Friday at 4:30 p.m. Tickets also may be purchased at this time.

Come out to support the women’s team at home this week!