Calvin built a 22-point second-half lead, then withstood a late rally led by tournament most outstanding player Sherm Carstensen of Wisconsin-Eau Claire to win its 22nd straight game and earn its second championship, 79-75, March 18 at Salem, Virginia.

"I told the team at half time that Eau Claire was not going to give up," said Calvin coach Kevin Van Streek. "We had to keep our composure because I knew they were going to make a run and they did."

All five of the champion's starters were in double figures, as the Knights shot 52 percent from the field. All-tournament selection Jeremy Veenstra led Calvin with 18 points. He was joined on the all-tournament squad by teammate Aaron Winkle, who finished with 14 points.

Wisconsin-Eau Claire pulled to within one point on a pair of free throws by Carstensen with 3:06 remaining before Calvin rallied for the five-point win. Carstensen finished with 36 points, breaking the career high he had set the previous day in the semifinals with 34 points in a 70-42 win over Salem State. His two-game total of 70 points fell short of the Division III tournament record set by Greg Grant of the College of New Jersey in 1989, also in a losing effort.

Calvin, which advanced to the title game after a buzzer-beater shot by freshman Bryan Foltice gave the Knights a 79-77 win over Franklin & Marshall in the semifinals the day before, went on a 27-10 first-half run after trailing the Blugolds, 22-21, with 15:15 left in the period. Wisconsin-Eau Claire shot 52 percent for the half but turned the ball over 10 times.

In the opening minutes of the second half, Calvin outscored the Blugolds, 12-6, to stretch its lead to 22 points. Carstensen then combined with teammate Quintin Johnson to score 30 of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's last 36 points.

The Knights finished the season 30-2. Calvin won its other championship in 1992. The Blugolds ended their season 27-6, finishing as runner-up in their first tournament appearance.

"During the Eau Claire run we did not do a good job on the boards, but at end of the game, when we really needed it, we came up with the big rebounds," Van Streek said. "We also hit some very big shots."

Blugolds coach Terry Gibbons said he thought turnovers were the difference.

"I thought Calvin did a great job defensively," he said. "They're a very aggressive team and they got out on our wings. We had three turnovers yesterday (in the 70-42 win over Salem State in the semifinals) and 17 (in this game). Percentages have a way of catching up with you, and that's probably the difference.

"I'm awfully proud of these kids. I asked them to leave it all out on the court for 40 minutes and that's exactly what they did. There are 320 or so teams that would love to be here, and we're lucky to be one of them. When I look back on the season, I'm going to have nothing but positive thoughts of this team."

CHAMPIONSHIP SUMMARY

Sectionals: Salem St. 70, Springfield 69; Penn St.-Behrend 58, Cortland St. 52; Salem St. 75, Penn St.-Behrend 69; Wis.-Eau Claire 82, Buena Vista 75 (ot); Wis.-Stevens Point 63, Chicago 49; Wis.-Eau Claire 60, Wis.-Stevens Point 58; McMurry 112, Maryville 95; Calvin 82, Wooster 53; Calvin 115, McMurry 79; Catholic 57, Wm. Paterson 52; Frank. & Marsh. 76, Rowan 72; Frank. & Marsh. 85, Catholic 74.

SEMIFINALS

Wis.-Eau Claire 70, Salem St. 42

Wis.-Eau Claire: Matt Fermanich 4-11, 0-0, 5, 9; Todd Marks 1-3, 0-0, 3, 2; Dave Mellenthin 1-5, 0-1, 1, 2; Sherm Carstensen 13-30, 4-6, 7, 34; Joe Jacobson 4-10, 2-2, 5, 10; Eric Konkol, 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Jed Durni 0-0, 0-2, 0, 0; Jeff Kassing 0-0, 0-1, 0, 0; Steve Syrjala 0-1, 2-2, 0, 2; Quintin Johnson 2-6, 0-0, 2, 5; Eric Gardow 0-1, 0-0, 6, 0; Josh Schultz 0-0, 0-0, 2, 0; Andy Witte 3-4, 0-0, 3, 6; Ben Schneeberger 0-0, 0-0, 2, 0. TOTALS: 28-72, 8-14, 40 (4 team), 70.

.Salem St.: Tishaun Jenkins 6-9, 2-4, 5, 14; Jeremy Jones 0-6, 0-0, 1, 0; Ed Bourgogne 3-7, 1-1, 7, 7; Peter Szklarz 0-2, 0-0, 4, 0; Gus White 2-10, 0-1, 11, 4; John Bennett 2-8, 0-0, 4, 4; Danny White 2-3, 0-0, 2, 4; Danny Bunker 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Eric McCoy 3-5, 2-2, 10, 8; Steve O'Connell 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Dorian Bryant 0-1, 1-3, 2, 1. TOTALS: 18-52, 6-11, 46 (0 team), 42.

Half time: Wis.-Eau Claire 29, Salem St. 19. Three-point field goals: Wis.-Eau Claire 6-24 (Fermanich 1-4, Mellenthin 0-1, Carstensen 4-12, Konkol 0-1, Syrjala 0-1, Johnson 1-5); Salem St. 0-10 (Jenkins 0-2, Jones 0-1, Szklarz 0-1, Bennett 0-4, White 0-1, Bunker 0-1). Disqualifications: None. Officials: George Krell, Bill Buffington, Jim Koskinen. Attendance: 3,016.

Calvin 79, Frank. & Marsh. 77

Frank. & Marsh.: Mark Sadowski 2-4, 0-0, 3, 5; Casimer Thomas 4-8, 2-2, 11, 10; Dave Manzo 1-2, 4-6, 0, 6; Mike Ritacco 2-9, 2-2, 4, 6; Alex Kraft 7-10, 2-2, 1, 18; Jerome Maiatico 6-12, 1-1, 2, 16; Matt McCuen, 2-2, 0-0, 2, 4; Grant Sporny 3-4, 6-7, 4, 12; Quinn Philbin 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 27-52, 17-20, 30 (3 team), 77.

Calvin: Bryan Foltice 4-10, 4-4, 3, 13; Aaron Winkle 6-13, 4-4, 8, 19; Nate Karsten 4-11, 2-5, 1, 12; Jeremy Veenstra 6-8, 2-2, 2, 15; Brian Krosschell 3-3, 2-4, 5, 8; Jon Potvin 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Dave Bartels 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Nate Burgess 2-2, 0-0, 4, 4; Jason DeKuiper 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Derek Kleinheksel 1-4, 0-0, 3, 2; Josh Tubergen 3-4, 0-1, 1, 6. TOTALS: 29-56, 14-20, 29 (1 team), 79.

Half time: Frank. & Marsh. 37, Calvin 36. Three-point field goals: Frank. & Marsh. 6-12 (Sadowski 1-1, Ritacco 0-2, Kraft 2-3, Maiatico 3-6); Calvin 7-15 (Foltice 1-3, Winkle 3-5, Karsten 2-4, Veenstra 1-2, Potvin 0-1). Disqualifications: Veenstra. Officials: Pat Brown, Mark Terrazas, Dave Kelliher. Attendance: 3,065.

THIRD PLACE

Salem St. 79, Frank. & Marsh. 75

Salem St.: Tishaun Jenkins 7-14, 4-5, 7, 18; Jeremy Jones 2-5, 1-2, 4, 6; Ed Bourgogne 5-10, 9-10, 7, 19; Peter Szklarz 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Dorian Bryant 2-2, 0-0, 1, 4; John Bennett 4-6, 0-0, 3, 10; Danny White 0-3, 0-0, 3, 0; Eric McCoy 4-7, 1-2, 7, 9; Gus White 6-10, 1-2, 7, 13. TOTALS: 30-57, 16-21, 46 (6 team), 79.

Frank. & Marsh.: Mark Sadowski 2-4, 3-4, 1, 8; Jerome Maiatico, 2-10, 5-5, 1, 11; Dave Manzo 1-4, 4-8, 2, 6; Mike Ritacco 6-11; 7-8, 3, 21; Alex Kraft 5-11, 2-4, 2, 16; Matt McCuen 4-6, 1-2, 0, 9; Grant Sporny 0-1, 2-3, 3, 2; Casimer Thomas 1-4, 0-0, 3, 2; Quinn Philbin 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 21-51, 24-34, 20 (5 team), 75.

Half time: Frank. & Marsh. 36, Salem St. 28. Three-point field goals: Salem St. 3-9 (Jenkins 0-2, Jones 1-2, Bennett 2-2, White 0-1, McCoy 0-2); Frank. & Marsh. 9-21 (Sadowski 1-2, Maiatoco 2-5, Ritacco 2-6, Kraft 4-7, McCuen 0-1). Disqualifications: Bryant. Attendance: 3,186.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Calvin 79, Wis.-Eau Claire 74

Wis.-Eau Claire: Matt Fermanich 2-4, 1-1, 3, 5; Todd Marks 2-4, 0-0, 6, 5; Dave Mellenthin 1-2, 2-3, 0, 4; Sherm Carstensen 12-23, 10-10, 11, 36; Joe Jacobsen 4-9, 2-4, 3, 10; Jeff Kassing 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Quintin Johnson 5-9, 2-2, 1, 14; Eric Gardow 0-6, 0-0, 1, 0; Ben Schneeberger 0-0, 0-0, 0,0. TOTALS: 26-57, 17-20, 31 (6 team), 74.

Calvin: Bryan Foltice 4-7, 2-2, 1, 11; Aaron Winkle 4-9, 6-6, 4, 14; Nate Karsten 2-8, 6-8, 2, 11; Jeremy Veenstra 8-18, 2-2, 4, 18; Brian Krosschell 2-2, 7-9, 4, 11; Jon Potvin 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Nate Burgess 3-3, 0-0, 1, 8; Jason DeKuiper 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Derek Kleinheksel 1-1, 0-0, 0, 2; Josh Tubergen 2-2, 0-0, 4, 4. TOTALS: 26-50, 23-27, 26 (5 team), 79.

Half time: Calvin 48, Wis.-Eau Claire 32. Three-point field goals: Wis.-Eau Claire 5-18 (Fermanich 0-2, Marks 1-1, Mellenthin 0-1, Carstensen 2-8, Johnson 2-6); Calvin 4-12 (Foltice 1-3, Karsten 1-5, Veenstra 0-2, Burgess 2-2). Disqualifications: None. Officials: Dan McEvoy, Kevin Ferguson, Chris Ogden. Attendance: 3,261