Feb. 10, 2005

Box Score

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State made its first seven shots and jumped out to a 20-5 lead en route to an impressive 77-52 victory over Saginaw Valley State Thursday night in the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. GVSU improves to 16-7 overall and remains in a first-place tie with Ferris State in the GLIAC North Division with a 9-5 record.

Junior guard Courtney James and senior forward Marcus Wallace each hit a pair of three-pointers for the Lakers in the opening six minutes of the game to propel GVSU into a 15 point lead. Saginaw Valley State's Anthony Parker hit three-straight three-pointers of his own to pull the Cardinals within eight (22-14), but the Lakers went on a 13-2 run over the next four minutes to build a 37-16 lead with 8:11 left in the first half. The Lakers continued the torrid shooting right into the lockerroom with a 49-28 lead at the half. The Lakers hit 63.3 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent (5-10) from the three-point line in the opening 20 minutes, while SVSU hit just 8-of-38 first half shots.

Grand Valley State maintained its lead throughout the second half and led by as many as 31 (77-49) in the closing minutes. Freshman center Callistus Eziukwu hit all 10 of his field goal attempts and led Grand Valley State with 25 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots. Eziukwu's six blocked shots upped his single-season total to 103. Senior forward Marcus Wallace added 21 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots of his own. Grand Valley State outscored Saginaw Valley State 38-2 in the paint and the Lakers hit 51.9 percent of their shots from the floor (28-54). GVSU dominated the battle of boards by a 50-33 margin, including a 37-23 advantage on the defensive end.

Anthony Parker led the Cardinals with 18 points and hit 6-of-8 three-pointers. Kenneth Nether added 11 points. Eleven of Saginaw Valley State's 18 field goals came from behind the three-point line. SVSU hit just 30.6 percent of its shots from the floor and just 3-of-8 from the charity stripe.

Grand Valley State will host Lake Superior State Saturay (Feb. 12) at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.