Feb. 16, 2005

Box Score

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State used a 6-0 run with 2:11 left to move out to a 64-58 lead en route to a key 67-61 GLIAC home win at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. GVSU, which is ranked seventh in the latest NCAA DII Great Lakes Regional rankings, improves to 18-7 overall and 11-5 in GLIAC action.

GVSU and Northwood staked a tightly contested first half which was highlighted with seven ties and four lead changes. Sophomore forward Mike Hall scored on an offensive rebound off a missed Brian Arnold shot with one second left in the first half to give the Lakers a 35-34 lead. GVSU's leading scorer and rebound, Callistus Eziukwu, played just six minutes in the opening 20 minutes because of foul trouble. Grand Valley State opened the second half with a 10-4 run to build its largest lead of the game (45-38), but Northwood crawled back into the contest and trailed by just one (56-55) when Nemanja Kreckovic hit a three-pointer as the shot clock expired at the 4:29 mark of the second half.

Northwood's Djordje Lukic tied the score for the eighth time at 58-58 with a free throw, but freshman center Callistus Eziukwu put the Lakers up 60-58 with a jumper in the paint on the Lakers' next possession. Freshman guard Jason Jamerson then made the defensive play of the game with a steal at midcourt that resulted in a driving layup and a 62-58 GVSU lead. Northwood forward D.J. Hughes missed a three-pointer, but NU's Lukic gathered in the offensive rebound and attempted a putback, but GVSU's Eziukwu (E-Zoo-koo) rejected the shot and grabbed the rebound. Marcus Wallace was fouled and converted both free throws to give GVSU a 64-58 lead. Junior guard Courtney James hit four straight free throws in the final 23 seconds to preserve the win.

James led GVSU with 14 points and six assists. Marcus Wallace, the Lakers' lone senior, added 13 points and five assists, while Eziukwu tallied 12 points in just 18 minutes of action before fouling out. Mike Hall chipped in nine points and four rebounds off the bench. GVSU turned the ball over 11 times, but forced NU into 17 turnovers and tallied 10 steals. The Lakers were 16-fo-20 from the charity stripe, but just 3-fof-13 from the three-point arc. The GVSU bench outscored Northwood's bench 17-10. Grand Valley State improved to 6-1 in games decided by six points or less.

Grand Valley State will return to action Feb. 24th at Michigan Tech.