Feb. 28, 2006

Box Score

Allendale, Mich. - #6 Grand Valley State outscored Michigan Tech 47-33 in the second half and went on to claim a 67-46 GLIAC Tournament quarterfinal victory Tuesday night at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. GVSU advances to play Ashland Friday night in a semifinal contest at 8 p.m.. Findlay will play Ferris State in the first semifinal a 3 p.m.

The Laker defense held Michigan Tech scoreless for the first 9:19, but GVSU managed just seven points in that same span. MTU's Stephan Folson converted a 3-point play to tie the game at 7-7. However, that would be as close as the Huskies would get as Courtney James hit a jumper to put the Lakers up 9-7. James added a layup and Jason Jamerson hit a three to give the Lakers a 14-7 advantage.

MTU's Bob Evans was fouled on a three-point attempt and he hit all three from the charity stripe at the 18:26 mark to pull the Huskies within six (22-16). Cournty James answered with a runner in the paint and Jamerson drilled a three. Center Callistus Eziukwu put the Lakers up 29-19 and Jamerson hit his third trey of the night to give GVSU a 32-19 advantage. Forward Nate Bassett put the Lakers up 36-21, before Kyle Carhart and Dan Redder hit six combined free throws to give GVSU a 42-21 lead with 12:36 left. Grand Valley State built a 26 point lead (62-36) when freshman Pete Trammell converted a layup with 4:18 left.

GVSU limited MTU to just 29.1 percent from the floor and held a 41-33 rebounding advantage over the Huskies. The Lakers hit 44.9 percent from the floor (22-49) and converted 16-of-27 free throws. GVSU outscored MTU 18-6 on points off turnovers. Jason Jamerson led GVSU with 18 points, while Courtney James added 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Kyle Carhart added seven points and Dan Redder six.

Notes...

Grand Valley State upped its record to 7-5 in GLIAC Tournament action since 1996-97 campaign...GVSU's win over Michigan Tech in quarterfinal action was the Lakers' first quarterfinal win since the 2000-01 tournament that GVSU went on to win.

Grand Valley State moved up two spots to the number six in the NABC/DII Coaches poll. The number six national ranking is the highest-ever ranking for the Lakers in the DII ranks.

GVSU's 25 wins this season marks the third-best, single-season win total in school history. Only the 1976-77 (30), 1978-79 (25) and the 1990-91 (26) teams won more games in a single-season. In addition, the Lakers' 16 GLIAC wins is the top single-season win total in school history.

Streaking: The Lakers'15-game winning streak set the NCAA DII school-record for consecutive wins. The 1976-77 Laker team won 21 straight games en route to a 30-4 record when GVSU was participating as an NAIA school...GVSU has won 19-of-20 games since the Dec. 8 loss at Ferris State.

GVSU has held 21-of-28 opponents under 66 points and 18-of-28 under 56 points this season The Lakers are yielding just 57.1 points overall on the year. In addition, GVSU has held 40-of-55 opponents under 67 points during the Ric Wesley era...Grand Valley State ranks third in the country in scoring defense (57.1 ppg) and 8th in field goal percetage defense (38.1)...The Lakers are 31st in field goal percentage as a team, converting 48.5 percent from the floor...Grand Valley State ranks 22nd in rebounding margin, outrebounding opponents by 6.3 per game (36.1-29.8)...GVSU ranks 4th in DII in scoring margin (+17.0) and 6th in winning Pct. (88.0).