March 11, 2006

Box Score

Rensselaer, Ind. - #4 Grand Valley State made a valiant second half comeback, but in the end it wasn't enough as Southern Illinois-Edwardsville claimed a 65-61 victory over the Lakers in a first-round NCAA DII Great Lakes Regional contest in Rensselaer, Ind. GVSU concludes its season with a 27-4 mark, while SIUE advances to the Great Lakes semifinal versus Quincy Sunday night.

SIUE jumped on Grand Valley State early and built a 21-10 lead at the 11:12 mark of the first half. GVSU cut the lead to eight (24-16) on a pair of Jason Jamerson free throws at the 7:41 mark. However, the Cougars ended the half with a 14-4 run and led 38-20 after 20 minutes of play. The 18 point halftime deficit was the largest the Lakers had faced the entire season.

SIUE built a 44-23 lead 3:40 into the second half before the Lakers started their comeback. GVSU went on a 7-0 run with four points from sophomore center Callistus Eziukwu, a layup by senior guard Courtney James and a free throw by junior center Dan Redder. SIUE's Mike Hardiek hit a jumper, but GVSU answered with eight straight points. James scored on layup, senior forward Jeff Grauzer tipped in his own miss and freshman forward Pete Trammell scored on a layup after an SIUE miss. Grauzer added two free throws and the Lakers had cut the Cougar lead down to eight (46-38). The teams traded baskets before Jamerson hit three at the 6:04 mark to pull GVSU within five (50-45). SIUE answered with five straight points, including a three with the shot clock under five seconds to up its lead to 10 (55-45). The Lakers continued to claw their way back into the game and four straight points from James cut the SIUE lead to four (58-54) with 1:31 remaining. Junior forward Mike Hall hit a shot in the paint with 48 ticks left, but Hardiek again hit a clutch jumper from the right corner with 16 seconds left to give SIUE a 62-56 lead. James scored on a layup before a Courgar free throw put them on top 63-58. James hit a three to pull the Lakers within two (63-61) with 3.4 seconds left, but Ty Johnson hit a pair of free throws to seal the win.

Courtney James led the Lakers with 17 points, three assists and three steals in his final game as a Lakers. Freshman Pete Trammell added 12 points and five rebounds, while sophomore guard Jason Jamerson added 11 points. Callistus Eziukwu chipped in nine points, Mike Hall and Jeff Grazuer added six apiece. The Lakers shot just 42.3 percent from the floor, including a season-low 20 percent from the three-point line (5-25). GVSU outrebounded SIUE 34-29, but turned the ball over 20 times.