Jan. 17, 2007

Box Score

Allendale, Mich. - #8 Grand Valley State cruised to a 79-40 victory over Marygrove College Wednesday night at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. The Lakers won their ninth straight game overall and improved to 15-2 on the year. GVSU will return to action Monday, Jan. 22 at GLIAC foe Gannon.

Marygrove College held tough in the early going and trailed by just six (27-21) with 2:02 left in the first half. However, a baseline jumper by senior guard Brian Arnold was followed by a Wilbur Ampey layup and two Dan Redder free throws to bolster the GVSU lead to 12 (33-21) at the half. GVSU shot 68.4 percent (13-19) in the opening 20 minutes.

"I thought we were sluggish in the first half and our energy level wasn't where it needed to be," said GVSU head coach Ric Wesley.

GVSU didn't lack energy to start the second half as junior center Callistus Eziukwu scored on a layup to put the Lakers up 35-21 less than a minute into the action. Mike Hall and Eziukwu scored on back-to-back buckets in the paint during a 30 second span to give GVSU a 39-21 advantage. Junior guard Jason Jamerson hit a three-pointer to build the Laker advantage to 20 points (44-24) with 16:53 left in the game. GVSU outscored Marygrove 21-4 over the final 10:36 of the game and built its largest lead of the game for the final margin (79-40).

"I felt that we came out with a lot more energy to start the second half and defensively we were able to put a lot of pressure on them and get some easy baskets," added Wesley.

The Lakers held a 36-12 advantage in points in the paint and tallied 25 points off Marygrove turnovers. GVSU shot an impressive 66.7 percent (32-48) from the floor and outrebounded Marygrove 40-24. The Lakers also blocked nine shots and notched 10 steals. Marygrove shot just 25.0 percent from the floor. Marygrove College was the eighth opponent to reach the 50-point mark versus Grand Valley State this season.

Callistus Eziukwu led the way with a season-high 15 points to go along with his six rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals. Mike Hall added 12 points and five assists, while Jason Jamerson chipped in nine points. L.J. Kilgore dished out a team-high six assists and scored four points.