Jan. 27, 2007

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Allendale, Mich. - The #8-ranked Lakers claimed their 12th straight victory and improved to 18-2 overall and 9-2 in the GLIAC with a 79-38 win over Ashland (14-8, 6-6) Saturday afternoon in the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. Junior Jason Jamerson led the team with a career-high 28 points becoming the 27th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark in his career. Jamerson also tied the GVSU career three-pointers made record of 191 with seven on the day. GVSU will return to the floor on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 8 pm against Lake Superior State.

Ashland's Vahn Knight hit a three-pointer less than a minute into the game to give the visiting Eagles a 3-2 lead, which would be their last of the afternoon. The Lakers went on an 8-0 run after the Knight three as Jason Jamerson and L.J. Kilgore knocked down a pair of three-pointers to give GVSU a 10-3 advantage at the 16:36 mark of the first half.

The Eagles could not slow down the hot shooting Lakers in the first half as GVSU rolled off a pair of runs of 7-0 and ended the half on a 10-2 run. Grand Valley shot a season-high 72.7 percent from the field in the first half as Jamerson connected on 5-of-6 three-pointers and led all scorers with 15. Senior Mike Hall fueled the Lakers start with six points, three rebounds, three assists, and a steal in 12 minutes during the first half. Ashland shot just 29.6 percent in the opening 20 minutes as the Lakers held a 43-23 advantage at the break.

The Laker defense continued its dominance in the second half as the Eagles did not get on the board until the 15:28 mark after giving up another run, this of the 8-0 variety. GVSU would answer the Eagles first basket of the second with a 14-2 run that put the Lakers up 38 halfway through the half. Jamerson hit his seventh three-pointer of the night during the run to tie his single game career-high and tie the GVSU career mark of 191 held by former Laker great J.P. Huntington (1995-99).

GVSU's lead reached a game-high 46 when junior Joel Whymer connected on a free throw to give the Lakers a 77-31 lead with 3:49 to play in the game. Ashland would cut the final margin to 41 points (79-38). The Eagles entered the contest leading the GLIAC with 82.2 ppg as the relentless Laker defense held its fourth straight opponent under 50 points and its third opponent of the year under the 40-point mark. The Eagles were the fourth opponent to shoot less than 30.0 percent as they were held to 22.4 percent from the field in the game. Division II's top scoring defense lowered its points against average to 50.8 on the year as they claimed their seventh straight GLIAC win.

Jamerson poured in a career-high 28 points on the afternoon going 9-of-11 from the field, including 7-of-9 from behind the arc. Jamerson added two rebounds, two blocks, two assists, and a pair of steals in 28 minutes of action. Hall finished with his fifth straight game in double-figures as he tallied 12 points, ripped down five rebounds and dished out three assists. Callistus Eziukwu had eight and eight in the win with eight points and eight boards. Freshman David Thompson pulled down a career-high eight rebounds and handed out two assists off the bench. Each starter scored at least six points for the 18-2 Lakers.

GVSU will host Lake Superior State (8-12, 5-6 GLIAC) on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 8 pm in the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena in the third game of its four game homestand. Grand Valley set a school record by allowing just 33 points in the team's previous meeting on Jan. 11 in Sault Ste. Marie as the #8-ranked Lakers claimed a 63-33 win.