Feb. 27, 2007

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Allendale, Mich. - Senior Mike Hall recorded his second 20 point game against Ferris State in as many games as he led the Lakers past the Bulldogs Tuesday night in the opening round of the GLIAC Tournament in the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. Hall's 20 points led all scorers as GVSU improves to 25-3 on the year and FSU falls to 10-18. The Lakers will take on Northern Michigan on Friday, March 2 at 8 pm in Findlay, Ohio for the GLIAC Tournament Semifinals.

GVSU started the game with an 8-2 run that saw Hall and sophomore Pete Trammell each knock down a three as the Lakers came out firing. Ferris State would score the next six points to tie the contest at eight with 15:23 to play in the half. The Lakers would answer with a run of their own, this time of the 10-0 variety, to claim an 18-8 lead with 11:51 to go that was capped off by a three-pointer from reserve guard Brian Arnold.

Grand Valley would stretch its lead to as many as 14 in the opening half before Ferris State's Michael Daniels hit a jumper with six seconds remaining in the half to cut the halftime deficit to 12 (35-23). The bench fueled the Lakers in the first half as they tallied 18 points with Arnold pouring in eight and senior Dan Redder adding seven points of his own. The Bulldogs shot 23.7 percent in the opening half, missing 31 of their 39 shots.

The Lakers upped their lead to a game-high 20 less than four minutes into the second session as Hall knocked down his career-high third and fourth three-pointers of the night. Grand Valley outscored the Bulldogs 11-3 in the opening minutes of the half to take the 46-26 lead. Ferris attempted to battle back later in the half but were unable to get the margin within single digits cutting the lead to 10 at the 12:56 mark. The Laker lead remained in the 12-15 range for the majority of the half, before extending the lead back to 20 with 2:27 to play. Ferris State would cut the final margin to 13 (72-59) over the final minutes.

Hall led all scorers with 20 points after dropping a career-high 26 on the Bulldogs in their last meeting this past Saturday (Feb. 24). Redder ended the night with 11 points off the bench, seven rebounds, and a team-high two blocked shots. Junior Jason Jamerson tallied his 20th game in double-figures as he poured in 12 points and pulled down six rebounds.

The nation's top field goal percentage defense added to their resume, holding the Bulldogs to just 32.8 percent shooting on the night. The 59 points scored by Ferris State marked the 19th time this season that a GVSU opponent was unable to reach the 60 point mark.

With the win, Grand Valley will now advance to the semifinal round of the GLIAC Tournament and take on Northern Michigan on Friday, March 2 at 8 pm in Findlay, Ohio. In the other semifinal, host Findlay will take on Mercyhurst at 6 pm with the winners meeting on Saturday, March 3 at 7 pm. GVSU is 2-0 against the Wildcats this season with an 87-49 win at home and a 63-52 road win. Jamerson led the Lakers in the first contest with 25 points and eight rebounds as Hall led the Lakers with 18 points in the second contest.