Jan. 26, 2008

Box Score

University Center, Mich. - #2 Grand Valley State raced out to a 19-0 and kept Saginaw Valley State off the scoreboard for the opening 6:31 en route to a 71-49 victory Saturday afternoon in GLIAC basketball action. GVSU improves to 22-0 overall and 10-0 in GLIAC action. The Lakers will continue its four-game road trip Thursday at Hillsdale College. You can catch all of the action live on WMUS 106.9 FM.

Grand Valley State enjoyed a quick start, while Saginaw Valley State was stuck in park for the opening 6:31. Callistus Eziukwu scored on a layup, followed by a 3-pointer by Pete Trammell. Eziukwu hit another layup and Nick Freer hit another three to give GVSU a 10-0 lead. Trammell hit another three for a 13-0 Laker lead and Saginaw Valley State called a timeout to regroup. However, a Cardinal turnover led to another GVSU 3-pointer, this one from L.J. Kilgore. Following another SVSU miss Kilgore hit the Lakers' fifth 3-pointer for a 19-0 lead. Saginaw Valley State opened the game by missing their first 10 shots and turning the ball over three times. SVSU got on the scoreboard with a Mario Mackey layup at the 13:29 mark of the first half.

The Lakers kept the pressure on and Toreau Brown hit a pair of free throws to give GVSU a 34-9 lead with 7:34 left in the opening half. GVSU continued to increase its lead and when Justin Ringler hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left in the first half GVSU had a 44-15 lead. The Lakers hit 10-of-16 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes, while SVSU managed just 5-of-22 shooting from the floor in the first half.

Grand Valley State built its largest lead of the game, 60-28, on a made free throw by Nick Freer with 11:48 left in the game.

Callistus Eziukwu led the way with his fifth straight double-double, scoring 14 points and pulling down a season-high 14 rebounds. Jason Jamerson scored a team-high 18 points, hitting 5-of-6 from the 3-point line. Justin Ringler tallid 12 points and five rebounds. The Lakers outrebounded the Cardinals 49-37 and limited Saginaw Valley State to just 30.4 percent shooting from the floor.

Notes...

Streaking: Grand Valley State set the school-record with its 22nd straight victory. The 1976-77 team previously held the record with 21 straight wins In addition, the Lakers won its 22nd straight game to start the season, the top DI or DII win total to start a season in the state of Michigan.

• The last three years GVSU has had winning streaks that have spanned 17 (2005-06), 14 (2006-07) and 22 games (2007-08) under Wesley.

• The 2007-08 Grand Valley State squad is the school's all-time winningest class with a 96-19 record. The 2007-08 team eclipsed the previous mark of 92-19 held by the 1976-77.

• GVSU leads the nation in scoring defense, yielding just 53.8 points per game...The Lakers are fourth in the nation in field goal percentage defense (37.2) and sixth in field goal percentage (52.0)...GVSU has held 14-of-its-last-19 foes under 55 points, including seven under 50 points...GVSU has held 3-of-its-last-five opponents under 48 points. Tiffin (12/30) was the last opponent to score 60 points (61)...Grand Valley State is outscoring its opponents by 21.8 points per game, second in the country...GVSU is a +6.7 in rebounding and a +4.5 in turnover margin...Grand Valley State has nine players averaging double digits in minutes played and none playing more than 30 minutes per game.