Feb. 23, 2008

Box Score

Big Rapids, Mich. - Second-ranked Grand Valley State achieved regular-season perfection Saturday night in Big Rapids, Michigan with its 81-67 victory over GLIAC rival Ferris State. GVSU closed out the regular-season with a 30-0 mark. In addition, the Lakers became the first team in GLIAC history to go 18-0 in conference play. Grand Valley State will host Hillsdale College Saturday, March 1 at 3 p.m. in GLIAC Tournament quarterfianl action at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.

The Lakers and Bulldogs played it close for 13 minutes and a pair of free throws from Grand Valley State senior guard Jason Jamerson tied the game at 24-24. However, Ferris State, playing their final game of the season, went on an 8-0 run to build a 32-24 lead with 4:00 left in the first half. Sophomore guard David Thompson answered with a three-pointer to cut the lead to five, followed by a jumper from Jamerson to cut the Bulldog lead to three (32-29). Ferris State hit a jumper, but Jamerson completed a conventional three-point play and Thompson tied the game at 34-34 with a layup at the 1:00 mark. Jamerson then gave GVSU the lead and completed a 12-2 run to close the first half with a layup off a steal with nine seconds left in the first half.

Grand Valley State led 45-44 when Jamerson hit a three-pointer, followed by a three-point play by junior forward Pete Trammell to up the Laker lead to 51-44 with 14:07 left. Freshman forward Justin Ringler scored on a layup to give GVSU its largest lead of the game (66-56) with 8:02 left. Ferris State continued to stay close with an 8-3 run to pull within four (69-65), but senior center Callistus Eziukwu answered with a jumper in the paint and a layup to increase the GVSU lead to eight (73-65). Jamerson hit a pair of free throws to seal the victory. Jamerson and senior guard Joel Whymer closed the scoring with four free throws.

Grand Valley State shot 53.6 percent from the floor (30-56) and outscored the Bulldogs 44-32 in the paint. GVSU added a 19-9 advantage off FSU turnovers and the GVSU bench outscored Ferris State 20-10. GVSU recorded 11 steals and outrebounded FSU 34-27. Jamerson led Grand Valley State with 29 points, while Trammell chipped in 14 points, six rebounds and three assists. Eziukwu added 11 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots, while Ringler scored 11 points and pulled down 11 rebounds off the bench.

Notes.. Streaking: Grand Valley State has won a school-record 30 straight games. In addition, the 30 straight wins to open a season is the best start for any NCAA college team in the state of Michigan...GVSU has won a school-record 34 straight regular season games...GVSU head coach Ric Wesley and his senior class are now 104-19... Wesley leads all active coaches in the NCAA ranks with an .845 career winning percentage. GVSU is 86-9 since the 2005-06 season overall, including a 49-5 record in GLIAC action.