March 18, 2008

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Allendale, Mich. - #1 Grand Valley State jumped out to a 42-25 halftime lead and never looked back en route to a 75-58 win over #7 Findlay Tuesday night before a crowd of 3,247 in the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. GVSU, now 36-0, advances to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight that will be held in Springfield, Mass. at the MassMutual Center. #1 GVSU will square off against #2 Winona State (35-1) Wednesday, March 26 at 6 p.m. This is the Lakers' second straight appearance in the DII Elite Eight.

Senior forward Nick Freer started the scoring for the Lakers with a three-point play. The Lakers' next three buckets (Pete Trammell, L.J. Kilgore, Trammell) were all three-pointer, with the last being a four-point play as Trammell hit a three and was fouled. Freer hit another driving layup and when senior guard Jason Jamerson hit a three-pointer GVSU had built an 18-6 lead with 15:29 left in the first half. GVSU freshman forward Toreau Brown scored on a layup to up the Laker lead to 14 (20-6).

"We really started fast and I thought if we could get an early lead that would build the energy of the crowd which in turn would keep our energy level up defensively," said fourth-year head coach Ric Wesley.

Findlay went on a 14-8 run and cut the Laker lead down to eight (28-20), but back-to-back three-pointers by Jamerson and Trammell built the lead back to 14 (34-20). Freshman forward Justin Ringler followed with a driving layup to built the lead to 16 (36-20). Senior All-American candidate Callistus Eziukwu then ended the first half with his only bucket of the first half on a tip-in as time expired to give the Lakers a 42-25 lead.

"I thought we played really well the first half, but I also knew that Findlay would make a run in the second half," said Wesley.

The Lakers started the second half much like they did the first half, with a three-pointer by Jamerson to build the Laker advantage to 20 (45-25). The Lakers held a double figure lead for the entire second half, but Findlay did draw to within 10 (62-52) with 4:05 left in the game. However, L.J. Kilgore drained the 11th and final three-pointer of the night to give GVSU a 65-52 lead. GVSU's final 10 points all came from the free throw line.

Grand Valley State hit 22-of-46 from the floor (47.8) and a sizzling 11-of-17 from three-point land (64.7). GVSU also hit 20-of-29 from the charity stripe. The Laker defense held Findlay to 31.7 percent shooting from the floor (19-for-60) and 58 points, 21 points below their season average of 79. The Lakers also held a 42-33 rebounding advantage.

Pete Trammell and Jason Jamerson led the Laker scoring attack with 17 points each. Trammell, who was 4-5 from three-point land, pulled down eight rebounds, while Jamerson, who hit on 4-8 threes, tallied four caroms. L.J. Kilgore scored a career-high 14 points, hit all three 3-point attempts and dished out six assists with just one turnover. Callistus Eziukwu scored eight points, pulled down 12 rebounds and blocked three shots, while altering a large number more in the contest. Freshman forward Justin Ringler chipped in eight points and nine rebounds, while Nick Freer added seven points and three assists.

"I am so proud of our guys," said Wesley. "This group has worked so hard and came to floor everyday with the mindset of getting better in all facets of the game."

Callistus Eziukwu was named the NCAA DII Great Lakes Regional MVP for the second straight year. In addition, Jason Jamerson and L.J. Kilgore were also named to the Great Lakes Region All-Tournament team.

Notes....

The Lakers are 8-8 in seven previous trips to the NCAA Tournament, but have a 6-1 mark the last two years with two straight NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional titles.

Postseason Play - The GVSU senior class is 12-4 all-time in postseason action, including a 6-2 mark in NCAA Tournament action.

Streaking: Grand Valley State has won a school-record 36 straight games. GVSU is the first collegiate basketball team in state of Michigan to go 30-0 in the regular season. In addition, the Lakers have won 33 straight home games.

The last three years GVSU has had winning streaks that have spanned 17 (2005-06), 14 (2006-07) and 36 games (2007-08) under Wesley.

Fourth-year head coach Ric Wesley (Central Michigan, 1980) , who was named the 2008 GLIAC Coach of the Year, is 110-19 (.851) in his fourth year at the helm of the Laker basketball program. Wesley picked up his 100th victory third-fastest (119 games) in DII history and eighth fastest in the history of college basketball. Wesley leads all active coaches in the NCAA ranks with an .853 winning percentage. GVSU is 92-9 since the 2005-06 season overall, including a 49-5 record in GLIAC action. Grand Valley State is 65-4 at home under Wesley, including a current school-record 33-game home court winning streak. Wesley has led GVSU to three straight GLIAC North Division titles (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08).

Grand Valley State is 65-4 at home the last four years, including a current 33-game winning streak. GVSU is 52-1 in its last 53 home games, with the lone loss (72-71) coming on a three-pointer as time expired to Saginaw Valley State.