Nov. 24, 2009

Box Score

Rensselaer, Ind. - The Lakers never trailed in the second half against Saint Joseph's on Tuesday night (Nov. 24), holding off the Pumas for a 76-69 victory in Rensselaer, Ind. Grand Valley State is now 2-0 against regional foes as it received four double-digit scoring efforts, including a game-high 23 points from junior Justin Ringler.

GVSU is now 2-1 on the season, as it also defeated Northern Kentucky in its season opener on Nov. 15, while Saint Joseph's lost for the first time this year. The Pumas are now 3-1 and Grand Valley State has won the last five meetings between the two schools.

After dropping a non-conference game to Cornerstone on Saturday night (Nov. 21), the Lakers rushed out to a 6-0 lead before Saint Joseph's scored the next eight points of the game. In a first half that saw the score tied five times and the lead change hands eight times, Grand Valley State received a boost late in the half from Ringler. His three-pointer with 4:54 left broke a 22-22 tie and put GVSU ahead. After a triple from Saint Joseph's, Ringler knocked down a pair of free throws. Trailing 28-27 approaching halftime, Ringler converted an old-fashioned three-point play as he took a pass from sophomore point guard Wes Trammell and scored on a layup with 44 seconds remaining. He added the ensuing free throw and the Lakers would not trail again in the game.

A defensive stop gave GVSU the ball back and Ringler put in another layup with two seconds left and was again fouled. He connected on the free throw for six points in the final 44 seconds and gave the Lakers a 33-28 halftime lead. Ringler scored Grand Valley State's last 11 points of the half, giving him 13 points, as he made 4-of-6 field goals and all four free throws.

Junior forward Toreau Brown hit a three-pointer early in the second half and scored on a layup at the 18:21 mark to put GVSU ahead by 10 points (40-30) for its biggest lead of the game. The Pumas slowly mounted a comeback, tying the game at 48-48 with 10:14 left and again at 56-56 with 6:25 remaining.

Freshman Breland Hogan drained a pair of free throws to up the Laker lead to 58-56 and Grand Valley State would not look back, extending the lead to 10 points in the final minute after a pair of free throws from sophomore Alvin Storrs.

Ringler led a quartet of players in double figures, as he scored a game-high 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting. He made his only three-point attempt and all six free throws in 37 minutes. Brown was solid again with 18 points and six rebounds, as he went 8-of-13 from the floor and made both of his triple tries.

Storrs put up a season-high 13 points with four boards, three assists, and two steals. Trammell supplied 10 points and four assists, while sophomore center Nick West notched a career-high 12 rebounds, including four offensive boards. Junior Mike Przydzial added six points and seven boards in 15 productive minutes off the bench.

For the game, Grand Valley State shot 48.0 percent (24-of-50) from the field and made 60.0 (6-of-10) of its three-pointers. The Lakers entered the game shooting just 64.6 percent at the free throw line, but made 22-of-29 attempts at the charity stripe on Tuesday for a 75.9 percentage. GVSU also won the battle on the boards, 36-22, while holding Saint Joseph's to 6-of-18 shooting from long range.

The Lakers return to the floor next Monday night (Nov. 30) at GLIAC rival Ferris State in an 8:00 p.m. match-up.