Feb. 14, 2009

Box Score

Allendale, Mich. - GVSU never trailed on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 14) against visiting Michigan Tech, eventually closing out the Huskies, 69-59, in Fieldhouse Arena. The Lakers shot 52.2 percent from the field and had seven players score six or more points as they tallied their eighth straight home victory.

The win puts Grand Valley State at 17-6 overall with a 12-6 GLIAC record, while Michigan Tech falls to 12-11 with a 9-9 league mark. Two weeks ago in Houghton, Mich., GVSU held off the Huskies, 79-77, to complete the season sweep. The Lakers have won eight straight games against Michigan Tech with the Huskies' last victory in the series coming on Jan. 5, 2006 in a 61-52 win at home.

Just 27 seconds into the game, sophomore Justin Ringler stole a Mike Hojnacki pass and slammed it down on the other end of the court for the game's first two points. A layup from freshman Nick West and a three-pointer from Ringler gave the Lakers a quick 7-0 lead four minutes into the contest.

GVSU led by as many as a dozen points in the opening half, as a jumper from sophomore Toreau Brown at the 4:40 mark put the Lakers on top, 23-11. Michigan Tech tallied the final four points in a low-scoring first half, as Grand Valley State went into intermission with a 25-18 lead.

While the Lakers shot 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from the field in the opening 20 minutes, they held MTU to a 27.3 percent clip (6-of-22) from the floor and 0-of-5 from three-point range. Only one player for the Huskies had more than two points in the first half.

A dunk from MTU forward Fedrick Bowe cut the GVSU advantage to 27-25 with 18:10 to play. The Lakers responded with a jumper from Ringler, a layup from Brown, and a three-pointer from freshman point guard Wes Trammell to re-gain a nine-point cushion at 34-25. Michigan Tech never went away, however, cutting the score to three points on a number of occasions. When the Huskies scored a triple from Hojnacki at the 7:38 mark to make the score, 53-50, the Lakers put together their game-changing run.

Sophomore center Anthony Ianni put in a layup off a feed from point guard Jerret Smith. Ringler connected on a pair of free throws and on the Lakers' next possession, the Smith-to-Ianni combination produced another layup. Senior forward Pete Trammell followed by draining a jumper from the elbow and once again, Smith dished an assist to Ianni, who drilled a baseline jumper to cap a 10-0 run that would put the Lakers ahead to stay, 63-50, with 4:16 remaining.

Grand Valley State connected on 24-of-46 shots for a 52.2 field goal percentage, while holding Michigan Tech to just 40.4 percent (21-of-52). While both teams made five three-pointers, the Huskies needed 20 attempts to do so, while GVSU shot only six shots beyond the arc. The Lakers also owned the rebounding edge 32-26 and received 22 bench points compared to 13 for MTU. While Grand Valley State did commit 15 turnovers to Tech's 11, the Lakers scored 17 points off of Husky miscues.

Three players scored in double figures for GVSU, led by Ringler's 13 points. He made both three-pointers he attempted and recorded three assists. Ianni totaled a career-high with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting and added six rebounds in 20 productive minutes off the bench. Pete Trammell notched 12 points and six rebounds, while Brown totaled a game-high seven boards.

The Lakers return to the floor next Thursday (Feb. 19) at 8:00 p.m. against Lake Superior State for a showdown between the top teams in the GLIAC North Division. GVSU fell against LSSU, 79-66, in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.