Jan. 21, 2010

Box Score

Midland, Mich. - Grand Valley State's defense again took over on Thursday night (Jan. 21), as the Lakers won on the road at Northwood, defeating the Timberwolves, 64-55. It was the ninth straight victory for GVSU, which held an opponent under 60 points for the sixth time during the nine-game win streak.

The victory puts Grand Valley State at 13-3 overall with a 9-2 mark in the GLIAC, while Northwood drops to 7-8 on the year with a 4-7 record in league play. GVSU has not lost since Dec. 12 at Findlay and the Lakers have rattled off nine straight victories, while not allowing more than 68 points in any game. It is the 10th time this season that Grand Valley State has allowed 60 or fewer points to an opponent. The Lakers are now 3-0 on their current four-game road trip.

GVSU owned a lead for most of the first half, including a 12-6 advantage at the 13:31 mark after back-to-back layups from freshmen Breland Hogan and Nick Carreri. Northwood rallied back and took a brief one-point lead at 17-16, which was quickly answered by a layup from junior Justin Ringler with exactly seven minutes remaining in the first half.

The Timberwolves took a 23-22 lead on a three-pointer from Dorian Pierce, but Carreri would followed a missed shot with a tip-in, giving the Lakers a 24-23 lead. With just 1:04 left in the half, Hogan's three-pointer put Grand Valley State on top, 27-24, and Northwood would not lead again. Pierce retaliated with a triple of his own, but Carreri would drain a trifecta with only three seconds left in the half to put GVSU ahead at intermission, 30-27.

In the first half, the Lakers worked on the inside, while Northwood scored from the perimeter. Grand Valley State shot 40.0 percent from the field, but owned a 20-6 edge in points in the paint, while five of Northwood's nine field goals were three-pointers, as the Timberwolves jacked up 14 triple tries in the first half. GVSU socred 20 points from its bench in the first half, while Northwood's reserves did not tally a point.

Freshman Tony Peters set the tone early in the second half with a three-pointer just 47 seconds into the second stanza. Leading 40-34, the Lakers would get a free throw and a layup from Hogan, a pair of freebies from Carreri, and a layup from Ringler for a quick 7-0 run that put some space between the two teams at 47-34 with just under 12 minutes to play.

Northwood responded with an 8-0 run of its own to make the score 47-42 at the 9:57 mark. Ringler answered with a pair of free throws, junior forward Toreau Brown scored on a layup, and sophomore Alvin Storrs knocked down a jumper to push the score out to 53-42 in GVSU's favor. The Lakers would own a double-digit lead for the rest of the game, with Northwood cutting the deficit to nine points in the final minute.

For the game, Grand Valley State shot 44.8 percent from the field, while holding Northwood to a 34.0 percent clip. The Timberwolves made just 6-of-24 three-pointers for a 25.0 percent mark, while GVSU knocked down only 7-of-18 free throws (38.9 percent). Both teams had 36 rebounds, but the Lakers forced 16 NU turnovers, while Grand Valley State committed only eight miscues. GVSU used a 36-18 advantage in points in the paint and a dominating 38-4 edge in bench points.

Carreri and Ringler each scored 12 points for the Lakers, who had 10 players reach the scoring column. Totaling a career-high in points (12) and steals (four), Carreri also shot 4-of-5 from the floor and made 2-of-3 three-pointers. Ringler was 5-of-13 shooting and pulled down four rebounds.

Storrs was 4-of-7 from the floor to total 10 points with four rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 22 minutes. Junior forward Mike Przydzial tallied a team-high eight rebounds, while sophomore center Nick West added six points and five boards.

Grand Valley State heads to Wayne State on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 23) for a 3:00 p.m. contest with the Warriors.