Jan. 23, 2010

Box Score

Detroit, Mich. - After trailing by as many as 17 points in the first half at Wayne State on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 23), Grand Valley State rallied for a huge come-from-behind 57-48 victory in Detroit, Mich. GVSU allowed just 20 second-half points to the Warriors and scored the final 12 points of the game, as the Lakers won their 10th straight contest and sixth straight road game.

Grand Valley State improves to 14-3 on the year with a 10-2 record in the GLIAC, while Wayne State falls to 8-8 overall and a 6-6 mark in the conference. GVSU has not lost since Dec. 12 at Findlay, as it is now 8-0 in the new year. The Lakers return to the friendly confines of Fieldhouse Arena after a perfect four-game road trip that saw them defeat Ashland, Tiffin, Northwood, and Wayne State. In all four of those wins, Grand Valley State held its opponents to less than 55 points and has not given up more than 68 points during its 10-game win streak.

Things did not look good early for the Lakers, who tied the game at 2-2 before Wayne State rattled off 10 straight points for a 12-2 advantage. A jumper from junior Justin Ringler stopped the WSU run, but the Warriors then scored nine more points to push out to a 21-4 lead with 10:25 remaining in the half. GVSU slowly started to chip away at the lead, using free throws and a Mike Przydzial layup to get within nine points at 26-17 with 1:40 left. A Wayne State jumper put the Warriors on top 28-17 at halftime.

The Lakers made just 4-of-23 shots in the first half for a 17.4 percentage, while Wayne State connected on 11-of-22 field goals for an even 50.0 percent. WSU owned leads in points in the paint (18-6), points off of turnovers (9-2), and bench points (10-5), but the Lakers stayed within striking distance by making 9-of-15 free throws in the opening 20 minutes.

In a complete tale of two halves, it would have been hard for GVSU to play any better in the second half. Wayne State scored the first points of the second stanza to move ahead by 13 points, but the Lakers kept chipping away at the score. Grand Valley State got within six points at 37-31 after a five-point run that included a Ringler three-pointer and two free throws from freshman Breland Hogan. Wayne State would answer with four straight points to move back to a double-digit lead at 41-31 with just over 12 minutes left.

At that point, GVSU made its game-changing run, scoring 11 straight points and taking its first lead of the ballgame. Five different players scored during the run, which started with two free throws from sophomore Alvin Storrs. Junior Toreau Brown followed with a jumper and a tip-in by Nick West was capped off by a Hogan layup. When a three-pointer from Storrs hit the bottom of the net at the 8:15 mark, Grand Valley State finally held a lead in the ballgame at 42-41.

The Laker advantage would last not even a minute, as WSU hit a triple to push back ahead 44-42. Hogan re-gained the lead for Grand Valley State with a three-pointer and two minutes later, another Storrs trifecta tied the score at 48-48 with 4:23 remaining. The Warriors would not score again, as GVSU ended the game on a 12-0 run, including nine straight points from the 48-48 tied score. A layup from Brown was followed by a jumper from West. Ringler and Brown would each split a pair of free throws, while Storrs would drain a pair of freebies at the line, and Hogan's final free throw gave the Lakers an improbable comeback win.

After shooting just 17.4 percent in the first half, Grand Valley State shot 68.4 percent (13-of-19) from the field in the second half. The Lakers made all four three-point attempts in the final 20 minutes and connected on 10-of-16 free throws. GVSU made 19-of-31 free throws in the game, while Wayne State was just 5-of-9. Defensively, the Lakers were just as strong, as WSU shot only 33.3 percent from the floor and 2-of-13 (15.4 percent) from three-point range in the second half. For the game, Wayne State shot 40.8 percent from the floor and 3-of-18 (16.7 percent) from beyond the arc.

Brown and Storrs led the Lakers offensively, as each played tallied 12 points. Storrs recorded a career-high seven steals, which is the most by any player in the GLIAC this season and the most by a Laker since Jason Jamerson recorded seven thefts against Michigan Tech on Feb. 7, 2008. He was a perfect 6-of-6 at the line and added two blocked shots. Storrs had recorded four steals in a game five times during his career, including three times this season.

Hogan provided 21 strong minutes off the GVSU bench with eight points, six rebounds, and two assists. Ringler shot just 2-of-9 from the floor, but added seven points, a team-high eight boards, and two assists. West provided seven points on 3-of-3 shooting and five rebounds.

The Lakers return to Allendale for a four-game homestand that will begin next Thursday (Jan. 28) against Michigan Tech at 8:00 p.m.