Jan. 30, 2010

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Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State had a last second three-point attempt rim out, as Northern Michigan pulled off the road upset on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 30), knocking off the Lakers by a 61-58 score. It was GVSU's first loss since Dec. 12, ending the fifth-longest winning streak in school history at 11 games. The Lakers also had a seven-game home winning streak snapped, as they had not lost at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena since Nov. 21.

With the loss, GVSU is now 15-4 overall with an 11-3 record in the GLIAC. Northern Michigan improves to 8-10 on the year with a 5-9 conference tally. It was also the Lakers' first loss in a game decided by less than 10 points. Grand Valley State was a combined 10-0 in games with less than a 10-point margin and it was 2-0 in games decided by fewer than five points. GVSU is now 8-2 at home on the year.

Northern Michigan jumped out early to a 10-5 lead at the 14:37 mark and extended the advantage to 17-9 with 10:49 remaining. GVSU could not get any closer than five points the rest of the half, as the Wildcats led by as many as nine points. Trailing 33-24 with 52 seconds left, junior forward Toreau Brown scored on back-to-back layups, including a bucket right before the halftime buzzer to put the Lakers down 33-28 at intermission.

In the first half, neither team shot the ball well. Northern Michigan connected on 38.1 percent of its field goals, while the Lakers made 34.8 percent of its shots. The charity stripe helped out both teams, as NMU made 14-of-16 attempts and Grand Valley State connected on 11-of-13 freebies. Northern Michigan owned a 20-12 rebounding advantage, while the Lakers held edges in points in the paint (12-6) and bench points (11-1) at the half.

GVSU continued its 9-0 run into the opening part of the second half, as freshman Tony Peters drained a three-pointer 45 seconds into the half and Brown's layup tied the game at 33-33. The Wildcats' Jared Benson scored five straight points in a one-minute stretch and NMU pushed the lead out to 49-40 with exactly eight minutes to go in the game. Grand Valley State continued to chip away and got within three points at 53-50 on a pair of free throws from Brown with just under four minutes left.

With 1:31 remaining, NMU's Mylan Murphy knocked down a pair of free throws to push the score to 59-54. After freshman Nick Carreri split two free throws with 66 seconds left, Brown gathered up an offensive rebound on the Lakers' next possession, tossed up a shot from under the hoop which somehow found the bottom of the net, and was fouled. Brown connected on the free throw for the three-point play, putting GVSU down 59-58 with 24 seconds left.

The Lakers put on the full court press and Northern Michigan's Raymont McElroy turned the ball over on a bad pass to Carreri, who went in for a layup that was too strong, but freshman Breland Hogan pulled down the offensive rebound. After a GVSU timeout with 11 seconds left, junior Justin Ringler drove the lane, was bumped, and put up an off-balance jumper that banked off the backboard and into the hoop. However, the bucket was waved off due to a traveling call, so Northern Michigan still held a 59-58 lead with just six seconds remaining in the game.

Grand Valley State immediately fouled on the inbounds pass, where NMU's Marc Renelique then made a pair of free throws to up the lead to 61-58. On GVSU's final possession, Ringler found Brown on the left wing and Brown's three-pointer at the buzzer rimmed in and out, giving Northern Michigan the three-point victory.

For the game, the Wildcats attempted just 35 field goals, making 15 of those shots for a 42.9 percent clip. NMU made 6-of-14 three-point attempts, but cashed in at the free throw line, making 25-of-29 (86.2 percent) of its freebies. The Lakers shot just 33.3 percent from the field and 3-of-12 from beyond the arc, but they also were proficient at the line, making 21-of-25 free throws for an 84.0 percent clip. GVSU owned leads in points in the paint (22-14), second chance points (16-3), and bench points (17-4). Northern Michigan turned the ball over 21 times and Grand Valley State won the rebounding battle 31-29, including a 16-8 advantage in offensive boards.

Brown tied his career-high with 22 points on 5-of-10 shooting, but did most of his damage at the line. He shot 12-of-13 at the charity stripe, while adding seven rebounds, and a career-best three steals. Ringler provided 11 points and eight rebounds, while Carreri scored eight points to go along with three steals.

GVSU continues its four-game homestand with a game against GLIAC rival Findlay next Thursday night (Feb. 4). Tip off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.