Jan. 7, 2010

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Allendale, Mich. - Saginaw Valley State led by as many as 15 points on Thursday night (Jan. 7) in GVSU Fieldhouse Arena and owned an 11-point lead with 13 minutes left before Grand Valley State rallied for a wild 60-58 victory. The Lakers trailed 33-21 at halftime, but received 23 points and 10 rebounds from junior Justin Ringler to earn a big, come-from-behind conference win over the Cardinals.

The victory places GVSU at 8-3 overall and winners of four straight games. Grand Valley State is 4-2 in GLIAC play. Saginaw Valley State falls to 6-5 overall with a 3-3 conference tally. The Lakers have defeated SVSU six straight times and won 18 of the last 19 meetings between the two schools. It was the first of three games in five days for GVSU, as the Lakers will square off with Lake Superior State on Ferris State by early next week.

Grand Valley State never led in the first half, as SVSU pushed ahead early to lead 14-6 nearing the 14-minute mark. The Cardinals extended the lead to 26-11 on a three-pointer from Greg Foster, marking the biggest lead of the game. GVSU answered with five straight points on a three-pointer from Ringler and a layup from junior Mike Przydzial and cut the Cardinal lead to nine points on a triple from junior Toreau Brown. Saginaw Valley State answered with a three-pointer and two free throws from Michael Fugate to take the 12-point lead (33-21) into intermission.

The Cardinals shot 40.6 percent in the first half from the field, making five three-pointers, while Grand Valley State connected on just 29.2 percent of its shots. SVSU owned a 22-16 rebounding advantage in the first 20 minutes, including seven offensive boards.

In the second half, Grand Valley State cut the lead to single digits on a three-pointer from sophomore Wes Trammell, but SVSU pushed the lead back out to a dozen points on a Fugate trifecta. The Lakers kept chipping away at the Cardinal advantage and got within five points on a number of occasions. Trailing 53-46, GVSU finally made its game-changing run, mostly on Ringler's point total.

Ringler connected on a pair of free throws with 4:48 remaining, followed by a layup at the 3:57 mark. He then scored on a fastbreak layup just 47 seconds later to bring Grand Valley State within a point at 53-52. Sophomore guard Alvin Storrs then stole a pass and was fouled on a breakaway layup attempt. He went to the line and made both shots to give the Lakers their first lead of the game at 54-53 with just under three minutes left.

Saginaw Valley State answered with a bucket to re-gain the lead, but Storrs picked up another steal and was sent back to the charity stripe, where he drained two more free throws to jump back ahead, 56-55. GVSU continued its strong shooting at the line, as Nick Carreri and Ringler both split a pair of freebies and Trammell's two free throw makes put the Lakers ahead 60-55 before a late SVSU three-pointer closed the game.

Both teams shot 37.0 percent from the field, while Grand Valley State made 21-of-28 free throw attempts and the Cardinals connected on just 11-of-22 attempts at the line. There were few turnovers, as SVSU committed 10 miscues and the Lakers made only eight errors. GVSU barely won the rebounding battle, 36-35.

In his fifth double-double of the season, Ringler notched game-highs of 23 points and 10 rebounds. He shot 7-of-13 from the field, including one three-pointer, and 8-of-10 at the free throw line. Ringler dished out two assists and did not commit a turnover in 31 minutes of action. Trammell was the only other Laker in double-figures, as he added 10 points and a career-high eight rebounds. He totaled two assists and two steals and also did not record a turnover.

GVSU returns to the court on Saturday against Lake Superior State at 3:00 p.m. in Fieldhouse Arena.