Dec. 9, 2010

Box Score

Midland, Mich. - In its closest game of the season and its first road conference game of the year, #14 Grand Valley State went on the road to Midland, Mich. on Thursday night (Dec. 9) and earned a solid 71-63 victory over the host Timberwolves. It was a tight game throughout, with neither team leading by more than eight points, but the Lakers connected on nine straight free throws in the final minute of the game to turn a one-point lead into an eight-point victory.

The win is GVSU's fourth straight victory, as the #14 Lakers move to 7-1 on the year and 3-0 in conference play. Northwood falls to 2-7 on the year and 1-2 in the GLIAC. All seven of Grand Valley State's games before Thursday night had been decided by 16 points or more, but the Lakers kept their cool down the stretch in a tight contest and won the game at the charity stripe. Although GVSU struggled at the line for the entire game (making 20-of-30 shots for a 66.7 percentage), the team poured in 18 made free throws in the second half, including 9-of-10 crucial shots in the final 53 seconds.

The Lakers started off the game just 11 seconds in with a dunk from freshman Asauhn Tatum, but then GVSU moved from the rim to outside the arc for its next four buckets. Junior James Thomas buried a pair of three-pointers in a two-minute stretch, which was followed by a triple from senior K'Len Morris at the 14:29 mark. Less than a minute later, junior Wes Trammell drilled a trifecta, giving the Lakers a 14-12 lead less than seven minutes into the game.

Grand Valley State held a pair of four-point leads and even moved ahead 19-14 on a free throw from sophomore Tony Peters before Northwood responded with a 5-0 run to tie the score at 19-19. The Timberwolves led 29-28 late in the half before senior Justin Ringler scored on a layup and Trammell connected on a jumper with 38 ticks left in the opening stanza. GVSU would take that 32-29 advantage into the halftime break.

In the second half, the Lakers held their lead and used a small 5-0 run on a layup from junior Nick Waddell and a three-point play from junior Alvin Storrs to move ahead 46-38 nearing the 12-minute mark. Grand Valley State would hold the lead for the next eight minutes until Northwood drained a three-pointer with 4:34 left to take its first lead in nearly 20 minutes at 54-53.

After sophomore Breland Hogan tied the game by splitting a pair of free throws, Thomas sunk a jumper and GVSU would not trail again after gaining a 56-54 advantage. The Timberwolves were within a point at 62-61 with 1:24 left, but Storrs and Hogan each knocked down a pair of freebies to build a 66-61 lead. Thomas then connected on two free throws, which were followed by two more freebies from Hogan and one from Thomas (on an NU technical foul) to put the game away at 71-63.

While Grand Valley State had just two players in double-digits, the Lakers had seven players score five or more points. Thomas was 4-of-7 from the floor for a team-best 13 points, while Hogan went 7-of-9 at the charity stripe for 11 points in 20 solid minutes off the bench. Waddell approached his first double-double in a Laker uniform, as he supplied nine points and a game-high eight boards in just 15 minutes.

Tatum played well again with nine points (4-of-5 shooting) and a career-high four blocked shots, to go with three boards and two assists. Storrs added nine points and a game-best three steals for the Lakers, who shot 45.1 percent from the field and made 20 free throws, compared to Northwood only shooting 10 free throw attempts. It was a well-played game, as GVSU had just seven turnovers while forcing only eight NU miscues. Grand Valley State won the rebounding battle (38-30) and totaled a commanding 31-5 edge in bench points.

GVSU is off until Dec. 18 when the Lakers will head to the Upper Peninsula. Grand Valley State will square off with Northern Michigan in Marquette on the 18th in a 1:00 p.m. start.