Feb. 4, 2010

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Allendale, Mich. - In a battle between the top two teams in the GLIAC, Grand Valley State put together perhaps its best all-around game of the season on Thursday night (Feb. 4) in Fieldhouse Arena, knocking off #19 Findlay by a 69-55 score. The win was the Lakers' first over their rivals in six games and GVSU snapped the Oilers' 13-game win streak by shooting 54.5 percent from the floor and owning a 40-18 advantage in points in the paint.

The victory pushes Grand Valley State, ranked second in the Midwest Region, to 16-4 overall and 12-3 in the GLIAC. Findlay, the fifth-ranked team in the region and defending Division II National Champions, falls to 16-4 on the year with a 12-3 mark in conference play. The teams are now tied for first place in the GLIAC, as they both have seven games remaining in the regular season. Earlier this year, Findlay picked up a 70-57 victory over the Lakers on its home court, pushing UF's win streak over Grand Valley State to five straight games. GVSU's last win over the Oilers came on March 18, 2008 in the Great Lakes Regional Championship game in Fieldhouse Arena.

Grand Valley State got off to a great start on Thursday night, leading 6-0 after buckets from juniors Mike Przydzial and Justin Ringler and a pair of free throws from freshman Tony Peters. Findlay ran off five straight points before freshman Breland Hogan, making his first collegiate start, scored on a layup, which was followed by a Ringler three-pointer. A minute and a half later, junior Toreau Brown dialed long distance for a trifecta that put the Lakers on top, 14-5, at the 12:51 mark.

The Oilers began chipping away at the deficit and used a 15-4 run to knot the score at 19-19 with 5:17 remaining. GVSU led by no more than three points the rest of the half and used a layup from sophomore Alvin Storrs to go ahead 28-26 at halftime. Both teams shot very well in the first stanza, as Grand Valley State connected on 11-of-20 attempts for a 55.0 percentage, while Findlay made 9-of-17 shots for a 52.9 percent clip. The Lakers led in points in the paint (14-8) and scored a dozen points off of 11 Findlay turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

At the start of the second half, Findlay would tie the score and re-gain the lead on a layup from guard Nathan Hyde. GVSU then began its game-changing 17-2 run with a jumper from Przydzial and an old-fashioned three-point play from Storrs. Freshman Nick Carreri scored on two layups in 37 seconds and sophomore Nick West threw down a dunk to push the Laker lead out to 40-33 with 13:47 remaining.

West would then hit a pair of free throws and Ringler would score on a layup. When Brown's layup with 11:09 remaining hit the bottom of the net, Grand Valley State led 46-33 and had held Findlay to two points for over seven minutes. The Lakers would lead by double digits the rest of the game, but UF would not let up. Findlay would draw within 10 points at 54-44 with 7:31 left, but West scored on consecutive layups and the lead was back out to 14 points.

Minutes later, Ringler drained two free throws and Storrs threw down a fastbreak dunk with 3:50 remaining to put Grand Valley State on top 62-45 with its biggest lead of the night. The Lakers would make enough free throws in the final few minutes to secure perhaps their biggest win of the season.

GVSU shot 54.5 percent for the game, making 24-of-44 shots from the field, while the Lakers connected on 19-of-28 free throws for a 67.9 percent mark. Findlay shot just 39 times in the game, making 18 shots for a 46.2 percent clip, and the Oilers were 7-of-20 from beyond the arc, good for 35.0 percent. Grand Valley State owned decisive advantages in points in the paint (40-18), bench points (29-13), second chance points (15-6), and points off turnovers (28-19). The Lakers forced 20 Findlay turnovers and won the rebounding battle, 28-22. Findlay was held to 22 points below its season average, as the Oilers were scoring 76.8 points per game before Thursday night.

Three Lakers tallied double figures in scoring, led by Ringler's game-high 15 points. He was 3-of-7 from the field, made his only three-point attempt, and drained 8-of-9 free throws. Ringler added five assists and a steal in 37 minutes. Brown supplied 11 points and six boards, as he knocked down 4-of-6 field goal attempts.

Storrs put together 10 points off the Laker bench, as he was 4-of-6 from the field, while collecting five steals. It was the sixth time this season that Storrs has totaled more than four steals and just two shy of his career-high. Junior K'Len Morris also added a career-high five steals, to go with four points. Przydzial tallied eight points, six rebounds, and two steals, while Carreri added six points and a game-high seven boards. West also provided eight points on 3-of-3 shooting in 15 productive minutes.

The Lakers return to the floor on Saturday night (Feb. 6) against Hillsdale, as tipoff is slated for 8:00 p.m.