Feb. 6, 2010

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Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State used a dominating 27-7 run to close out the first half against Hillsdale on Saturday night (Feb. 6) and the Lakers held on for a tough 52-46 victory over the Chargers in Fieldhouse Arena. GVSU owned a huge 28-8 advantage in points in the paint and a 23-6 edge in bench points, as the Lakers won for the ninth time in their last 10 home games.

With the victory, GVSU improves to 17-4 overall and 13-3 in the GLIAC. The Lakers are now 10-2 at home this season. Coupled with Findlay's loss this afternoon at Ferris State, Grand Valley State is now alone in first place in the GLIAC. Hillsdale had won six straight games coming into Saturday night's contest, but the loss puts the Chargers at 8-12 overall with an 8-8 conference tally. The Lakers' 52 points is the fewest points scored in a win since Jan. 3, 2007 when GVSU beat Michigan Tech in Allendale, 48-43.

After Hillsdale jumped ahead to a 10-6 lead with 14:20 remaining in the first half, Grand Valley State completely took over the rest of the period. GVSU scored six straight points on a Nick West layup, two free throws from freshman Nick Carreri, and a tip-in by junior Mike Przydzial. Leading 12-11, sophomore Wes Trammell drained a jumper, which was followed by an old-fashioned three-point play from junior Toreau Brown at the 8:38 mark. Carreri's fast break layup put the Lakers ahead, 19-11.

The Chargers cut the score to 21-16 on a three-pointer from Nick Meinert with 7:37 remaining, but they would score just one point the rest of the half. After the Hillsdale trifecta, West scored on a layup, Przydzial tallied four straight points on a layup and two free throws, and Brown added another bucket from the paint. GVSU went to halftime with a 33-17 after putting together a 27-7 run to take control.

Grand Valley State shot 44.8 percent from the field and owned huge advantages in points in the paint (20-2), points off turnovers (17-1), and bench points (14-4). The Lakers forced 15 first-half turnovers from Hillsdale, which shot just 31.6 percent from the field.

Early in the second half, GVSU would lead by 17 points on a few occasions and a jumper from Alvin Storrs with 11:11 remaining put the Lakers on top 44-25 for their biggest lead of the game. Unfortunately, Grand Valley State would go the final 11:11 without making a field goal and Hillsdale started to slowly chip away at the Laker lead.

The Chargers were within 13 points (46-33) with 8:17 left and closed the gap to single-digits at 47-38 with 4:36 remaining. Hillsdale rallied all the way back to within two points at 48-46 with 48 seconds left in the game, but junior Justin Ringler made four free throws in the final 14 seconds to give Grand Valley State a hard-fought victory.

GVSU shot 39.1 percent from the field and won for the third time this season without making a three-pointer. The Lakers, which shot 0-of-10 from beyond the arc, also defeated Northern Kentucky on Nov. 15, 2009 and Michigan Tech on Jan. 28 without sinking a triple try. Grand Valley State held the Chargers to 35.0 percent shooting and just 7-of-23 from three-point range for a 30.4 percent clip. Both teams recorded 20 turnovers, but the Lakers owned large advantages in points in the paint (28-8), bench points (23-6), and points off turnovers (19-11).

Leading the way for GVSU was Ringler, who was the only Laker in double figures. He scored 10 points to go with six rebounds and three assists. Classmates Brown and Przydzial each tallied nine points, as Przydzial added five rebounds in just 17 minutes. Storrs recorded seven points, six rebounds, and three steals, as he now leads the GLIAC in steals with 47 (2.2 per game). West added seven points and four boards.

The Lakers completed a 3-1 homestand and head to the Upper Peninsula for a pair of games next week. GVSU travels to Northern Michigan next Thursday (Feb. 11) for a 7:30 p.m. game with the Wildcats. Grand Valley State is 7-2 on the road and has won six straight away games.