March 5, 2010

Box Score

Findlay, Ohio - Grand Valley State made a late comeback attempt against Hillsdale on Friday night (Mar. 5), but was unable to pull even with the Chargers, dropping a 61-53 decision in the GLIAC Semifinals in Findlay, Ohio. The Lakers trailed by as many as 21 points in the second half, but pulled within five points at 58-53 before HC closed out the game.

With the loss, GVSU falls to 21-8 overall, as the Lakers were the #2 seed in the GLIAC Tournament. Hillsdale has now won eight straight games and improves to 16-12, where the third-seeded Chargers will face top-seeded Findlay in the GLIAC Championship game on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. Grand Valley State had defeated Hillsdale in the two previous meetings this season, but the margins were slim at six and eight points in an overtime contest. GVSU now awaits word on its regional seeding for the NCAA Tournament, as the team was slotted third in the latest rankings released on Wednesday.

Neither team could find an offensive rhythm in the first half on Friday night, as the Lakers took a 5-2 lead with 17:44 remaining on a baseline jumper from junior forward Mike Przydzial. The Chargers then scored the game's next nine points, taking an 11-5 advantage that was stopped by GVSU on a short jumper from freshman Tony Peters with 14:24 left in the half.

Sophomore guard Wes Trammell made a bucket in the paint with 6:42 remaining to cut the Charger deficit to 14-10, ending a scoreless streak of nearly eight minutes for the Lakers. When freshman center Corey Jones scored on a layup around the six-minute mark, Grand Valley State would not get on the board again until the 1:25 mark when junior forward Toreau Brown drained a pair of free throws. Those were the final points of the half, as Hillsdale took a 27-14 advantage to halftime. The 14 points for GVSU are the fewest in the first half of a game this season.

In the opening half, the Lakers shot just 5-of-26 from the field for a 19.2 percent clip, including an 0-for-9 mark from three-point range. Hillsdale shot 45.5 percent from the floor, making 10-of-22 attempts and was 5-for-5 at the free throw line, while GVSU was just 4-of-8. The Lakers owned a 7-0 edge in bench points, but Hillsdale had a 12-8 advantage in the paint.

Junior forward Justin Ringler, who went scoreless in 15 minutes of play in the opening half, scored five points early in the second half and fed Brown for a fastbreak layup right before the 17-minute mark to make the score, 32-21. Hillsdale responded with back-to-back three-pointers and two more easy buckets for a 10-0 run to push out to a 42-21 advantage. Sophomore guard Alvin Storrs broke the scoreless streak with a pair of freebies with just over 12 minutes remaining in the game.

The Lakers began a slight comeback as Brown scored on a layup and made two free throws to make the score, 44-29. After freshman point guard Breland Hogan drained a jumper, Ringler connected on back-to-back three-pointers to cut what was once a 21-point Hillsdale lead down to 46-37 with less than seven minutes left.

HC pushed back out to a 13-point edge at 52-39 before Grand Valley State used an old-fashioned three-point play from Ringler with 2:15 remaining to cut the score to single digits. Less than a minute later, Peters banked in a three-pointer from the top of the key and the Lakers were within six points at 55-49. A layup from Brown with 22 ticks left made the score 58-53 before Hillsdale closed out the scoring at the free throw line, making 3-of-4 attempts in the final 13 seconds.

For the game, Grand Valley State shot 35.2 percent from the field, making just 4-of-19 three-point attempts for a 21.1 percent clip. The Lakers also struggled at the charity stripe, knocking down 11-of-20 freebies for a 55.0 percent mark. Hillsdale shot 45.2 percent from the floor, made five three-pointers, and connected on 18-of-24 free throw tries. While the Chargers shot the ball better, GVSU owned edges in points off turnovers (14-8), second chance points (13-3), fast break points (10-6), and bench points (16-3). Both teams tallied 24 points in the paint.

Ringler led the Laker offense with game-highs of 16 points and six rebounds. He was 6-of-14 from the field, making a season-best three trifectas in four attempts. Brown added 12 points and six boards, while knocking down 6-of-10 free throw tries. Peters scored seven points off the bench, while Trammell notched six points.

Grand Valley State will await the NCAA Tournament selections, which will be released on Sunday night (Mar. 7). Stay tuned to gvsulakers.com for complete tournament information.