Nov. 16, 2011

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Allendale, Mich. - The Grand Valley State men's basketball team won their 12th straight home opener and 13th straight season opener on Wednesday (Nov. 16) night, trouncing Michigan-Dearborn by a 94-51 score. The Lakers hit 11 three-pointers in the first half to jump out to a big lead that they never relinquished.

GVSU got out to a quick 5-0 lead thanks to senior James Thomas, who started the game off with a fast-break lay-up and his first three-pointer of the season to force a Michigan-Dearborn timeout. Only a couple minutes later, junior Josh Anderson pushed the lead to 13-1 on a three-pointer of his own.

Seven of GVSU's first 12 field goal makes were from beyond the arc as the Lakers jumped out to a commanding 32-9 lead only 9:44 into the game.

In the first half, the Lakers scored 25 points off 16 turnovers from the Wolves and were 11-for-18 from three-point land as well as 20-for-33 on all shots. 12 fast break points and 23 points off the bench fueled the Lakers for their 53-19 halftime advantage.

Thomas had 16 points in the first half while junior Tony Peters contributed 14 points on four treys in the first half.

It was much of the same for GVSU in the second half as the Lakers scored the first eight points off the final stanza after junior Breland Hogan converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make it a 61-19 game.

The Lakers held their largest lead of the game at 90-43, a 47-point advantage, after a tip-in from junior Tyrone Lee with a little over four minutes to play.

Thomas led all scorers in the game with 21 to go along with six rebounds, also a game-high. Peters' four three-pointers (on five attempts) was a career-high for him while true freshman Ben Lanning had a banner debut for the Lakers, tossing in 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting including three makes from beyond the arc.

Hogan was the only other Laker in double figures, scoring 10 points while handing out four assists. Sophomore Rob Woodson had a game-high five assists while also scoring three points and grabbing three boards.

Overall, the Lakers hit 13 three-pointers, the most since hitting 15 against Rochester College on Dec. 20, 2006.

The Lakers are now 1-0 on the season and will face their biggest test of the season on Saturday (Nov. 19) when they face the top-ranked team in Division II and defending national champion Bellarmine at 3 p.m. in the Fieldhouse Arena.