Nov. 26, 2011

Box Score

Allendale, Mich. - The Grand Valley State men's basketball team was still hungry after the Thanksgiving holiday, evident by their 82-60 victory over Marygrove on Saturday (Nov. 26). The Lakers hit 10 three-pointers and got big contributions from senior James Thomas (19 points) and freshman Ben Lanning (17 points).

Things got off to a good start for the Lakers as junior Josh Anderson hit a three-pointer only 38 seconds into the game to give the Lakers a lead. After two consecutive baskets from Omar Thomas for Marygrove, freshman Ryan Sabin hit a three-pointer at the 18:01 mark to put the Lakers up 6-4 and give them a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the game.

GVSU led by only four at the 15:22 mark of the first half, 15-11, but eight minutes later, the Lakers were up 17 points after a layup from senior Mike Przydzial made it a 35-18 game. It was the largest lead of the first half for the Lakers, who went into halftime with a 39-28 lead, mostly due to a 21-0 advantage in bench points for the first 20 minutes. Thomas had nine points at the break, with all nine coming in a 70-second stretch near the beginning of the contest. Lanning looked to be on his way to a big day, going into the locker room with seven points and five rebounds in 10 minutes of action.

The Lakers dominated the peripheral stats in the opening half, outscoring Marygrove in the paint (18-6), off turnovers (13-2), on second chance opportunities (6-0), in fast break situations (9-0) and off the bench (21-0).

GVSU came out in the second half and allowed the lead to dwindle to seven after a jumper and two successful free throws by the Mustangs, but a basket by Przydzial and two free throws by Thomas pushed the lead back out to 11. A tip-in by Marygrove with 17:32 to play made it a 43-34 game, but the last was the last time the lead would be in single digits as a trey from Thomas fell to make it a 12-point lead for the Lakers.

GVSU cruised in the second half, getting 20 of their 43 points off the bench compared to only three for Marygrove.

For the game, the Lakers outscored Marygrove in the paint (32-20), off turnovers (19-7), on second chances (12-6), in the fast break (13-4) and had a huge advantage off the bench (41-3).

Thomas had a team-high 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting to go along with four rebounds. Lanning finished with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including three trifectas (on four attempts) and eight rebounds in only 19 minutes of play.

The only other Laker to record double digits was junior Tony Peters who poured in 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Junior Tyrone Lee showed some defensive prowess, rejecting three shots in the game while also recording four points and six rebounds.

Marygrove was led by Omar Thomas, who recorded a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds. The Mustangs fell to 3-6 on the year with the loss.

GVSU shot 51.6 percent in the game and was 10-for-23 from beyond the arc while also hitting 8-of-9 free throws.

The Lakers move to 2-1 on the season and will be in action on Thursday (Dec. 1) when they head to Columbus, Ohio to take part in their GLIAC opener against Ohio Dominican at 7:30 p.m.