Dec. 29, 2011

Box Score

Erie, Pa. - Grand Valley State's James Thomas hit a three-pointer with 28 seconds left in the first semifinal tilt at the Porreco Cup in Erie, Pa., to tie the game, but Seton Hills Chris Giles scored the final two of his 26-point outing with four seconds remaining to lift the Griffins to a 75-73 victory over the Lakers. Grand Valley State (7-3) will face either Malone or Gannon in the third-place game Friday (Dec. 30).

Grand Valley State jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead as senior James Thomas hit a three-pointer and freshman guard Ryan Sabin hit a mid-range jumper. GVSU led by as many as six points in the first half and when Josh Anderson hit a three-pointer at the 9:21 mark the Lakers led 25-19. Seton Hill went on a 15-4 run over the next 5:18 to build a 34-29 lead over the Lakers with 3:59 left in first half. Seton Hill led 38-35 at the half.

Senior center Nick Waddell scored a conventional three-point play to open the second half and Sabin added a three-pointer of his own to give GVSU a 41-38 lead. Another three by Sabin upped GVSU's lead to 48-42 and Sabin scored a layup with 16:09 left to give the Lakers a 51-44 lead. The Griffins went on another run, outscoring the Lakers 16-5 to build a 61-56 lead when Giles hit a three-pointer with 10:46 left in the game. Seton Hill led by as many as eight (65-57), but the Lakers regrouped as Thomas hit a pair of free throws, followed by a layup from Tyrone Lee and layup from Breland Hogan to pull within two (65-63).

Hogan tied the game at 70-70 with a jumper at the 1:14 mark, but Seton Hill answered with a three-pointer with 43 seconds left to take a 73-70 lead. Thomas' three tied the game before Seton Hill won it in the closing seconds.

Thomas led GVSU with 17 points, while Waddell added 14 points. Hogan added 10 points and a career-high nine rebounds, while Sabin added 10 points and a career-high four assists. GVSU hit 25-of-58 shots from the floor, outrebounded Seton Hill 28-27 and turned the ball over just 11 times. The Griffins connected on 55.1 percent of its shots from the floor (27-for-49) and dished out 21 assists on 27 made baskets. Seton Hill also hit 9-of-14 three-pointers.