Jan. 5, 2012

Box Score

University Center, Mich. - Grand Valley State's 53-39 road win over Saginaw Valley State Thursday (Jan. 5) night took on a little more significance when the final horn sounded. The Lakers entered the game in search of their ninth win of the 2011-12 campaign, but from a program standpoint, GVSU was in search of the 800th win since the Lakers hit the hardwood in 1966. Dave Sharphorn (67-81) guided the the Lakers to an 83-75 win over Purdue-Calumet on December 17, 1966 and 799 wins followed under the guidance of Tom Villemure (419-261), Jay Smith (23-6), Terry Smith (110-83) and Ric Wesley (181-50).

The 2011-12 Laker squad, which improved to 9-3 overall and 5-1 in GLIAC action, will be at Lake Superior State Saturday (Jan. 7) for a 3 p.m. tip on WTKG AM 1230.

GVSU and Saginaw Valley State were in a defensive battle for 40 minutes. SVSU scored the first four points of the game, but senior center Nick Waddell got the Lakers on the scoreboard with his first two points of the evening at the 18:37 mark. Freshman guard Ryan Sabin gave GVSU its first lead of the night with a three-pointer at the 15:48 mark, but SVSU would eventually take a 13-12 lead with 3:27 left in the opening stanza.

The Cardinals built their lead back up to four (16-12) with 2:28 remaining, but the Laker defense held Saginaw Valley State scoreless for the remainder of the first half, while junior Josh Anderson hit a jumper and Waddell scored final four points of the first half to give GVSU an 18-16 lead.

The Lakers were never able to completely pull away in the second half until the final 1:30. GVSU held a four-to-eight point advantage for most of the final 20 minutes, with SVSU pulling to within three on three occasions in final seven minutes.

GVSU held a 35-32 lead with 5:36 left, but Waddell and junior guard Breland Hogan hit back-to-back buckets to up the lead to six (38-32). SVSU's Brett Beland hit a three to get the Cardinals back to within three with 4:27 left.

However, GVSU remained in control as Hogan and Sabin each dropped in a pair of buckets and Sabin sealed the win with a three-pointer following a timeout to push the GVSU lead to eight (47-39) with 1:55 remaining. Hogan dropped in four straight from the charity stripe and Waddell completed his double-double (14 points-13 rebounds) with two free throws in the closing minute.

The Laker defense held SVSU to just 29.4 percent shooting from the floor (13-for-44) and the 39 points scored by the Cardinals were the fewest for a GVSU opponent since Lake Superior State and Northwood scored 38 points in back-to-back outings a year ago.

In addition to Waddell's double-double, Hogan led the offensive punch with a game-high 16 points, including 12 in the final 5:53. Freshman guard Ryan Sabin chipped in 11 points on a perfect night from the floor (4-for-4), including three from behind the arc. GVSU outrebounded SVSU 33-25.