Dec. 6, 2012

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Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State used a 26-1 run over an 11-minute stretch early in the second half to help put away Tiffin on Thursday night (Dec. 6) in Allendale, 66-51. The Lakers trailed 28-24 at halftime but outscored the visiting Dragons by 25 points in that second half surge to capture their fifth consecutive victory.

With the win, GVSU improves to 6-1 on the season and a perfect 3-0 in GLIAC play. The Lakers shot 56.5 percent from the field in the pivotal second half, when they outscored Tiffin 42-24. The loss puts the Dragons at 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the conference.

For the game, Grand Valley State owned a 34-10 edge in points in the paint and the Lakers (46.0 percent from the field) clearly outshot Tiffin (27.4 percent). Five GVSU players - and four starters - scored in double-figures. TU's Joe Graessle, the second leading scorer in the GLIAC at 23.2 points per game, did tally 23 points on Thursday, but he was 7-of-22 from the field, including a 1-of-10 mark from three-point range.

An early three-pointer from sophomore Ryan Majerle put the Lakers ahead 10-5 before Tiffin responded and eventually built a 21-14 lead with 3:52 to play in the first half. The Dragons took a 28-24 lead to intermission thanks to 5-of-12 shooting from three-point range. GVSU shot 37.0 percent in the first half, but only trailed by four points.

Graessle scored on a jumper just 27 seconds into the second half, but the Lakers took off from that point. It started with a layup from Tyrone Lee, which was followed by consecutive three-pointers from Breland Hogan and Ryan Sabin, capped off by another Lee lay-in. Sophomore Kristers Zeidaks scored seven of the next nine GVSU points to give the Lakers a 45-30 advantage after the 19-0 run.

Moments later, Grand Valley State had a 2-on-1 fastbreak with Tony Peters handling the ball. He tossed an alley-oop to Zeidaks, who threw down a ferocious dunk over Tiffin's Cody Dennison, earning the foul and connecting on the free throw for the old-fashioned three-point play. GVSU pushed the lead to a game-high 21 points after a layup from Peters on a nice fastbreak pass from Ricardo Carbajal made it 52-31.

Tiffin was able to cut the lead to 11 points on a few occasions, but the Lakers owned a double-digit lead the rest of the second half.

Zeidaks led the way for GVSU, as he tallied 12 points, six rebounds, two assists, and a pair of blocks. He has reached double-digits in either points or rebounds in six of the seven games this season. Peters notched 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting and made all three freebies in 14 minutes.

Hogan, Lee, and Sabin all scored 10 points. Lee pulled down seven boards, Hogan dished out six assists, and Sabin added four boards and two assists. Carbajal came off the bench to add seven rebounds, four points, an assist, and a steal in only 10 minutes. Darren Washington supplied five rebounds, four points, and a pair of rejections in seven minutes on the floor.

The Lakers stay at home for a 1:00 p.m. contest against Ohio Dominican on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 8). It is the last home game in the 2012 calendar year for the GVSU men.