Feb. 18, 2012

Box Score

Detroit, Mich. - Despite shooting almost 60 percent from the field and hitting 65 percent of their three-point attempts, Grand Valley State fell to Wayne State on Saturday (Feb. 18) by a score of 80-67. The Warriors held a 29-12 advantage in free throw attempts which proved to be the difference.

The two squads battled back-and-forth in the opening minutes of the game, tying the scoreboard five times in the first 8:08 of the game. The Lakers took an 8-6 lead on a fastbreak dunk from senior James Thomas at the 15:17 mark, but the Warriors tied the game at eight with a dunk of their own back on the other end during the next possession. With the Lakers down 10-8, Thomas found the bottom of the net twice in 34 seconds to put the Lakers up 12-10 but Wayne State would grab a 14-13 advantage. A layup from junior Tyrone Lee made it a 15-14 Laker lead with 10:29 to play in the opening half but that was the last point at which GVSU would hold an advantage.

A layup from senior Nick Waddell at the 7:58 mark drew the Lakers within one at 21-20, but from there the Warriors went on an 11-2 run and ultimately went in to the locker room with a nine point lead after a three-pointer at the end of the half.

Thomas had 15 points in the first half and the Lakers shot 61.9-percent (13-for-21) from the field. Wayne State, however, was 13-for-24 from the floor and hit all nine of their free throw attempts to hold a 41-32 lead at the half.

GVSU scored the first five points of the second half, all off the hand of Thomas as he hit a jumper and a trifecta to cut the lead to four, but that's as close as the Lakers would get for the rest of the game. The Warriors then went on a nine-point run to up their lead to 13 before GVSU battled back for one last valiant effort. The Lakers responded with a 10-2 run of their own, eight of which came from Thomas, to cut the lead to five at 52-47 with 12:02 to play.

The Warriors would hit nearly every one of their free throws down the stretch, hitting 11 in a row at one point in the second half en route to a 26-for-29 performance from the charity stripe in the game. Wayne State would use those makes to propel themselves to the victory by a final score of 80-67.

Thomas' 28 points led all scorers in the game while he also grabbed three rebounds and two thefts. He was a perfect 5-for-5 from beyond the arc, part of a 9-for-14 performance from downtown by the Lakers. Junior Breland Hogan was also in double digits, pouring in 10 points while dishing four assists.

Wayne State had five players in double figures, with Ike Udanoh leading the team with 20 points and seven rebounds.

The Lakers fall to 14-11 overall and 10-8 in the GLIAC while Wayne State moves to 16-8 on the year with a 13-5 mark in the conference.

GVSU will look to end their regular season on a winning note next Saturday (Feb. 25) when they take on rival Ferris State at 8 p.m. in the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.