Dec. 17, 2013

Box Score

Columbus, Ohio - Despite squandering an 11-point lead with 8:05 remaining in regulation, the Grand Valley State men's basketball team held Ohio Dominican scoreless for the final 3:20 to win a 67-62 decision on Tuesday (Dec. 17) night.

The Lakers raced out to an early 10-4 lead, but the Panthers went on a 12-6 run of their own to knot the score at 16-16 at the 10:29 mark of the first half.

Five points on back-to-back possessions by senior guard Rob Woodson put GVSU back out in front. Once again, Ohio Dominican answered and tied things up at 21-21 with 7:15 to go in the opening stanza. A little over one minute later, sophomore guard Darren Kapustka drained a three-pointer and freshman forward Trevin Alexander poured in a layup to give the Lakers a five-point lead, which eventually ballooned to eight points before the end of the first frame.

Alexander scored 13 of his career-high 16 points in the opening 20 minutes to get GVSU to the locker room with a 35-28 advantage.

In the second half, the Lakers led by 11 points on three different occasions before the Panthers mounted their furious rally. ODU went on a 16-5 run over the course of 4:32 to even the game at 62-62.

Neither team would make a field goal the rest of the way, but the Lakers closed out the victory with five free throws. Sophomore forward Ricardo Carbajal split a pair of freebies to regain the lead. Sabin sunk a pair of free throws with 2:30 to play, which allowed Woodson and Alexander to sink one freebie each in the final minute to seal the win.

Woodson and Carbajal combined for 24 points on 8-for-17 shooting, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out five assists. Sabin chipped in 15 points and played a game-high 39 minutes.

GVSU is the only remaining undefeated team in the GLIAC with a 7-0 overall record, but more importantly, are one of three league members without a loss in conference play. The Lakers are now 4-0 against GLIAC opponents.

Next up for Grand Valley State is a showdown with Grace Bible this Saturday (Dec. 21 at 1:00 p.m. EST in the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.