Feb. 15, 2014

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Allendale, Mich. - In a huge matchup between Grand Valley State and Northwood in regards to GLIAC Tournament positioning, the Lakers put together arguably their best effort of the season on Saturday night (Feb. 15) in Allendale. GVSU raced out to a 51-35 halftime lead and reached a season-high in points by tallying a 94-71 victory over the Timberwolves.

Five Grand Valley State players reached double-figures and seven Lakers scored eight or more points as GVSU reached its highest point total since notching 101 points in a home win over Tiffin on Dec. 4, 2010. The victory puts Grand Valley State and Northwood in a three-way tie for fifth place in the GLIAC standings. GVSU, the Timberwolves, and Hillsdale are all tied at 12-7 in league action. Grand Valley State improved to 16-7 overall with the win; NU is 16-11.

Nearly 10 minutes into the first half, GVSU was already leading by double-digits, as the home Lakers owned a 23-12 advantage on an old-fashioned three-point play from Darren Kapustka with 9:51 to go. From that point on, Northwood never got the game back to single-digits. Late in the half, the lead was 43-31 before a pair of free throws from Chaz Rollins and four points from Luke Ryskamp - including a fast-break dunk - made the score 47-31.

The Laker advantage at halftime was 51-34, as GVSU shot 51.5 percent in the opening half and made 15-of-16 free throws. Grand Valley State's 51 first-half points are the most scored by the Lakers in any half this season, tying the 51 points the team put up against Findlay in the second half on Jan. 4. The Lakers thrived in transition in the opening 20 minutes, owning a 11-0 edge in fast break points.

GVSU pushed out to a 21-point cushion (61-40) on a Ryan Sabin three-pointer with 15:07 to play in the second half. The score was 71-52 midway through the stanza when the Lakers rattled off 10 straight points to up the advantage to a game-high 29 points at 81-52. Darren Washington's layup with 3:21 to play gave Grand Valley State a new season-high in points, eclipsing the 88 points the team scored at Saginaw Valley State on Jan. 30.

Defensively, the Lakers were very strong, holding Northwood to just 35.0 percent shooting and 9-of-33 from three-point range. GVSU shot 51.7 percent from the floor and made 28-of-35 free throw tries. Grand Valley State dominated most of the speciality stat categories, including bench points (44-16), points in the paint (38-16), points off turnovers (16-1), and fast break points (13-0).

Sabin (3-of-6 three-pointers, four boards, four steals) and Ricardo Carbajal (five boards, three steals) led the way with 14 points apiece. Senior Rob Woodson notched 13 points, a career-high nine assists, five boards, and zero turnovers in just 24 minutes. His nine assists have not been topped by a GVSU player since Courtney James dished 11 helpers in a 90-77 win over Ashland on Mar. 3, 2006.

Trevin Alexander supplied 12 points and five rebounds, while Chaz Rollins added 11 points and five boards off the bench. Kapustka and Ryskamp each scored eight points.

The Lakers close out the home portion of their regular season schedule next Thursday night (Feb. 20) as GVSU welcomes Saginaw Valley State for an 8:00 p.m. contest.