Marquette, Mich. -- Having shot less than 34 percent from the field in its last two games, the frigid Upper Peninsula seemed like an unlikely place for the Grand Valley State men's basketball team to heat up. But the Lakers did exactly that, shooting 44.7 percent from the field, including a scorching 70 percent from beyond the arc, in a 62-53 victory over Northern Michigan.
 
GVSU made 7 of its 10 three-point attempts, producing far and away its highest field goal percentage from distance this season.  Three of those triples came from senior guard Ryan Sabin, who scored a game-high 15 points. Sophomore guard Luke Ryskamp drained a pair of threes, while sophomore forward Trevin Alexander and junior guard Darren Kapustka each added a trifecta.
 
It marked the first time since Feb. 14, 2013 against Lake Superior State that GVSU shot 70 percent from downtown. On that night, the Lakers were also 7-of-10.
 
A significant edge at the free throw line helped GVSU keep the feisty Wildcats at arms length. The Lakers sank 21 of their 28 freebies (75 percent), outscoring NMU by eight points at the charity stripe.  
 
Sabin did not hang around the three-point line all evening, though. The Byron Center, Michigan native grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, matching his career high and giving him a double-double. It is Sabin's second career double-double. The other came earlier this season against Missouri-Saint Louis, when he scored 13 points and nabbed 10 boards. Five assists rounded out Sabin's stat line.
 
Joining him in double figures were Ryskamp and junior forward Ricardo Carbajal. The former poured in 12 points, while the latter chipped in 14 points, four rebounds and three assists.
 
Things looked gloomy for the Lakers early. With just three points in the opening eight-plus minutes, they dug themselves an 11-3 hole.
 
Then everything started to click.
 
Following a pair of free throws from Carbajal, Sabin, who played all 40 minutes of the game, drained a three to make it 11-8. He rattled home a mid-range jumper to cut the deficit to one at the 9:30 mark. The Wildcats pushed their lead back to four, but a pair of triples—one from Alexander, the other from Sabin—and a layup by freshman guard Sam McClendon gave GVSU its first lead of the game (18-14).
 
The Lakers took that four-point lead into halftime and eventually built an 11-point advantage past the halfway mark of the second stanza. NMU trimmed its deficit to four with 2:31 left. However, it never got any closer.
 
GVSU made seven of its final eight freebies to close out the Wildcats.

The victory lifts the Lakers to 9-6 overall and 5-4 in GLIAC play. Next up is a clash with Michigan Tech on Saturday (Jan. 17). Tip off in Houghton, Michigan is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.