The Grand Valley State men's basketball team led wire-to-wire on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 28) inside the Fieldhouse Arena, cruising to its fifth straight victory with a 91-60 win over Salem International. The Lakers owned a 27-point halftime lead and had five players reach double-digits to keep GVSU unbeaten this season.

It was the first-ever meeting between the two schools, as Salem International is a Division II school from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC). The Lakers never allowed the Tigers to take a lead, scoring the first six points of the game and jumping to a 12-2 lead five minutes into the contest.

Grand Valley State stays undefeated with a 5-0 record; all five Laker wins have come in Allendale. Salem International falls to 1-4 on the year. Next weekend, GVSU opens up GLIAC play with two more home games against Ashland (Thursday, Dec. 3) and Lake Erie (Saturday, Dec. 5).

Junior guard Luke Ryskamp led all players with a season-best 26 points, to go with five assists, three rebounds, three steals, and zero turnovers in 29 highly productive minutes. Ryskamp was 9-of-15 from the field and 5-of-9 from three-point range. Senior forward Ricardo Carbajal notched a double-double of 18 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals, also in 29 minutes.

Two more Laker post players reached double figures. Senior Chaz Rollins was a rebound shy of a double-double, as Rollins posted 12 points, nine boards, and four blocked shots. Freshman Justin Greason added 10 points, five rebounds (four offensive), and was 4-for-4 at the line and 3-for-4 from the field. Classmate Zach West notched 10 points, five boards, two assists, and two steals off the Laker bench.

It was fast-paced, almost frenetic type of game, as Salem International constantly pressured the Lakers full court and tried to force GVSU into turnovers. Senior Aaron Hayes threw down an early dunk and Ryskamp added a fast break layup, as the Lakers scored the first six points. Ryskamp then drained consecutive three-pointers - the first from the right corner, the next from the left corner - to push the GVSU lead out to 15-5. 

The Laker advantage was 17-9 when Grand Valley State ran off the next 11 points to open a 28-9 cushion. Carbajal scored on a layup, West nailed a three-pointer, Greason added four points, and Hayes scored on a layup to conclude the 11-0 run. Three straight layups - from West, Carbajal, and Ryskamp - helped push the score out to 49-22 at halftime. 

GVSU shot 57.1 percent from the field in the first half, nailing five trifectas, and going 12-of-15 at the line. Salem International shot just 28.6 percent overall and were 3-of-11 from downtown. The Tigers also turned the ball over 12 times, which Grand Valley State turned into 15 points.

Rollins scored five straight points early in the second half, including an old-fashioned three-point play, to up the score to 54-25 a few minutes into the half. Salem International cut the deficit down below 20 points around the nine-minute mark, but Carbajal scored seven points and Ryskamp added six points to build the advantage back to 30 points at 83-53. 

The Lakers ended up shooting 54.5 percent from the field, made 7-of-18 three-point tries, and again dominated at the free throw line. GVSU was 24-of-37, while Salem International was just 15-of-22, so again the Lakers made more free throws than their opponents attempted.

Grand Valley State forced the Tigers in 22 turnovers and owned a 25-16 edge in points off turnovers. The Lakers held a 46-20 edge in points in the paint and scored all eight fast break points in the game.

GVSU passed for 21 assists on its 30 made field goals, as Hayes and Carbajal each had four helpers to go with Ryskamp's game-high five assists. Sophomore Drake Baar scored six points in seven minutes off the bench, making both field goal attempts and both free throw tries.

It is the fifth 5-0 start for the Lakers during the Ric Wesley era, also having done so most recently in the 2013-14 season. That year, Grand Valley State started 8-0.