The Grand Valley State men's basketball team claimed a tough 51-48 non-conference road win Saturday afternoon at Cedarville University. The Lakers improve to 8-2 on the year heading into a short break and will return to the court January 2 at home versus Wayne State. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.

Trailing 11-7 at the 15:15 mark of the first half, GVSU went on a 9-0 run and held Cedarville scoreless for over seven minutes. GVSU took its first lead of the game (12-11) on a layup by Trevin Alexander at the 12:13 mark of the first half and built a 16-11 lead on a layup by Alec Marty at the 9:41 mark. However, the Yellowjackets went on a 7-0 run of its own and eventually built an 18-16 lead at the 5:47 mark. Chaz Rollins tied the game and Luke Ryskamp put the Lakers up 20-18 with a pair of free throws with 4:49 remaining in the first half. The Laker defense held Cedarville scoreless for over a four minute mark late in the first half and GVSU held a 22-20 lead after 20 minutes of action. 

The second half was close thoughout with eight lead changes and one tie. GVSU led 36-32, but Cedarville went on a 10-0 to build a 42-36 lead with 8:20 left in the game. The Lakers answered with a run of their own. Alexander scored on a layup and senior forward Ricardo Carbajal scored four consecutive points. Ryskamp tied the game at the 4:38 mark and senior guard Darren Kapustka hit a 3-pointer with 2:56 left to give the Lakers a 47-44 lead. Rollins and Alexander each hit a pair of free throws in the final minute to enable the Lakers to hold the lead for the win. 

GVSU shot just 28.3 percent from the floor (17-60) and 18.2 percent from 3-point range (4-22), however, the Lakers converted 92.9 percent from the charity stripe (13-14) and turned the ball over just 10 times. Kapustka led the way with 14 points, connecting on 3-of-5 from the 3-point line, while Alexander added 10 points and seven rebounds. Carbajal chipped in 10 points and five rebounds, followed by Rollins' eight points and eight caroms. GVSU held a 26-5 advantage in bench points and a 22-4 advantage in second chance points with 14 offensive rebounds. 

The GVSU defense forced 17 turnovers and tallied nine steals on the afternoon.