Strong outside shooting from visiting Michigan Tech on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 7) helped the Huskies record a 71-60 victory over Grand Valley State in Allendale. MTU made 9-of-20 three-point attempts and shot over 52 percent from the field to earn the 11-point win.

Even in defeat, Laker forward Ricardo Carbajal was terrific on Saturday. The junior made 8-of-17 field goals and went 8-of-12 at the free throw line to tie his career-high with 24 points, a mark he equaled two other times, including a few weekends ago at Northwood. His 13 rebounds are a new-career high (supplanting his 12 boards against Tiffin last December), while he added four assists and three steals.

Sophomore guard Luke Ryskamp was the only other Laker in double-digits, as he made 5-of-8 field goal tries for 11 points. Ryskamp added four points and two steals for GVSU, which shot 42.3 percent from the field, but made just 1-of-7 three-point tries.

Michigan Tech's Ben Stelzer showed why he was named the GLIAC Preseason Player of the Year. The senior guard - and league's leading scorer at 21.2 points per game - poured in 16 of his game-high 29 points in the first half. Stelzer was 8-of-15 from the field, 5-of-10 from three-point range, and a perfect 8-of-8 at the charity stripe. Those five made three-pointers pushed Stelzer into the MTU career record.

The Lakers had just two leads in the ballgame, both coming in the early portion of the first half. Senior guard Ryan Sabin hit a jumper with 14:10 to play to give GVSU an 8-7 advantage. Minutes later, a free throw from freshman Drake Baar put the Lakers ahead, 11-10. From there, Michigan Tech would hold a lead for the final 32-plus minutes.

Back-to-back Carbajal layups kept Grand Valley State close at the 8:26 mark, with the Huskies leading 19-17. Stelzer, however, responded with eight of the game's next 10 points and Michigan Tech went to halftime with a 36-25 cushion.

MTU was 6-for-12 from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes, with Stelzer going 4-of-7 from long distance. Backcourt mate Jordan Chartier - who finished the game with 13 points - made the other two triples for the visitors in the first frame.

The Huskies' lead would get out to 14 points on a pair of occasions, but GVSU would not go away. Carbajal did everything he could to keep the Lakers in the game, scoring 15 second half points. His layup and two free throws with 4:52 to play brought Grand Valley State to a 55-48 deficit. Michigan Tech answered with the next four points and GVSU could get no closer than nine points the remainder of the game.

Grand Valley State is now 10-13 on the season with a 6-11 GLIAC record, while MTU improves to 15-6 overall and 12-5 in league action. 

Carbajal's double-double was his second of the season, also recording 22 points and 12 boards against Tiffin on Dec. 14. Junior Darren Kapustka scored seven points and handed out four assists against zero turnovers in 27 minutes. Center Darren Washington added five points and five rebounds.

The Lakers travel to Sault Ste. Marie on Thursday for a meeting with Lake Superior State at 7:30 p.m. LSSU escaped Allendale with a 78-75 victory on Jan. 22.