The Grand Valley State men's basketball team used balanced scoring and a strong defensive effort to take down Wayne State on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 2) in Allendale, topping the Warriors by a 74-58 final score. 10 different Lakers reached the scoring column and GVSU held the visitors to just 30.9 percent shooting in the team's fourth straight victory.

GVSU recorded wins in each of its final three contests in 2015 and carried that over to the opening game of the new year. The four-game win streak puts Grand Valley State at 9-2 overall and 3-2 in GLIAC play. Wayne State had won its last two games, but falls to 2-6 on the season and 2-3 in league action. 

After not playing for two weeks over the holiday break, the Lakers will hit the court twice in 24 hours. On Sunday (Jan. 3), Grand Valley State will host Findlay in a 3:00 p.m. start inside the Fieldhouse Arena. 

Any rust the Lakers may have developed over the holidays was quickly eliminated, as GVSU's Zach West hit a three-pointer on the team's opening possession and never looked back. Grand Valley State led wire-to-wire on Saturday, the third such time the team has done so this season. 

Offensively, GVSU recorded a solid 45.8 field goal percentage and connected on 7-of-17 three-pointers. The teams combined for 65 free throws and 50 fouls, while the Lakers went 23-of-34 at the charity stripe. Wayne State was forced to just 30.9 percent shooting and a 3-for-14 clip from beyond the arc. The Warriors shot 21-of-31 at the line.

As usual, Grand Valley State did a great job on the glass, owning a 43-36 edge in rebounds and a 20-5 advantage in second chance points - thanks to a dozen offensive boards.

The main contributor to the rebounding edge was senior Chaz Rollins, who posted 13 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double in the last five games. He was only outscored by junior guard Luke Ryskamp, who notched 15 points, eight rebounds, and three steals. Fellow starting guard West, a freshman, tallied 10 points on 3-of-5 three-pointers and pulled down six rebounds.

A jumper from Trevin Alexander at the 11:11 mark put the Lakers ahead, 17-10, with the lead growing to 23-13 on West's second three-pointer of the half with 7:23 to go. Wayne State quickly cut the deficit to 23-20 with a 7-0 run of its own, but GVSU immediately responded.

Rollins knocked down a pair of free throws on the next Laker possession and added a layup 90 seconds later. Alexander then buried a three-pointer with 3:27 to go in the half, pushing Grand Valley State back in front by a 30-21 advantage. The Lakers would lead 37-29 at the intermission.

GVSU shot 41.4 percent from the field in the first half, while Wayne State connected at a 34.6 percent mark. On the glass, the Lakers led 24-17 and converted that to a 16-3 edge in second chance points in the first 20 minutes.

Early in the second half, the Lakers used a 6-0 run - including a jumper and an old-fashioned three-point play from Ryskamp - to open up a 43-31 cushion. Senior guard Aaron Hayes had four points in 45 seconds and Rollins added a layup to stretch the score to 59-43 with 8:30 to play.

Wayne State trimmed the lead to eight points on a quick 6-0 run, all of which came from WSU sophomore guard Ronald Booth. The Lakers again responded around the six-minute mark, with Ryskamp draining a three-pointer and Alexander converting a layup, both of which were assisted by senior Darren Kapustka. Minutes later, West hit another triple (with another Kapustka assist) and Ryskamp hit two freebies to put the advantage at 73-55.

Kapustka had a terrific afternoon orchestrating the Laker offense, dishing out a career-high nine assists and not committing a single turnover. The last GVSU player to hand out nine assists was Rob Woodson on Feb. 15, 2014 against Northwood. Woodson also had zero turnovers in that contest.

Alexander posted seven points, six boards, and a career-high three blocked shots, while senior Ricardo Carbajal added seven points, four rebounds, and three steals. Freshman Deshawn Lewis supplied six points in 11 minutes off the bench.

The Lakers held edges in the paint (24-18), points off turnovers (18-9), and bench points (24-16).