The GVSU men's basketball team dropped a 66-56 decision at Saginaw Valley State Thursday evening. The Lakers fall to 14-5 overall and 8-5 in GLIAC action, while the Cardinals improve to 15-4 overall and 11-2 in GLIAC action. GVSU will host Hillsdale Saturday (Jan. 30) at 3 p.m.

It was a tale of two halves for the Lakers and Cardinals. SVSU scored the first two points of the game, but the Lakers reeled off nine consecutive points to take a 9-2 lead after a Chaz Rollins layup. Leading 19-15 with 9:42 left in the first half, the Lakers went on an 11-0 run over the next 4:05 to take a 30-15 lead with 6:08 remaining in the opening stanza. Freshman center Justin Greason opened the run with a three-point play, followed by buckets from Myles Miller and Rollins and a Ricardo Carbajal free throw. Senior guard Aaron Hayes hit a 3-pointer to conclude the run. SVSU went on a quick 5-0 run to pull within 10 (30-20) and the teams traded baskets until the final buzzer when SVSU's Devin Dixon scored at the buzzer to pull the Cardinals within eight (38-30) after 20 minutes of action. 

GVSU led 44-37 at the 16:00 minute mark of the second half, but SVSU went on a 5-0 run to pull within two (44-42) at the 13:19 mark. Junior Luke Ryskam and Rollins hit back-to-back layups, but the Cardinals scores six consecutive points to tie the game at 48-48. Senior guard Darren Kapustka hit a mid-range jumper to give the Lakers a 50-48 lead, but the Cardinal scored eight consecutive points and held GVSU off the scoreboard for nearly four minutes to build a 56-50 lead. 

The Lakers scored just six points over the final 9:32, a pair of layups from Ryskamp and a Hayes jumper, while SVSU was 8-for-8 from the charity stripe over the final 3:12 to preserve the win. 

The difference in the game came from the charity stripe where SVSU was 16-for-21 and GVSU just 5-for-8. Hayes led the Lakers with 22 points, while Rollins tallied a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.