At the opening game of the SJC Thanksgiving Classic on Friday night (Nov. 25) in Rensselaer, Ind., Upper Iowa rallied for a tight 76-72 victory over Grand Valley State to advance to Saturday's championship game. With the game tied at 68-68 with two minutes to go, the Peacocks scored eight of the final 12 points, including 5-of-6 free throws in the final 34 second to clinch the win.
 
GVSU's three-game winning streak was snapped, as the Lakers dropped to 3-3 overall. Upper Iowa improves to 2-3 on the year. The teams hadn't played since 2006, with Grand Valley State winning both matchups during the calendar year. The first game between the schools in 10 years featured strong shooting from both schools and a late comeback from the Peacocks.
 
While Upper Iowa moves onto the tournament's championship game, Grand Valley State will play in the consolation game at 7:00 p.m. ET (6:00 p.m. CT) against either the host school Saint Joseph's or Salem International. That game was being played after the GVSU-Upper Iowa clash on Friday night.
 
The Lakers (53.8 percent) actually outshot Upper Iowa (50.0) from the field, though the Peacocks (13-of-22) were more proficient than GVSU (8-of-20) from three-point range. At the free throw line, UIU also had an advantage, going 17-for-24 at the stripe, while Grand Valley State was 8-of-12 on freebies.
 
Four GVSU players reached double-figures in the scoring column on Friday night. Senior Luke Ryskamp led the way with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and 3-of-5 from three-point range. He added three assists and a pair of steals. Classmate Trevin Alexander posted a solid double-double with 13 points (5-of-7 shooting, 3-of-5 triples) and 15 rebounds, to go with five assists, two blocks, and a steal.
 
Junior Drake Baar played only 19 minutes before fouling out, but the starting center was 7-of-8 from the floor and scored a career-high 14 points. Senior guard Juwan Starks shot 4-of-7 from the field and made a pair of three-pointers for 11 points and a pair of steals in 26 minutes off the bench.
 
With five minutes to play in the game, the Lakers held a 68-61 lead after a Starks jumper and two free throws from junior point guard Myles Miller. Upper Iowa cut the deficit to 68-65 and neither team would score for the next two minutes until the Peacocks' Josh Weeber tied the score on a three-pointer with 2:18 remaining.
 
At the 1:30 mark, UIU hit another three-pointer to take a 71-68 advantage and cap the team's 10-0 run. Miller scored on a jumper with 1:05 to go, bringing the Lakers within a point at 71-70. However, GVSU was forced to foul in the final minute and Upper Iowa hit 5-of-6 free throws over the last 34 seconds, with a Miller layup being the Lakers' final points of the contest.
 
In the opening half, the Peacocks led by eight points on five different occasions, but were unable to pull away from GVSU. Upper Iowa was on top 27-19 at the 9:35 mark of the first half when Alexander scored on a layup and followed with a three-pointer. Baar scored on consecutive buckets and the Lakers were within a pair at 30-28 with a little more than six minutes remaining.
 
A second Alexander three-pointer tied the score at 37-37 and the teams went into halftime tied at 39-39, with junior Danzel Wright's two free throws with 1:16 to play being the final points of the half.
 
The first 20 minutes saw Grand Valley State shoot 55.6 percent from the field and 5-of-10 from downtown, while Upper Iowa connected at a 54.5 percent clip, including 7-of-12 triple tries. GVSU scored 21 first-half points on a dozen Peacock turnovers.
 
A third Alexander trifecta tied the game at 45-45 three minutes into the second half and the Lakers jumped ahead from that point with a jumper and a dunk from Baar in a 35-second span to give GVSU the 49-45 cushion. Grand Valley State stayed in front at 61-59 when Ryskamp and Starks hit jumpers to make the lead seven points at 66-59. Miller's free throws with 5:03 to go gave the Lakers the 68-61 lead, which Upper Iowa would eventually overcome with the game-ending 15-4 run.
 
GVSU held a 30-24 rebounding advantage, with Alexander tallying half of the team's boards. The Lakers forced 17 Upper Iowa turnovers, while committing 19 miscues themselves. Grand Valley State led in points off turnovers (23-19), points in the paint (24-20), second chance points (11-5), and scored all four fast break points in the game. Upper Iowa's bench outscored the Lakers' reserves, 31-22.