Grand Valley State used a game-changing 14-0 run late in Thursday night's (Feb. 4) contest to earn a 70-59 road victory at Northern Michigan in Marquette. The Lakers trailed 33-27 at halftime, but outscored NMU 43-26 over the final 20 minutes, including the decisive 14-point surge near the end of the game.

The victory snapped Grand Valley State's three-game losing streak and pushed the Lakers to a 15-7 overall record, with a 9-7 mark in conference play. Northern Michigan falls to 6-14 on the season and 4-12 in GLIAC action.

GVSU had four players reach double-digits in sweeping Northern Michigan for the second time this season. The Lakers were led by seniors Ricardo Carbajal and Aaron Hayes, as each player totaled 14 points. Juniors Luke Ryskamp (12 points) and Trevin Alexander (11 points) also scored in double figures.

For the game, Grand Valley State shot 42.0 percent from the field, made 7-of-16 three-pointers, and went 21-of-31 at the free throw line. The Lakers held Northern Michigan to 39.2 percent shooting and 6-of-23 from downtown. NMU went 13-of-19 at the charity stripe.

It was GVSU's fourth game in exactly a week, as the Lakers will close out a five-game in 10-day stretch at Michigan Tech on Saturday (Feb. 6) at 2:00 p.m. Northern Michigan also was playing its fourth game in the last seven days, but the Wildcats appeared more fresh and came out strong in the early part of the game.

The Wildcats scored the first seven points of the game and led 10-1 just over four minutes into the contest. It was 14-6 when GVSU put together a 10-0 run to take the lead for the first time in the game. Hayes had five points in the run, senior Chaz Rollins scored on a layup, and senior Darren Kapustka drained a three-pointer to move the Lakers in front 16-14 with 10:42 remaining in the half.

Northern Michigan quickly regained the lead, but the teams were tied again at 24-24 and 26-26 before NMU scored seven of the final eight points in the half. At intermission, the home Wildcats were ahead 33-27 thanks to 46.2 percent shooting. GVSU made 5-of-10 three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes, but shot just 33.3 percent overall.

Early in the second half, NMU was on top 35-27 before the Lakers began to rally. At the 15:35 mark, Alexander buried a three-pointer to put Grand Valley State back in front 40-39. Less than two minutes later, freshman Justin Greason knocked down 3-of-4 free throws to help the Lakers regain the lead; it would not trail again in the game.

After Greason's freebies, Carbajal scored on a jumper and a layup, then after a Wildcat bucket, Carbajal scored on another layup and sophomore Myles Miller notched an old-fashioned three-point play. The Laker advantage was out to eight points, but Northern Michigan kept it close at 52-50 with 6:37 to play before Grand Valley State put the game away.

Carbajal hit a jumper, Alexander scored on a layup off a terrific no-look pass from Kapustka, and Ryskamp followed Rollins' free throw with a pair of layups of his own. Leading 61-50, Rollins grabbed an offensive rebound off his own missed free throw and later in the same possession, Carbajal nailed his second three-pointer of the game for a dagger with 2:26 to go, putting GVSU ahead 64-50. 

Having made just four trifectas all season long, Carbajal went 2-for-3 from beyond the arc on Thursday and was 6-for-11 from the field. He added seven rebounds, five of which came on the offensive glass. Hayes nailed a pair of threes and went 6-of-8 at the charity stripe.

Alexander recorded a game-high nine rebounds and made 4-of-7 field goal attempts, while draining the final two free throws of the contest. Kapustka, one of the GLIAC leaders in assist/turnover ratio, tallied seven dimes against just one turnover.

The Lakers have a rematch with Michigan Tech on Saturday after defeating the Huskies 64-53 on Jan. 16 in Allendale. MTU fell in overtime to Ferris State 80-78 on Thursday night.