ALLENDALE, Mich.—A close game between the Grand Valley State and Wayne State men's basketball teams set the scene for a dramatic finish, and Laker forward Luke Ryskamp delivered a clutch three-pointer with 44 seconds left to seal the game for GVSU. Ryskamp's basket broke a 56-56 tie, and Chris Dorsey got a strip steal on the other end of the court to give the Lakers the ball back with 23 ticks left in the game.
 
After a pair of free throws by Myles Miller gave the Lakers a 61-56 lead, and the Warriors subsequently missed a triple on the other end of the court, a rebound and long outlet pass by Trevin Alexander fed a wide open Dorsey for an emphatic dunk as time expired to put an exclamation point on the decisive victory.
 
Ryskamp netted a game high 21 for the Lakers (14 coming in the first half), while teammates Myles Miller (13) and Drake Baar (12) each scored in double figures for the home squad. The victory improved GVSU to 11-6 overall and 7-3 in GLIAC play. With the win, the Lakers remain in a four-way tie for second place in the overall conference standings. Wayne State drops to 9-5 on the year and 6-4 in league action.
 
Grand Valley State got on the board first in the game, courtesy of an Alexander triple. After a Wayne State layup, Miller scored nine points over four straight possessions to up Grand Valley State's lead to 12-2 early in the first half. Slowly but surely the Warriors chipped away at the Laker lead, getting within four points briefly before a Dorsey layup with 7:12 left began a Laker run. This time, Ryskamp followed Miller's lead, scoring eight straight GVSU points, the last of which put the home team up by 12 with just under five minutes left to play. After a Warrior triple with 2:26 left in the half pulled the visitors within five, 30-25, the remaining scoring in the first half would come entirely from free throws—11 to be exact—the last of which came from Wayne State and trimmed GVSU's halftime lead to 35-31.
 
The Lakers began the second half with a Zach West trifecta and a pair of Ryskamp free throws, growing the lead to 40-31. Thus began a series of back and forth play, as three times the Warriors scored a basket and each time the Lakers answered right back. With 14:32 remaining, the Warriors sank a pair of free throws, followed by a layup, a jumper and another layup in quick succession. That run turned an eight point Laker lead into a tie ball game, and with the back end of a one-and-one set of free throws, the Warriors took their first lead of the second half with 9:26 remaining in the game.
 
A Baar jumper would give the Lakers a one point lead of their own, shortly before Wayne State went on a 6-0 run to go ahead 54-49 with seven minutes remaining. Four free throws by Miller spread over the next two minutes trimmed the Warrior lead to one, and a Baar layup with 3:38 continued the back and forth by giving the Lakers the lead once more, 55-54. The Lakers fell behind one on a Warrior layup with 2:49 remaining, then tied the game at 56-56 on a free throw by Baar with 1:35. A defensive stop on the other end gave the Lakers the ball back, setting the scene for Ryskamp's crucial triple to put the game on ice.
 
GVSU shot 43.9 percent (18-41) from the field and 38.5 percent (5-13) from beyond the arc. Most importantly, the Lakers shot 76 percent (22-29) from the free throw line in a game slowed by fouls and physical play. Defensively, GVSU held the Warriors to just 30.2 percent (16-53) from the field and just 14 percent (2-14) from beyond the arc. Wayne State converted on 22 of 28 attempts from the free throw stripe, good for 78.6 percent shooting.