GVSU-SVSU Video Recap

A strong-shooting second half carried Grand Valley State past Saginaw Valley State on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 21) in Allendale, as the Lakers topped the Cardinals in the Battle of the Valleys, 80-71. GVSU scored 50 second half points and shot 64 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes, receiving a career-high 25 points from senior forward Trevin Alexander in the victory.

It was a second straight impressive home win for the Lakers, who move to 12-6 overall and 8-3 in GLIAC play. Saginaw Valley State was the #1 team in Division II in early December, but have hit a rough patch recently, with Saturday's loss dropping the Cardinals to 11-7 on the year and 4-7 in conference action. GVSU is in a three-way tie (with Findlay and Michigan Tech) for second place in the league standings.

The three Laker seniors made sure SVSU would not snap its current six-game losing streak on Saturday. Alexander went 10-for-12 from the field and was tremendous on both ends of the floor, Luke Ryskamp added 17 points, and Juwan Starks buried a clutch three-pointer with 36 seconds remaining to help seal the win. The trio combined for 50 of the team's 80 points.

Entering the game shooting a GLIAC-best 49.7 percent as a team this season, Grand Valley State did not cool off on Saturday. The Lakers finished the game with a 52.7 percentage and 5-of-12 shooting from three-point range. GVSU went 17-of-23 at the free throw line, including 7-of-8 at the stripe (Starks was 5-for-6, Alexander went 2-for-2) in the final 22 seconds to clinch the victory.

While the Lakers ended the game well, it was the way they started that was also impressive. Grand Valley State scored the first seven points of the game, with four points from Alexander during the opening 7-0 stretch. Alexander's triple with 13:28 to go made it 16-4 in GVSU's favor. Drake Baar added a layup with 12:09 remaining and the Lakers were out to a 13-point lead at 18-5, but Saginaw Valley State began to chip away. 

The Cardinals were able to get to the free throw line in the first half (going 11-of-18 at the stripe in the opening 20 minutes) and whiddle away at the deficit. GVSU was on top 30-29 in the final minute before SVSU guard Garrett Hall was fouled shooting a three-pointer with 0.5 seconds to play. He made all three freebies to give the Cardinals a 32-30 advantage, the first lead of the ballgame - which again came in the final second of the half.

Saginaw Valley State shot just 35.7 percent in the opening stanza, but free throws brought them back in the game. The Lakers connected at a 43.3 percent clip in the opening frame and lead for nearly the entire first half.

The teams traded leads in the opening minutes of the second half, with SVSU tying the score at 36-36 on an alley oop dunk from GLIAC Preseason Player of the Year CJ Turnage. Grand Valley State responded with eight straight points, including a three-point play from sophomore guard Zach West. The Cardinals answered right back with nine straight points and a 45-44 advantage. 

On the Lakers' next possession, junior Chris Dorsey scored on a layup and pushed GVSU back in front 46-45; Saginaw Valley State would not lead again. Dorsey hit another jumper, West drained a three-pointer, and Dorsey added two free throws to make it a 55-47 lead with 10:40 to go. West knocked down another trifecta on a Dorsey dime to up the cushion to 62-51 at the 8:41 mark. Both teams traded baskets over the next five minutes, with SVSU trimming the deficit to just four points at 67-63 with 2:26 remaining.

Alexander took a pass from Baar and hit a big three-pointer with 2:07 to go, pushing the lead back to 70-63. Turnage scored for the Cardinals to keep it close at 70-65 at the 1:45 mark. After gathering a key defensive rebound on the other end of the floor, Starks took a pass from Myles Miller on the right wing and buried a three-pointer with 36 seconds to go that essentially put the game out of reach. At that point, it was 73-65 in the Lakers' favor. Starks would go 5-of-6 at the line in the final 17 seconds to seal the win.

After setting his career-high with 21 points at Northwood last Thursday night, Alexander's 25 points are the second-most scored by a Laker this season. He was 10-for-12 from the floor, added eight rebounds and two blocks and was stout defensively in 36 minutes, most of which he was guarding Turnage, a two-time All-GLIAC First Team selection. Ryskamp went 7-of-13 from the field for his 17 points, while West had a solid statline of nine points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

Off the bench, Dorsey, Baar, and Starks had eight points apiece. Dorsey grabbed four boards and passed for three assists, while Baar pulled down five rebounds and blocked two shots. Miller dished out five assists against just one turnover in 33 minutes at the point guard spot.

GVSU will head north for the annual Upper Peninsula trip next week. The Lakers will take on Michigan Tech on Thursday night (Jan. 26) at 7:30 p.m. before facing Northern Michigan on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 28) in Marquette.