HOLLAND, Mich. – Two big three-pointers from Lance Dollison with under a minute to go in the first half gave the Grand Valley State Lakers separation, then the Division II squad ran away from host Hope College Dutchmen with an 84-72 win Monday night at the DeVos Fieldhouse. The game was part of an exhibition doubleheader benefiting the American Red Cross for disaster relief from the recent hurricanes.
 
Dollison finished with a team-high 15 points in the game, with Chris Dorsey and Ben Lubitz each adding 14 points. The Lakers shot 52.6% (30-57) as a team, including 8-21 from beyond the arc and an efficient 16-21 at the free throw line. 
 
Overall, the night was a huge success, with the main purpose of the game being to raise money for hurricane relief. Ove 1,100 people packed into DeVos Fieldhouse for the doubleheader, with all of the proceeds going to the American Red Cross to help those recently devastated by hurricanes on the southern border.
 
"We really appreciate the effort Hope put forth to put this thing together. We're really thankful for all the support and a great turnout and it obviously went towards a great cause," said head coach Ric Wesley.
 
All of Dollison's points came in the first half, thanks in large part to 4-7 shooting from beyond the arc. With a one-point lead and less than a minute to go before intermission, Dollison stroked two deep threes to give the visitors some breathing room. That capped a first-half comeback by the Lakers, who trailed by six points ten minutes into the opening period.
 
"Right now, we're just not very good on defense," Wesley said. "Once we started hitting some shots it seemed like we were more motivated to play on the defensive end. But it's never ideal for your defense to be predicated on offensive production. It should be the other way around."
 
The Lakers flexed their muscle early in the second period, opening a lead as large as 22 before the home team began to chip away. The Dutchmen cut the deficit to seven with three minutes to play, but GVSU would allow the host to get no closer. The Lakers had a flurry of steals that led to transition buckets early in the second half, which was a theme in the game for Grand Valley State, who scored 36 points off of turnovers.
 
"That's the idea. When you play good defense, it leads to easy scoring opportunities," said head coach Ric Wesley. "I thought in the second half we did a better job of getting stops that allowed us to get out and run. And it's tough for a team to defend when they are sprinting back towards the basket."
 
GVSU held Hope to 36.9% shooting (24-65) for the game but were outrebounded 39-38 by the Dutchmen. Zach West led the Lakers with seven rebounds while Hope's Dennis Towns had a game-high ten boards. Jason Beckman led all scorers Monday night with 23 points for the Dutchmen. The Lakers continue to warm up for the 2017-18 season with an exhibition game in Ann Arbor against the Wolverines on Friday (Nov. 3) at 7:00 PM. The Lakers open the regular season the following Friday (Nov. 10) in the GLIAC/GLVC Crossover in Big Rapids, Michigan against Missouri St. Louis.