Box Score MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- The 2017-18 Lakers men's basketball team is proving to be a version of the cardiac kids with another tight contest Friday afternoon in a neutral site matchup with the Lynn Fighting Knights. All three of the games GVSU has played against fellow Division II schools to start the year have been decided by one possession. On Friday it was two free throws with three seconds left in regulation to see-saw the Knights over the Lakers, 69-68, to snap the Lakers three-game winning streak. In both losses this season, the Lakers were leading with under five seconds to play.

GVSU (3-2, 0-0 GLIAC) got a career-high 17 points from Hunter Hale and Myles Miller contributed 11 points, but the Lakers shot just 37% from the field in the contest. Hale has scored double figures in all five games this season. Lynn (1-2, 0-2 SSC) got 20 points from Randy Bell, one of three Knights to score in double figures. The Knights shot 43% from the floor and got to the free throw line 23 times, connecting on 19 of the attempts. The Lakers led by three at the half were up by as many as 12 in the second half, but couldn't close out the Knights as they rallied back for their first win of the season.

The Lakers won the battle on the boards, out-rebounding Lynn, 43-31, including 19 offensive rebounds for the Lakers. Justin Greason led the team with seven rebounds while Chris Dorsey had six and three other Lakers hauled in five rebounds each. One of those Lakers was freshman Jake Van Tubbergen, who made his collegiate debut Friday and put up six points and recorded a steal in 16 minutes of action. GVSU forced Lynn into 19 turnovers in the contest while turning the rock over 18 times themselves. 

The Lakers started slow offensively, putting up just two points in the first four minutes of the game. Dorsey stole the ball in the opening possession of the game, sprinted the floor, got his own rebound on a missed layup and laid the ball in for the first points of the game. Lynn would score the next seven points to jump out to an early lead that lasted until the 10-minute mark in the first half. Van Tubbergen found space inside for a pull-up jumper in the lane to tie the game then, two possessions later, Hale knocked down a three to put the Lakers back in front. The teams traded leads three more times in the half before a big three from Ben Lubitz gave the Lakers separation and an eventual three-point edge at intermission.

The Lakers offense was much steadier in the second half, shooting 44% from the field as opposed to the 31% clip in the first. GVSU scored the first seven points of the second half to open up a double-digit lead and held that advantage for most of the game. Bell knocked down a three with just under five minutes left in the game to give Lynn their first lead of the second half. A Zach West free throw broke a 65-65 tie with 1:22 left in the game before Jamal Palmer took a defensive rebound for the Knights and went coast-to-coast for a go-ahead layup to force GVSU to call timeout with 20 seconds left. Miller hit a mid-range jumper with 12 seconds left to swing the Lakers back in front but, on the ensuing possession, Palmer was hacked driving the lane to earn a pair at the line. He knocked both down with three ticks remaining. After a Laker timeout, they got a good look for Lubitz from right in front of his own bench, but the buzzer beater rimmed out and GVSU fell by the slimmest of margins.

Things do not get any easier for the Lakers, they finish off the trip to Miami with the host No. 8 Barry Buccaneers. Tip off is set for 2:00 PM and there will be live stats and video available of the game. This will be the last non-conference game for GVSU before GLIAC play begins for the Lakers in Detroit next Thursday.