Postgame Interview with head coach Ric Wesley

Grand Valley State used a complete team effort to earn a third straight home victory, defeating Michigan Tech by a 74-57 final on Thursday night (Feb. 16) in Allendale. The Lakers jumped out to a 38-22 halftime advantage and ended up shooting nearly 52 percent from the field, while outrebounding the Huskies by a wide 44-23 margin.

Entering Thursday's game, GVSU was one game behind Michigan Tech in the GLIAC standings, but pulled even and split the season series with the Huskies. Now 16-10 on the year and 12-7 in GLIAC play, the Lakers are in a three-way tie for third place in the league standings. Michigan Tech is also 12-7 in conference action; the Huskies are 14-12 overall.

Grand Valley State also clinched a berth in the 2017 GLIAC Tournament with Thursday night's win, with two regular season games remaining.

The Lakers were able to race out to the 16-point halftime advantage by shooting an even 50.0 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, while holding MTU to 26.9 percent shooting and 4-of-14 from downtown. 

Despite playing just two minutes in the opening half, senior Trevin Alexander still managed to post a double-double. The forward returned from a one-game absence due to an injury to score 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-2 from downtown. He added 10 rebounds and a pair of steals for his double-double in only 19 minutes. It was the fifth double-double of the year for Alexander, who led GVSU in both points and boards.

Sophomore Justin Greason was 5-of-6 from the field and tallied 13 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes, while junior Chris Dorsey added 12 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Seven Lakers scored seven or more points, as GVSU held a 27-6 edge in bench points and a 26-12 advantage in points in the paint.

Michigan Tech was ahead 15-13 after a three-pointer at the 9:23 mark, but the Lakers scored the game's next 10 points. Junior Drake Baar converted an old-fashioned three-point play, followed by consecutive layups from Greason and senior Luke Ryskamp. Classmate Juwan Starks buried a three-pointer at the 7:29 mark to cap the 10-0 Laker run in just under two minutes.

A layup from Greason with 5:17 remaining made the GVSU lead 28-20 and was the start of a 12-0 run. Greason scored the first five points during the surge, freshman Ben Lubitz buried a three-pointer, and Dorsey added four points to push Grand Valley State out to a 38-22 halftime advantage.

The Huskies came out and scored the first eight points of the second half - all from sophomore guard Bryan Heath - to pull within single digits at 38-30. It was 40-35 at the 15:15 mark when Baar scored on a layup and Ryskamp followed with a bucket. Alexander then buried a three-pointer and scored on an elbow jumper to extend the advantage to 49-35. Another Alexander jumper and a pair of Lubitz three-pointers made it 57-43 with less than nine minutes to play.

MTU cut the deficit to 62-52 with five minutes to go, but the Lakers put the game away with a final 10-0 run. Dorsey hit a jumper, Alexander made a three-pointer, Starks scored three points and Dorsey added a driving layup to make it 72-52 at the 2:15 mark of the game.

Lubitz and Starks both supplied nine points off the Laker bench, as Lubitz made 3-of-4 three-point tries and Starks - the reigning GLIAC North Division Player of the Week - made 2-of-4 long range attempts and added four boards. Baar and Ryskamp each scored seven points, while Ryskamp and junior Myles Miller passed for four assists apiece.

The lone Laker to play and not score was starting sophomore guard Zach West, who tallied eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and two steals. He also recorded a team-best +20 plus/minus in the victory.

For the game, GVSU shot 51.8 percent from the floor and made 8-of-16 triple tries. The Lakers' 44-23 rebounding advantage included a 10-5 edge on the offensive glass. Michigan Tech shot 12-of-34 from three-point range and shot 33.3 percent overall. 

Grand Valley State concludes the home portion of its regular season on Saturday (Feb. 18) at 3:00 p.m. The Lakers host Northern Michigan and will honor Alexander, Ryksamp, and Starks prior to the game on Senior Day.