GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Valley State men's basketball team defeated Davenport 79-69 in a back and forth affair on Saturday inside the DU Student Center on the campus of Davenport University. The Lakers improve to 9-1 overall and 3-0 in GLIAC play, while Davenport drops to 7-4 overall and 1-2 in league play.
 
The Lakers and Panthers were in a battle for much of the contest with Davenport heading into the halftime break with a 39-36 lead. After Davenport held a six point advantage with 10:28 remaining in the second half, GVSU fought back and grabbed a 64-60 lead with 4:24 left. The Panthers would cut their deficit to 66-65 at the 3:28 mark but back-to-back Christian Negron dunks and a Jayden Hodgson three-pointer were the daggers as GVSU would shoot 6-6 from the charity stripe in the final minute.
 
Jake Van Tubbergen recorded a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds with Issac Gassman and Hodgson chipping in with 19 and 16 points respectively. As a team, the Lakers shot 87.5% (14-16) from the charity stripe and dominated points in the pant with a 42-16 advantage over Davenport.
 
The Lakers jumped out to a 6-0 lead to start the game and held the Panthers without a point until the 16:20 mark of the first half. However, the Panthers would go on a 9-2 run to take a 9-8 lead with 13:07 left in the half. After the Lakers built a 24-16 lead on a Gassman three-pointer with 8:03 remaining in the half, Davenport would claw back and tie the game at 30-30. The final four minutes saw neither team lead by more than three points with Davenport gaining a three-point lead at the half, 39-36, on a three-point basket at the buzzer.
 
Davenport held their largest lead of the game with 11:40 remaining in the second half at six points, however a quick 7-0 run for the Lakers allowed them to gain momentum for their late second half surge.
   
GVSU will be back in action on Wednesday (Dec. 18) against Grace Christian at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena beginning at 6:00 PM.