DETROIT – The Grand Valley State Lakers got a career performance from Hunter Hale, but it wasn't enough in an 86-78 loss to the Wayne State Warriors Friday (Feb. 1) at the Matthaei Center. Hale knocked down eight threes and scored 31 points, but the Lakers fall to 11-9 on the season after a fourth straight loss and 5-7 in GLIAC play. Wayne State improves to 5-12 on the year and 4-8 in the conference.
 
It was a dream start for the Lakers, jumping out to an early 7-0 lead. Hale drilled a three and Jake Van Tubbergen connected on a pair of buckets as GVSU flexed their muscle early on the road. The Warriors would answer with a 9-2 run to tie the game and a back-and-forth tussle would ensue the rest of the way.
 
The Warriors would open a 10-point lead down the stretch of the first half, but the Lakers answered. They'd chip the deficit down to three with seven seconds to go before intermission, then Jeremiah Ferguson drilled a buzzer beater to knot the game at 41-41 at the break. Out of halftime, it was more of the same. The game saw 15 ties and 15 lead changes as both teams battled.
 
Darian Owen-White, who missed most of the first half with foul trouble, ended up with 25 points for the Warriors while Latin Davis Jr. made some big tripless down the stretch to help Wayne pull away. Van Tubbergen and Justin Greason would each contribute 13 points each and seven and eight rebounds, respectively. The Lakers would pull down 18 offensive rebounds in the contest. The game was played Friday night rather than Thursday (Jan. 31) due to travel concerns after winter storms hit West Michigan earlier in the week. 
 
Hale set a new career high in scoring and became the first Laker to score 30+ points in a game since James Thomas scored 30 at Ohio Dominican on Dec. 1, 2011. He and the Lakers look to rebound in a quick turnaround Saturday (Feb. 2) against the Ashland Eagles at 4:00 PM. The game will broadcast live on Talk 1230 AM and the iHeart app.