ALLENDALE, Mich. – The No. 18 Grand Valley State Lakers became the first men's basketball team to punch their ticket to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) 2020 Tournament with an 86-74 win over Saginaw Valley State Thursday (Feb. 13) night at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. With the Lakers up five games on the fifth-through-ninth place teams with four to play, GVSU has clinched a home game in the GLIAC Quarterfinals.
 
The win clinches GVSU's first 20-win season since 2009-10 as they improve to 20-4 on the year and 13-3 in GLIAC play. The Lakers remain a game ahead of Ferris State, who beat Michigan Tech Thursday, at the top of the GLIAC standings.
 
The Lakers tied a school record with 16 made threes (March 3, 2006) in the game, going 16-31 from beyond the arc. Five different Lakers scored in double figures, led by 19 points from Isaac Gassman, who hit five threes, while Jayden Hodgson went 5-6 from beyond the arc for 15 points with four rebounds and four assists. Jeremiah Ferguson had 17 points and a season-high eight assists. The Lakers as a team had 21 assists compared to eight turnovers.
 
Christian Negron had 14 points and eight rebounds, including a trio of huge dunks down the stretch to help the Lakers pull away. Jake Van Tubbergen managed 13 points and six rebounds despite foul trouble for much of the game.  
 
After a lackluster start, the Lakers found themselves trailing by nine points with five minutes left in the first half, but flipped a switch to outscore Saginaw Valley, 21-5, the rest of the period – including a 13-0 run to end the half – to open a 39-32 lead at the break. GVSU would balloon their lead as big as 19 with five minutes left in regulation as they ran away from the Cardinals for a convincing home win.

The Lakers now embark on a crucial three-game road trip. The swing begins in Midland, Michigan this Saturday (Feb. 15) as the team travels to Northwood to face the Timberwolves at 6 PM. The game can be heard live on ESPN 96.1 FM and the iHeart app.