ALLENDALE, Mich. – The No. 15 Grand Valley State Lakers used a balanced effort to run away from the Wayne State Warriors, 83-70, Thursday (Feb. 6) night in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. GVSU matches their win total from last season as they improve to 19-3 overall and 12-2 in GLIAC play. The Lakers are back in action Saturday to host the Ashland Eagles at 3:00 PM.
Five different Lakers scored in double figures, led by
Jake Van Tubbergen's 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks; the 12
th 20-plus point game of the season and 12
th double-double of the year for the junior.
Isaac Gassman poured in 18 points, hitting four three-pointers on the night, and grabbed six rebounds.
Jeremiah Ferguson had a balanced night of 15 points, including 6-6 at the line, five rebounds and five assists.
Christian Negron had 13 points, six boards and three blocks while
Ben Lubitz hit three triples in a 12-point performance.
The night started with a game of runs. After a 7-7 start, Wayne State pounced for a 9-0 run to open a 16-7 lead at the under-12 media timeout. Gassman would knock down a three to spark a 9-0 run of the Lakers' own to tie the game. The Warriors regained an 18-16 lead, but GVSU would dominate for much of the rest of the first half; going up by 16 with just over a minute to go until the break. A 5-0 run by the Warriors would cut the lead to 41-30 at the half.
The run would continue for Wayne in the second half as they worked all the way back to a 54-51 lead with 12 minutes to go. Van Tubbergen would hit back-to-back jumpers to keep the Lakers within one over the next few minutes before an 11-4 GVSU run from the 9-6-minute stretch pulled the Lakers away for good; led by three key buckets by Gassman.
The Lakers piled on for a 13-point win for their ninth win in the last 10 games as they remain alone in first place in the conference standings. Ashland has won six of their last seven as they come into the Fieldhouse Saturday, so it should be an entertaining matchup. The game can be heard live on ESPN 96.1 FM and watched on the Grand Valley Sports Network with tip-off scheduled for 3 PM or 25 minutes after the conclusion of the women's game.
