LAKELAND, Fla. – The No. 23 Grand Valley State Lakers sweep the Terrace Hotel Classic with a 68-67 win over the Saint Leo Lions Saturday (Nov. 27) night at Jenkins Fieldhouse. The Lions connected on five straight three-point attempts down the stretch to wipe out the Lakers' double-digit lead, but GVSU had answers with some big buckets to improve to 5-0 on the season. The Lakers are back in action this Thursday (Dec. 2) in the GLIAC opener at home against Saginaw Valley at 8 PM.
 
Jake Van Tubbergen made it five straight double-doubles to start the season, scoring eight of his ten points in the second half. He also recorded 10 rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal. Isaac Gassman led the Lakers with 18 points, along with four rebounds, while Jordan Harris added 11 points and four boards. Deleon Brown added nine points, four boards and three assists off the bench while Trevon Gunter hit a pair of pinch-hit three-pointers.
 
"Tonight, we saw the exact opposite of last night; a bunch of buckets against us late, but we again found the right moments and did enough to get the win," head coach Ric Wesley said. "To travel down to Florida and win two games on back-to-back nights, against quality opponents, is a big testament to our team. This was a very good trip for our team."
 
After a slow start that saw the Lakers down eight early, a late surge in the first half gave the Lakers a 35-33 lead at halftime. The Lakers would open up the second half with a 7-0 run and their lead hung around double-digits for much of the period before a wild stretch of five straight threes by the Lions in the final few minutes made things close. The Lions got the ball back with three seconds left and a baseline inbound to go the full length of the court, but couldn't connect on a buzzer-beater.
 
The Lakers begin GLIAC play this Thursday as they welcome in Saginaw valley for the back-end of a doubleheader at 8 PM. The game can be seen on the Grand Valley Sports Network, heard on 1340 AM The Ticket and @GVSUBasketball and GVSULakers.com will provide live updates and coverage links.