HAMMOND, Ind.—The Grand Valley State men's basketball team defeated Purdue Northwest, 72-62, on Saturday on John Friend Court to close out the squad's first conference road trip of the year with a victory.
 
The defining stretch came when Austin James made three consecutive 3-pointers in the early stretch of the second half. The Pride were on a 9-1 run coming out of the halftime break until James' barrage from downtown put the Lakers back in front.
 
GVSU (8-7, 2-3 GLIAC) and Purdue Northwest (9-9, 2-4) traded buckets until the Lakers went on a 15-2 run that began with 14:29 remaining in the second half until the 9:14 mark in the second half. After that, the Pride didn't get closer than six points away from the Lakers. An Isaiah Carver-Bagley 3-pointer capped off an 8-0 spurt in the final moments of the game.
 
James led all Lakers with 19 points on a 6-for-12 performance from the field, including a 5-for-9 mark from 3-point range. James added two rebounds, two assists and two steals. Carver-Bagley nearly notched his second double-double of the season, scoring 13 points and collecting nine rebounds. Marius Grazulis also got into double figures for GVSU, scoring 12 points and adding seven boards. Trevor Smith and Britain Harris tied for the Laker lead in assists with three each.
 
GVSU outshot the Pride from the floor, marking the seventh win for the Lakers in which they outshoot their opponent. The Lakers also won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Purdue Northwest 34-29.The Laker bench was clutch again, scoring 47 points opposed to Purdue Northwest's bench which accounted for just 19 points. GVSU also won the battle in the paint, outscoring the Pride, 30-16, in the post.
 
The Lakers return home for an 8 p.m. tipoff against Wayne State on Thursday night inside of the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.