UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Grand Valley State men's basketball team started their GLIAC schedule with an 81-68 at Saginaw Valley State Thursday (Dec. 5) night, behind a big second half performance. The Lakers improve to 5-2 overall and 3-0 on the road. 
 
GVSU is now 2-1 in GLIAC openers under head coach Cornell Mann. The Lakers shot 47% from the field and 66% shooting from the field in the second half. GVSU dominated the glass again, outrebounding the Cardinals 52-33 with 16 offensive rebounds.
 
William Dunn led GVSU with 22 points and nine rebounds. Dunn shot 9-15 from the field and has scored over 20 points in two consecutive games. Kaden Brown scored 18 points on 5-10 shooting and 4-8 shooting from three-point range. Brown hauled in a season high five rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench. 
 
Mason Docks added 13 points and dished out a team high four assists on 5-10 shooting from the floor. Docks grabbed a career high eight rebounds including three offensive boards. Jalen Charity had nine points and had a huge defensive performance for the Lakers grabbing five rebounds, blocking two shots, and swiping two steals.
 
SVSU jumped out to an early lead and held the lead for most of the first half. The Cardinals got up by as many as six points multiple times, but GVSU would respond to keep the deficit at one or two possessions. The Lakers would tie the game for the first time at 26-26 with just over three minutes left in the opening half. GVSU would take their first lead of the game with 52 seconds remaining off a jumper in the paint by William Dunn. 
 
SVSU would tie the game at 33-33 on the first possession of the second half. The Lakers would respond with a 5-0 run for their largest lead of the game off a made jumper by Dunn and an and one by Jalen Charity. 
 
The Cardinals would tie the game at 38-38 with 18 minutes left in the game. GVSU would go on an 8-2 run to take a 46-40 lead in a two-minute span. Kaden Brown and Trevon Gunter each converted an and one opportunity. 
 
Mason Docks would give GVSU their largest lead of the game at 56-49 with a three-pointer with just under 13 minutes to play. GVSU would continue to build on their lead, pushing it to double figures off a dunk by Shamus Thompson with nine minutes to go. After two minutes of no scoring, Kaden Brown knocked down a three-pointer to up the lead to 67-54. The Lakers would keep the lead at double figures for the final six minutes to claim the 13-point win.
 
GVSU will close out their GLIAC opening weekend on Saturday (Dec. 7) when they travel to Wayne State. Tipoff is set for 3:00 PM in Detroit, Michigan. The game will be streamed live on FloSports and can be listened live on the radio on Thunder Country 107.3.