TOLEDO, Ohio – The Grand Valley State men's basketball team tipped off the 2025-26 season with a 74-55 victory over Ashland in a neutral site game in Toledo, Ohio on the campus of Owen Community College. The Lakers begin the season 1-0, while the Eagles start the season 0-1.
 
Senior Mason Docks led the Lakers with 19 points, three assists, and three rebounds. Docks shot 7-10 from the field and 4-5 from three-point range. Senior Trevor Smith Jr. scored 12 points off the bench and led GVSU with five rebounds while shooting 4-6 from the field and a perfect 2-2 from behind the arc. David Wilkerson notched seven points with three rebounds and two steals. Marcus Gray II scored seven points, while Antaune Allen added six points off two made three-pointers. Shamus Thompson led all players with three blocks, while Payton Weemer sent away two shots and swiped two steals.
 
GVSU shot 41.9% from the field and 36% from three. Ashland shot 32% from the field and 16% from behind the arc. The Lakers outrebounded Ashland 40-39, while the Eagles grabbed 13 offensive rebounds to the Lakers 12 offensive rebounds. The Lakers forced Ashland to commit 17 turnovers, swiping 12 steals and blocking seven shots in the win. 
 
Cam Regnerus scored the first points of the season for the Lakers off an offensive rebound and layup to put the Lakers up 2-0. The Lakers would begin the game leading 10-2 off five straight points by Trevor Smith Jr. off a made three-pointer followed by a steal and layup. GVSU would force Ashland into five turnovers in the first eight minutes as GVSU would push the lead to double digits for the first time in the game at 16-6 off a David Wilkerson and one layup with 12:00 minutes to play. 
 
After Ashland cut the lead back to singles digits, knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the key and drew the foul to complete the four-point play to put GVSU up 13 at the halfway point in the first half. Antaune Allen would hit back-to-back three-pointers for his first career points as a Laker to increase the lead to 15 points with 7:20 to go in the opening half. The Lakers would end up take a 16-point lead into the break, leading 38-22 after the first 20 minutes.
 
In the second half, Docks knocked down three to open the scoring for the Lakers in the opening minute. After the Eagles cut the Laker lead to 14 points six minutes into the second half, GVSU responded with a 13-4 run to push the lead to the largest of the night at 22 with under 10 minutes to play. Gray II would score five straight points with six minutes to play to give GVSU a 69-45 lead. GVSU would not look back and would win the opening game of the season by 19 points.
 
GVSU will close out the season opening weekend with a road game at UIndy on Sunday, November 16^th in Indianapolis, Indiana. Tipoff is set for 3:00 pm at Nicoson Hall. The game will be streamed live on the GLVC Sports Network. Visit gvsulakers.com for links to live video and live stats.