HAMMOND, Ind. – The No. 14 Grand Valley State men's basketball team improved their win streak to nine games after defeating Purdue Northwest on the road 85-76 Thursday (Feb. 5) night. The Lakers improved to 18-3 overall on the season and 11-2 in the GLIAC. 
 
Mason Docks led all scorers with a season high 23 points on 7-11 shooting from the field with five three-pointers, five rebounds, and three assists. Trevor Smith Jr. scored 16 points on the bench with four assists and three steals. Jalen Charity notched 14 points, two rebounds, and two assists on 6-13 shooting from the field. Ethan Alderink put up 10 points and seven rebounds on 4-6 shooting. David Wilkerson added eight points, seven rebounds, four assists, and a steal in the win.
 
The Lakers shot 45% as a team form the floor and 37% from three-point range. Purdue Northwest shot 43% from the field and 25% from behind the arc. GVSU outrebounded Purdue Northwest 36-33 and 15-12 in offensive rebounds. The Lakers dished out 14 assists and scored 34 points in the paint. 
 
Purdue Northwest jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead in the first two minutes. The Lakers would take their first lead of the game on a Jalen Charity fastbreak layup at 13-12 with just over 13 minutes left in the first half. Mason Docks would knock down back-to-back three's to give GVSU a 22-17 lead just under the halfway mark of the first half. Marcus Gray II would make it a 9-0 run with a three in transition to put GVSU up 25-17. Docks would hit his fourth three of the half with under two minutes to play as GVSU would take an 11-point lead into the break. 
 
In the second half, Purdue Northwest cut the Laker lead to single digits at 50-42, but Trevor Smith Jr. answered to put GVSU back up double digits with a driving layup. Smith Jr. would hit a three with under 12 minutes to go to give GVSU a 15-point lead. Docks would hit his fifth three of the game to give the Lakers their largest lead of the game at 67-50 with just over nine minutes remaining. The two team would exchange baskets over seven minutes as the Lakers would close out the Pride to secure their ninth straight win.
 
GVSU will close the week on the road on Saturday, February 7^th when they travel to Detroit, Michigan to face Wayne State. Tipoff is set for 3:00 PM. The game will be streamed live on FloCollege and can be listened live on Thunder Country 107.3.