Sports

GVSU's K'Len Morris attempts a three-point shot during the Hillsdale game.

Crucial home victories give men conference lead

By Jared Greenleaf GVL Senior Reporter
2/7/2010

When its chances of a GLIAC regular season championship took a nose dive last week, the Grand Valley State University men's basketball team knew it had to respond to keep its hopes alive.

And did it ever.

One week after the upset by Northern Michigan University, GVSU notched two key home victories over the University of Findlay and Hillsdale College this past weekend.

With a Findlay loss to Ferris State University on Saturday, the Lakers took sole possession of the GLIAC lead over the Oilers (16-5, 12-4 GLIAC).

The Laker offense provided the spark in a 69-55 upset over the No. 19 Findlay Oilers on Thursday night.

After a solid shooting first half from both teams, the Lakers (17-4, 13-3 GLIAC) took the second half by storm. Trailing 31-29 after a layup from junior Findlay guard Nathan Hyde, the Lakers exploded on a 17-2 run to take a 46-33 lead with 11:09 remaining in regulation.

GVSU head coach Ric Wesley said it was great to see his team play a solid second half for a change against the Oilers.

"It feels like we've been there before, but we haven't been able to sustain our play," he said. "It was ironic; we came into halftime thinking here we go again. Our guys were focused in that second half and we were able to execute really well."

Sophomore guard Alvin Storrs, who finished the game with 10 points and five steals, said as the game wore on, they could sense the frustration from Findlay's players.

"I don't know if it was the defenses we played, but I feel like we came out the whole game and put it on them from start to finish," he said. "They're not as deep as we are so we kept bringing guys in and put the pressure on them. So it didn't matter what defense we played, we knew we could wear them out if we played hard."

While Hyde led the way for the Oilers with 14 points, their other scoring threat in senior guard Marcus Parker was rendered nonexistent. Plagued by foul trouble most of the first half, Parker finished the game with five points and turned the ball over six times.

"We feel like we really got into his head," said junior guard Justin Ringler, who finished with 15 points and five assists. "When he's going, they're going. Our bigs did a really good job of staying back at the last minute and catching him with the offensive fouls."

The Lakers also picked up a 52-46 victory over Hillsdale University on Saturday night. GVSU controlled the majority of the game, but the Chargers did not scare easily. Trailing by as many as 19 points, the Chargers stormed back to cut the lead to 48-46 with 48 seconds remaining.

The Lakers held on as Ringler knocked down four crucial free throws to end the Chargers hopes of a rally. Ringler finished the contest with 10 points and six rebounds for GVSU.

Though the Lakers picked up the victory, they did score a field goal through the final 11 minutes of the game.

The Lakers will travel to the Upper Peninsula on Thursday to face Northern Michigan, who beat the Lakers 61-58 on Jan. 30. GVSU will have a matchup with Michigan Tech University on Saturday afternoon.

jgreenleaf@lanthorn.com

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