The Grand Valley State University men’s basketball team (11-3) took on Wayne State University (6-6) last Thursday, securing a win 81-72 against their conference foe.
The Lakers opened the game with a five-point lead in the first four minutes. Despite the strong start, Wayne State immediately responded offensively, taking a five-point lead with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half. Gaining control of the ball, the Lakers went on a 12-0 run highlighted by redshirt junior guard David Wilkerson, who scored five straight. Redshirt junior forward Ethan Alderink assisted the game-changing run, adding three of his 15 points that swung the momentum back in the Lakers’ favor.
GVSU dominated the end of the first half, but the Warriors came out of the break and immediately cut the Lakers’ lead to two points in the first five minutes of the game with a zone defense that gave GVSU some fits. To stop the bleeding, Alderink sank a pair of 3-pointers that halted Wayne State’s run and brought GVSU’s lead to eight points.
With a Wayne State run threatening the Lakers’ lead at any moment, an in-game adjustment and return to the game plan helped the Lakers figure out the zone and get back on track offensively.
“We got to a timeout and were able to make our adjustments,” head coach Cornell Mann said. “What we really did was get back to our game plan. I thought we were off (our) game plan a little bit.”
The teams then went back and forth for a stretch of the second half, with GVSU holding a nine-point lead with just under 10 minutes to play. After a layup that gave the Lakers the only double-digit lead of the game, Wayne State went on a 9-0 run that brought the game to a single point with under five minutes to play.
Senior forward Jalen Charity tacked on a pair of clutch buckets to keep the Laker offense rolling, bringing their lead to three with 1:52 left on the clock. After a defensive stand that got them the ball back and a chance to bury the Warriors, Wilkerson sank a dagger from deep, his fourth long-ball of the game, that put the game on ice for the Lakers.
“(It meant a lot to see) the basketball going in the basket early, and then just the confidence from the coaching staff and my teammates, ” said Wilkerson, who scored a team-high 17 points. “Whenever I was open, they would tell me just play my game.”
Fueled by a 10-2 run to end the game, the Lakers held on to win, muscling out a hard-fought victory to get back into the win column. Five Lakers scored in double figures while shooting over 50% from the field and deep in the second half to run away with the game down the stretch, both crucial to the Lakers taking home a win.
After picking up another win Saturday against Purdue Northwest University (6-7), GVSU improved to 11-3. The Lakers will be at home once again to take on cross-town opponent Davenport University (9-5) Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
