The No. 23 Grand Valley State University men’s basketball team (17-3) hosted a pair of home games that had major championship implications in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Thursday, the Lakers faced No. 10 Northern Michigan University (18-3), defeating the Wildcats 85-80. GVSU continued its success, as the team defeated No. 6 Michigan Tech University (18-4) 55-46 in a Saturday matchup.
NMU got on the board first with a two-point jumper, but the Lakers followed with a 3-point shot in the corner by graduate-student forward Ethan Alderink, making the score 3-2 Lakers.
“We were just letting the game come to me,” said Alderink. “This game, I didn’t shoot it as great from the outside, but I had good success driving and posting up. I just try to be versatile in my attack on offense.”
A few minutes into the game, GVSU trailed 24-21, but a 3-point shot from senior forward Jalen Charity helped the Lakers tie the game at 24-24. GVSU went on to gain seven second-chance points and 14 points from the bench. Tied 30-30 with 2:59 left in the half, both teams were able to keep the game close, never letting the other establish a huge lead.
“I think the biggest thing was to defend them individually,” said head coach Cornell Mann. “What we try to do is take away each individual’s strength, but also the team’s strength altogether. I thought we were successful doing it. “
In the second half, NMU once again got on the board first after a layup, but senior guard Mason Docks was able to answer with a pull-up, two-point shot to help the Lakers retake the lead, 43-41. With 15:43 left, GVSU led 46-45. Both teams once again tied for lead changes and ties at 11.
With 3:37 to go in the game, it was a 72-66 lead for the Lakers. Charity was 6-8 from the free-throw line while Alderink was 8-10. Later in the half, Docks shot another 3-point jumper, extending the Lakers’ lead to 77-71.
With 23.3 seconds to go, redshirt junior guard Trevor Smith Jr. drilled a statement 3-point jumper that gave GVSU an 81-78 lead. Docks and Charity closed out the night, both making free throws to ice the game with 1.1 seconds left. GVSU defeated the Wildcats 85-80.
Following this win, the Lakers looked to start off quickly against the Huskies in Saturday’s game. The Lakers got out to a six-point lead before MTU put points on the board. At the 12:26 mark, the Lakers went on an 11-0 run, 14-3 Lakers.
By the end of the first half, the Lakers led the scoreboard at 29-17 after a two-point dunk by Charity. So far, GVSU kept the lead for all but 30 seconds, avoiding giving the Huskies the upper hand.
Combined with their biggest lead of 14 at the 18:08 minute mark in the second half, the Lakers led 34-22. GVSU took a 36-28 lead after Charity’s two-point pull-up. Coming into the seventh media timeout, the Lakers trailed the Huskies in almost all point categories except for fast-break points.
MTU cut the Lakers’ lead down to five with 11:27 to go, eventually tying the game at 36-36 with a 3-point shot. Smith Jr. followed that up with a driving layup that helped GVSU retake the lead before MTU once again tied the game at 38-38 with a layup.
Mann described the closeness of the two teams’ turnovers and defense.
“At the same time, every game we play could be a slug fest,” said Mann. “Every game we play, this league is tough as it’s ever been because everybody in the league is good.”
With 7:16 to go in the game, the Lakers were able to once again retake the lead thanks to a 3-point jumper by Charity, making it 41-38. The Lakers extended their lead to 47-40 with 4:48 to go with a 3-point shot by Docks. With 13:02 left in the half, GVSU had an 8-0 run.
With the clock winding down on the Huskies, the Lakers held an 11-point lead with 32.2 to go, 55-46 GVSU. A turnover by MTU and a steal into the hands of Smith Jr. sealed the hard-fought win for the Lakers, 55-46.
The Lakers will go on the road to Hammond, Indiana, to face Purdue Northwest University (8-10) Thursday at 8 p.m.
