It may have taken a pair of trips to the Upper Peninsula over the span of five games, but the Grand Valley State University men’s basketball team finally got the self-proclaimed gorilla off their backs on Saturday, defeating Michigan Technological University 64-50 and snapping a four-game losing streak.

“It feels real good to get a dub back under our belt, just good to get the gorilla off our back,” said junior guard Breland Hogan, who scored 11 points in the win. “We just focused more and came out more hungry and determined. In the other games we weren’t coming out for the whole 40 minutes.”

The Lakers (10-7, 6-5 GLIAC) came out firing against the Huskies (9-8, 7-3 GLIAC), jumping out to an 14-0 lead thanks to their early ball security and Michigan Tech’s lack thereof.

“I thought our whole team, from start to finish, was focused on the defensive end,” said GVSU head coach Ric Wesley. “(The start) went a long way toward elevating our confidence. We executed well and everything was clicking.”

That confidence was tested early in the second half when the Huskies, led by sophomore guard Austin Armga’s 11 points, cut the lead to 30-27. GVSU recovered, going on an 11-0 run, led by senior guard James Thomas.

Thomas was involved in all 11 points, scoring eight and assisting on junior guard Tony Peters’ 3-pointer to cap it off. During their four-game skid, Thomas’ shooting struggles had an impact on the offense’s overall struggles, but that wasn’t the case Saturday.

Coming off a 12-point effort in the team’s 62-57 loss at Northern Michigan University on Jan. 19, Thomas exploded against Michigan Tech, recording a game-high 22points six rebounds.

“I was coming out looking for my shot today, just to get a rhythm early, not forcing but taking what the defense gave me,” Thomas said. “When I’m scoring it takes pressure off guys, Breland especially, but I think Nick Waddell played well, doing some scoring down there, getting some fouls. That helps us a lot too.”

Waddell, coming off the bench for the second time in as many games, added 10 points and three rebounds. Many times during the losing skid,the senior center was restricted by foul trouble, and although he fouled out Saturday, he teamed with senior center Mike Przydzial to assist the Lakers’ defensive effort.

Michigan Tech’s front-court duo of Ali Haidar and Mike Hojnacki came into the contest averaging 30.2 points and 13.9 rebounds per game between them, but combined for only 11 points and seven rebounds on three-of-10 shooting against GVSU.

“We limited their touches and their easy baskets, just making them work for everything they got,” Wesley
said. “Our perimeter guys did a good job helping inside when they had the ball in scoring areas.”

With the win, GVSU sweeps the season series with Michigan Tech, a team many picked to win the GLIAC North in the preseason. As the team looks ahead to their game at Ferris State University on Saturday, they acknowledge there is still work to be done in terms of finding out exactly who they are as a team.

“We continue to learn more and more about our team,” Wesley said. “This is a team with nine guys who never played a minute for us last year. I really couldn’t be prouder, we went through a rough patch here and they hung in there and continued to support and believe in each other — I couldn’t be happier.”