The Grand Valley State University men’s basketball team opened their five-game road trip with a 82-65 win against their cross-town rival, the Davenport University Panthers, on Saturday, Feb. 3.
Coming off of a brutal loss and a gritty win last weekend against the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, the Lakers were focused on playing well from the tip. Doing so, they came away with a huge victory.
“It is always the goal to come out and focus and to try and start the game off in an aggressive manner. It really helps us to start off the game and to capitalize on that momentum,” said GVSU assistant coach J.R. Wallace.
The Lakers’ sophomore guard, Mason Docks, got the scoring started by knocking down a three on the first possession of the game. This would ignite a 9-2 GVSU run to swing the momentum their way that was capped off with two layups by guard Trevor Smith and forward Ethan Alderink.
Alderink was on fire in the first half, scoring 15 points and adding four rebounds while shooting a perfect six of six from the field.
Davenport responded by taking a 12-11 lead with the help of an and-one at the midway point in the half. The Lakers responded with another 9-2 run, led by back-to-back 3-pointers by forward William Dunn. Dunn would knock down his third 3-pointer of the half to give the Lakers a 10 point, 29-19 lead.
GVSU capitalized on the momentum by then going on a 10-0 run in the final minutes of the first half. They headed into the locker room with a 15-point lead and the momentum.
Davenport responded by opening the second half hot. A 10-3 run cut the Lakers’ lead to eight.
GVSU then grabbed the momentum right back when sophomore guard Jalen Charity and Smith sparked a 17-2 Lakers run to move the lead back to 19, their biggest of the game.
Davenport would not go down without a fight by cutting their deficit 11, GVSU closed out the win 82-65.
Alderink led the Lakers with a career-high 19 points, while hauling in a game-high 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Dunn scored 15 points on five of seven shooting, including three 3-pointers. Charity tallied his own career high, 13 points, to go with four rebounds.
Alderink credited his career day to his teammates.
“The team helped put me into good positions to succeed,” Alderink said. “They are all my brothers and I know they have my back every game so I can go as hard as I can on both sides of the ball.”
Although Alderink deflected the praise, Wallace talked glowingly about the spark that he has been able to provide to the Lakers.
“He (Alderink) is a seasoned veteran,” Wallace said. “He may be a redshirt sophomore, but he’s been here for four years. He is like a senior in what he brings to the court every day as a leader and as a teammate.”
The win secured the Lakers their 1000th win in program history, moving them to 6-4 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play and 9-11 overall.
GVSU will travel to Detroit, Michigan at Wayne State University on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m., followed by a matchup against Saginaw Valley State University on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 3 p.m.
