Woodson’s career day leads GVSU over Kuyper

GVL / Robert Mathews / Rob Woodson (12)

Robert Mathews

GVL / Robert Mathews / Rob Woodson (12)

Bryce Derouin

It’s only three games into the season for the Grand Valley State men’s basketball team, but if one thing is for certain, it’s that GVSU boasts a lot of depth.

Monday night against Kuyper College (3-5), it was junior Rob Woodson’s turn.

Woodson scored a career-high 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists while GVSU (2-1) defeated Kuyper, 87-53.

“I mean, (I) pretty much didn’t have no tough shots,” said Woodson, who finished a perfect 7-for-7 from the field. “Pretty much the ball just found me. I didn’t come out and force any shots or anything. I just got a couple open shots a few lay-ups and I was in the right place at the right time.”

One of Woodson’s four assists happened after a timeout, where Woodson found sophomore Kristers Zeidaks for their second alley-oop of the year.

“This is my first year really having someone I can throw the alley-oop to,” Woodson said. “I did practice a few with him when he did finally come in and transfer. So me and him kind of have a little connection with that now.”

The game remained close at halftime with GVSU holding a 32-30 lead, but the Lakers came out of the locker room and opened the second half with an 8-0 run, eventually out-scoring Kuyper 55-23 in the half.

“I thought in the second half we played a lot harder,” said head coach Ric Wesley. “We had a lot more energy. I thought the group we had in there got after it at the defensive end. We got some easy breakaways and it kind of got us going.”

Zeidaks and sophomore Ryan Majerle were the other two Lakers in double figures. Each finished with 13 points.

“We are growing with every game, every practice,” Zeidaks said. “The biggest reason why we grow fast is our attitude in the practices. We have really hard working group of people and our coaching staff is great. I think we’re getting better every day.”

GVSU shot 59 percent for the game, while holding Kuyper to a pedestrian 29 percent from the field. For head coach Ric Wesley, his team’s bench production wasn’t a surprise to him.

“We always play a lot of guys, so it’s not unusual,” he said. “The whole crew came in there and really played well, not only individually, but collectively I thought they played well. The ball really moved and we had a number of assists and they really provided the energy and spark we needed.”

The Lakers return to the court Saturday when they host Cedarville University in Allendale.

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