Headline: Banged up

Subhead: Wesley ejected as Lakers suffer worst home loss since 2008

By Jay Bushen

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For the Grand Valley State men’s basketball team, every game is a test at this point. And with so many key players battling injuries, there hasn’t been much time to study properly.

Slow starts and inconsistent offense led to just 17 first-half points for GVSU in both games at Fieldhouse Arena last week. The Lakers rallied for a 63-56 win over Walsh on Thursday night, but were blown out, 81-61, by a 3-10 Malone team on Saturday afternoon.

GVSU had played 87 games at home since its last 20-point loss. Findlay, which handed the Lakers a 68-47 defeat in December 2008, was the last visiting team to win by 20 or more.

The inability to score early is a concern for coach Ric Wesley moving forward, but it’s not something that can be easily addressed in practice. Former starters like Ernijs Ansons, Chaz Rollins and point guard Aaron Hayes are still sidelined; others are playing through the pain.

“Our timing’s not good,” Wesley said. “We’ve had nine guys in practice here for weeks. We’re not really practicing. I think that’s part of it, we had a good thing going with (Hayes) in the lineup and now he’s out of the lineup, so we’re playing some different guys. Our timing is not very good and our cohesiveness is bad — so it’s a combination of things.

“We’ve got to play better. We showed good will and desire on Thursday and we made some strides, but we’ve had a couple crazy weeks here. We’ve had nine healthy bodies and it’s very difficult to get into a good rhythm in practice to evaluate where you’re at.”

The team shot 32.7 percent from the field in the two-game stretch, and made just five of 28 attempts from the 3-point line.

Despite the offensive woes early on against Walsh on Thursday, senior guard Ryan Sabin and the Lakers came to life in the second half. Sabin scored 17 of his 23 points in the second stanza, and knocked down all 12 of his free-throw attempts in the game.

Sophomore guard Luke Ryskamp chipped in with 11 points as the Lakers improved to 5-0 at home. Junior forward Ricky Carbajal added nine points and seven rebounds.

“In the first half, our mind wasn’t right mentally on offense — I’m not sure what it was,” said Sabin, the GLIAC’s top free-throw shooter (91.3 percent). “The second half, we just came together and we attacked more. We were much more aggressive on the offensive end.”

The Lakers, who shot 39 free throws in the game, have been at their best this season when attacking the rim. They’ve attempted 249 freebies in eight conference games so far — 35 more than SVSU, the only other GLIAC team with more than 175.

When it comes to most shooting categories, however, GVSU ranks near the bottom. The team has used seven different starting guards, and is last in assists per game (10.3).

The team never found its rhythm against Malone on Saturday in a game that was scoreless until the 16:01 mark in the first half.

“We were just being too passive, and I don’t really know why that is right now,” said Ryskamp, who led GVSU with 19 points. “But I think the answer is we have to come out, attack and be more aggressive.”

Malone’s Nate Sheppard swung the momentum toward the end of the first half by connecting on back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers. It fueled a 14-0 run and left GVSU down 34-17 at the break.

Ben Haraway, who finished with a game-high 24 points, was one of four Pioneers to score in double figures. Malone hit 10 of its 20 3-point attempts in the game — and led by as many as 33 points.

Wesley was ejected in the second half after picking up his second technical foul.

“It was more of my frustration with our team play,” he said. “I thought we had some calls that didn’t go our way, which is magnified when you’re not playing well.

“Some games when you’re ahead you just kind of move forward, but, when you’re struggling as a team, every call seems like it’s life and death and I kind of overreacted.”

GVSU (8-6, 4-4 GLIAC) must face two more tests this week as it travels to the Upper Peninsula to take on Northern Michigan (6-8, 4-4) and Michigan Tech (9-3, 6-2).