March 7, 2008

ALLENDALE - Second-ranked Grand Valley State defeated Lake Superior State 76-54 Friday to bring the Lakers' impressive late-season journey to an end.

GVSU (32-0) snapped LSSU's five-game winning streak and advanced to Saturday's championship game of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament. The Grand Valley State Lakers play the winner of Friday's semifinal game between Findlay and Gannon.

Lake Superior State (12-16), the only unranked team that reached the GLIAC final four, got off to a hot start as Scott Perkins, Mark Morse and Mike Rader all hit three-pointers during the opening 3 1/2 minutes. Ryan Kuhl and Morse did the scoring during a 7-0 run that gave LSSU a 16-8 lead with 14:23 remaining in the first half.

Grand Valley State tied it, 16-16, at the 12:27 mark, but LSSU went back up by five points, 23-18, with 9:33 remaining. Morse made two free throws for a 27-24 LSSU edge at 6:39, but the Lakers went scoreless for the next 5 1/2 minutes. During that stretch, Grand Valley State was 6-for-10 at the free-throw line. GVSU eeked out a 38-29 halftime lead.

Tim VanOudheusden, who led LSSU with 10 points and eight rebounds, picked up his third and fourth fouls during the first two minutes of the second half. With VanOudheusden on the bench, GVSU had the opening it needed and took off on a 12-3 run. GVSU built a 21-point lead, 61-40, with 8:50 remaining and coasted in for the win.

Nick Freer was 7-of-10 at the free-throw line and led GVSU with 20 points, while Jason Jamerson had 13 and GLIAC Player of the Year Callistus Eziukwu finished with 11 points. Justin Ringler totaled nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

GVSU shot 51 percent from the field (26-of-51), made 17-of-31 free throws, and out-rebounded LSSU, 36-33.

Kuhl finished with nine points for LSSU, and Perkins and Rader had eight each. VanOudheusden fouled out with 7:32 to go.

LSSU shot 36.5 percent from the field (26-of-51), including 5-of-23 from three-point range. The Lakers made 11-of-18 free throws.

Lake Superior State was playing in its first GLIAC Tournament semifinal game since it won the tournament in 1996.