Dec. 22, 2003

Box Score

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State held on in the end and escaped St. Joseph's College with a tough 67-66 non-league victory Monday (Dec. 22) night. GVSU improved to 10-1 on the year, marking the second-best start in Laker men's basketball history. The 1976-77 squad opened with a 24-1 mark en routed to a school-best 30-4 record. In addition, GVSU concluded its three-game road trip with a 3-0 record.

Grand Valley State jumped out to a 28-7 lead over the Pumas, but SJC closed the half with a 29-8 run over the final 13 minutes to tie the game 36-36 at the half. The Lakers held leads of 46-38 and 52-43 in the final stanza, only to have the Pumas crawl back into the game on each occasion. St. Joseph's College closed to within one point (67-66) with twenty seconds left and then fouled Marcus Wallace. Wallace missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and the Pumas had one last shot, but a three-pointer hit the fron iron and bounced to Courtney James as the buzzer sounded.

Freshman Mike Hall led GVSU with a career-high 22 points, while Marcus Wallace added a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Melvin White chipped in eight points and Courtney James six points, seven rebounds and four assists.