Feb. 25, 2006

Allendale, Mich. - #8 Grand Valley State dominated Ferris State from the opening tip and went on to claim a 90-55 GLIAC home win Saturday night before a season-best 3,242 fans. GVSU clinched the #1 seed in the GLIAC Tournament that will start Tuesday with the Lakers hosting Michigan Tech at 8 p.m. GVSU, which won its 14th straight game, improved to 24-3 on the year and 16-2 in GLIAC action.

Senior guard Courtney James hit a three-pointer at the 18:55 mark of the first half to give GVSU a 5-3 lead they never gave up. Junior forward Mike Hall put the Lakers up 22-12 and the rout was on. GVSU put together seperate runs of 14-0 and 10-0 in the opening half and built a 46-19 lead after 20 minutes. GVSU shot 70.4 percent in the first half, while FSU hit just 20.6 percent from the floor.

"We really came out ready to play," said second-year head coach Ric Wesley. "I thought we did an outstanding job defensively as a team and obviously we shot the ball well. We shared the ball and made the extra pass," concluded Wesley.

The Bulldogs made one run at the Lakers, cutting the 27-point halftime deficit to 15 (63-48) at the 9:10 mark of the second half. However, GVSU scored six quick points by James, Jason Jamerson and Mike Hall to push its lead back to 21 (69-48). FSU's Antwuan Holt hit a three for the Bulldogs before the Lakers sealed the game away with a 19-0 scoring run. Kyle Carhart hit six straight free throws, James hit a bucket and a pair from the charity stripe, while Callistus Eziukwu (2), Nate Bassett (3), Jamerson (2) and Pete Trammell (2) added points during the run. Bassett gave the Lakers their largest lead (90-53) with a dunk.>

Four Lakers reached double figures, led by Eziukwu's 18-point outing. Callistus also pulled down seven rebounds, blocked six shots, dished out three assists and notched a pair of steals. Jamerson added 16 points, while James chipped in 13 points and six assists. Hall scored 13 points and pulled down six caroms. Trammell pulled down eight boards and dished out three assists. Carhart added eight points, Jeff Grauzer six and Bassett five. GVSU outrebounded FSU 39-31 and converted 23-of-27 free throws. FSU was 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. The Lakers shot 60.4 percent from the floor for the game and limited the Bulldogs to just 32.9 percent shooting.

Notes...Grand Valley State moved up six spots to the number eight in the NABC/DII Coaches poll. The number eight national ranking is the highest-ever ranking for the Lakers in the DII ranks. GVSU's 24 wins marks the fourth-best, single-season win total in school history. Only the 1976-77 (30), 1978-79 (25) and the 1990-91 (26) teams won more games in a single-season. In addition, the Lakers' 16 GLIAC wins is the top single-season win total in school history. Grand Valley State is third in the latest NCAA DII Great Lakes Regional rankings.

Head Coach Ric Wesley: Ric Wesley (Central Michigan, 1980) is 42-13 in his second year at the helm of the Laker basketball program.

Streaking: The Lakers'14-game winning streak set the NCAA DII school-record for consecutive wins. The 1976-77 Laker team won 21 straight games en route to a 30-4 record when GVSU was participating as an NAIA school...GVSU has won 18-of-19 games since the Dec. 8 loss at Ferris State.

GVSU has held 20-of-27 opponents under 66 points and 17-of-27 under 56 points this season The Lakers are yielding just 57.1 points overall on the year. In addition, GVSU has held 39-of-54 opponents under 67 points during the Ric Wesley era.