Huskies Stopped by Grand Valley State

• Box Score

ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Michigan Tech men's basketball team fell to Grand Valley State University on the road in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest Thursday night 74-57. The Huskies pulled to within five points in the second half after trailing 38-22 at the break, but couldn't push themselves over the top and complete the comeback.

"Tonight we got out-toughed and there isn't much else more to say," Michigan Tech Head Coach Kevin Luke said. "It was clearly disappointing and in these big games if you get out-toughed and aren't able to execute your game plan it's hard to win in this league. We'll continue to work at and try to get better and we'll see what happens Saturday. We need to bounce back and play much better on Saturday."

Grand Valley State (16-10, 12-7 GLIAC) pulled ahead 5-2 in the first three minutes of the game when Justin Greason got a put back to fall off an offensive rebound. Michigan Tech (14-12, 12-7 GLIAC) stormed back with a quick six points thanks to a pair of triples by sophomore Kyle Monroe, making it an 8-5 score in favor of the Huskies with 14:30 left in the first half. Freshman Tommy Lucca gave Tech what would be the largest lead of the night at 10-6 on a layup with 14:02 remaining in the first half.

The Huskies held the lead until the 9:44 juncture when Drake Baar found the bottom of the net for the Lakers on a layup. Senior Jordan Chartier then sent the Huskies ahead again momentarily at 15-13 by knocking down a trey with 9:23 on the clock. Unfortunately, a 10-0 scoring run by the Lakers ensued, capped by a Juwan Starks three-point basket that netted GVSU a 23-15 lead with 7:29 to play until the break.

With 5:38 left in the first half, Lucca pulled MTU to within six points at 26-20 on two free throws, but another large scoring burst by the Lakers created an even larger deficit. This time the Lakers reeled off 12 unanswered points, culminating on two free throws by Chris Dorsey with under a minute to play in the second. Chartier closed the half for MTU with a layup, but the Huskies still faced a 16-point gap at 38-22 going into the locker room at halftime.

Sophomore Bryan Heath heated up the scoreboard with eight straight points to begin the second half for the Huskies. Heath connected on a two-point jumper to get things rolling and with back to back treys, suddenly Tech was right back in it down just eight at 38-30 with 16:44 to go. Greason stopped the run for GVSU with a layup, but two Lucca free throws and another triple by Heath closed the gap to 40-35 with 15:15 left on the clock.

However, the next three minutes were controlled by the Lakers on the strength of a 9-0 run. Trevin Alexander had five of the nine points for GVSU, including the final bucket during the stretch granted the Lakers a 49-35 lead with 12:17 on the clock. Junior Tanner Uren gave the Huskies a chance with a three-pointer at the 5:06 mark of the second half, slicing the deficit to 62-52. The Lakers though would put the contest out of reach with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes and go on to secure the 74-57 win.

Lucca powered the Huskies' with 17 points, six rebounds, and three assists followed by Chartier and Heath with 11 points apiece. Monroe wrapped up the evening with 10 points and seven rebounds while Chartier distributed a team best four assists. Uren chipped in six points by going 2 for 2 from three-point range. The Huskies closed the night making 19 of 57 shots from the field (33.3%), they were 12 of 34 from behind the arc (35.3%), and 7 of 8 at the free throw line (87.5%).

Alexander made 6 of 7 attempts from the field on his way to a team high 15 points and 10 rebounds for Grand Valley State. Greason followed with 13 points and Dorsey tacked on 12 points to round out the double digit scorers for the Lakers. Luke Ryskamp and Myles Miller shared the team lead in assists with four apiece. GVSU was successful on 29 of 56 shots from the floor (51.8%), were 8 of 16 from three-point land (50.0%), and 8 of 12 at the free throw line (66.7%). The Lakers out-rebounded Tech 44-23 over the course of 40 minutes.

The Huskies will look to regroup on Saturday when they travel to Ferris State for another GLIAC showdown. The tip-off is slated for 3 p.m.