ALLENDALE, Mich. — The Grand Valley State men’s basketball team won its first conference game of the season, defeating Davenport, 87-73, on Sunday inside of the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.
Isaiah Carver-Bagley earned the first double-double of the season for the Lakers, scoring 16 points and collecting 10 rebounds. It’s the first double-double from a GVSU player since Feb. 26 when Jake van Tubbergen had 16 points and 12 rebounds against Saginaw Valley State. Carver-Bagley was 4-for-6 from 3-point range and added an assist on Sunday.
The Lakers (5-6, 1-2 GLIAC) fended off every push from Davenport (2-7, 0-3 GLIAC) in the second half. GVSU had a 9-0 run over a 2:39 span in the early goings of the second half, but Davenport wouldn’t go away. The Panthers cut the Laker lead to just five with 3:37 to go, but the Lakers didn’t allow another Davenport field goal from that point on.
GVSU had four players in double figures on Sunday. Carver-Bagley (16), Marius Grazulis (13), Luke Toliver (12) and Jalen Charity (10) all scored 10 or more. Carver-Bagley’s 10 rebounds led the way in the rebounding column for the Lakers but Grazulis (8) and Charity (7) also combined for 15 Laker boards. Daniel Kiely led the way with nine assists, which is the most in a game by a Laker this season.
The Lakers dominated the glass with a 41-29 advantage in rebounds. GVSU also outshot Davenport from the field. The Lakers made 50 percent of their field goal attempts while limiting Davenport to a 43.1 percent clip from the field. GVSU moves to 5-1 when shooting better from the field than its opponents. The Lakers also collected 16 offensive rebounds and turned them into 21 points. Davenport only managed to score nine points from its 11 offensive rebounds.
GVSU returns to action at 2 p.m. on Dec. 18 against McKendree inside of the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. The game will be streamed live on FloSports.