Men's Basketball Claims 71-67 Win Over Grand Valley State

The Northwood University men's basketball team earned their fifth straight victory with a 71-67 win over Grand Valley State Saturday afternoon (January 25).

The Timberwolves improve to 13-7 on the season, 9-3 in the GLIAC. Grand Valley are now 12-4 on the year and 8-4 in the GLIAC.

Northwood edged out back-to-back victories this week with a close game at home against Grand Valley. NU was able to maintain the lead for a majority of the opening period, as the Lakers saw their first lead with just seven minutes remaining in the half. From that point, there were four additional lead changes and five ties before entering the locker room dead-locked at 37-37. Both teams shot well in the first half with the Timberwolves shooting 50.0 percent (14-28) from the floor and Grand Valley finishing the half shooting 15 for 29 for 51.7 percent. The Lakers held the advantage in the paint with 20 points to Northwood's eight.

The game remained close throughout the second half. Northwood led by as many as seven on three separate occasions in the final period, but the Lakers continued to fight back to force the eleventh and final tie of the game at 1:33 with a score of 63-63. From there, Tony Johnson (Midland, Mich./Midland) hit a three pointer to put NU ahead 66-63 and the Timberwolves would not look back. The Lakers kept the game close to the final buzzer, but Northwood was able to convert free-throws in the final seconds to seal the win.

The Timberwolves continued to shoot well in the second half, connecting on 23-45 for 51.1 percent. Grand Valley finished shooting 24-63 for 38.1 percent from the floor. The Lakers out-rebounded the Timberwolves 34-31 and held the advantage in second chance points 13-3. However, Northwood was able to convert on eight three-pointers for 34.8 percent (8-23) versus just three for Grand Valley (3-17).

Five Timberwolves scored in double figures, led by sophomore Khalid King (Columbus, Ohio/North Carolina A&T) coming off the bench with 15 points. Wes Wilcox (Roselle, Ill./Harper) added 14 points and nine rebounds, while Darvin Ham (Saginaw, Mich./Bridgeport) and Dylan Langkabel (Morristown, Ind./Morristown) each chipped in 13 points. Will Bowles (East Detroit, Mich./South Lake) finished with 11 points and eight rebounds to go with three blocks. Tony Johnson recorded six assists and three steals on the night.