Slow Start Hurts Purdue Northwest Men in 95-69 Loss to Grand Valley State
Hammond, Ind. – Freshman Richard Robertson (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop) had a team-high 11 points, but the Purdue Northwest men’s basketball team fell behind early and never recovered in a 95-69 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) home loss to Grand Valley State University (Mich.) Saturday afternoon on John Friend Court at the Fitness & Recreation Center in Hammond, Ind. The Pride scored just 10 points over the final 11 minutes of the first half, which allowed the Lakers to build a 54-24 lead at the half.
Sophomore Mike Vukas (Lafayette, Ind./Central Catholic) and freshman Kaleb Howard (Russiaville, Ind./Western) each scored nine points for PNW, while senior Tyree Coe (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) added eight. The Lakers shot 52 percent (38-for-73) from the field for the game, including 48 percent (12-for-25) from three-point range. GVSU was also tough on the boards out-rebounding the Pride, 41-25, Saturday.
After falling behind 11-3 in the first four minutes of action, Coe hit a three-pointer to bring PNW to within five. Unfortunately with 11 minutes to play in the half, the Pride offense cooled down significantly and GVSU continued to extend its lead building a 30-point halftime advantage, 54-24.
The Pride could not chip into the big deficit early in the second half with the Lakers extending their lead as high as 37 points early in the period. Three-pointers by Vukas and Howard down the stretch helped cut into the lead, but PNW failed to get closer than 25 points the rest of the way.
Purdue Northwest (0-10 overall/0-5 GLIAC) takes a break from conference play to take part in the two-day Maryville Classic in St. Louis on December 18-19. The Pride play host Maryville (Mo.) on Monday, December 18, at 3 p.m. and then finish up tournament play on Tuesday, December 19, with a 1 p.m. game against Missouri-St. Louis.