Mar 4, 2009

LSSU and GVSU to play a GLIAC semifinal rematch

SAULT STE. MARIE - Lake Superior State will meet Grand Valley State in semifinal round of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament for the second straight year.

This year, however, LSSU is the favored team.

No. 2 seed LSSU (21-7) and No. 3 seed GVSU (20-8) play at 8 p.m. Friday at the University of Findlay's Croy Gymnasium. No. 1 seed Findlay (28-0) and No. 4 seed Michigan Tech (14-14) play the first semifinal game Friday at 6 p.m. The winners meet at 7 p.m. Saturday in the championship game.

LSSU's games will be broadcast live on WSOO 1230 AM. A pay-per-view video feed is available on the B2 Network via http://www.b2tv.com/partner_members.asp?id=39. Go to http://athletics.findlay.edu for live stats. Updates and recaps will also be available on the "Orange and Black Attack Blog," which is available on the following link: http://thecourier.typepad.com/orange_black_attack/.

General admission tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for college students and children ages 6-17. A limited number of reserve tickets are available for $9. Call 419-434-6684 or 419-434-4663 to reserve tickets.

During last year's GLIAC Tournament, Grand Valley State was the tournament's No. 1 seed and beat Lake Superior State handily, 76-54, in Allendale. This year, LSSU is 2-0 against GVSU, including a 79-66 win in Sault Ste. Marie on Jan. 10 and an 80-70 road victory on Feb. 19.

In February, GVSU came back from an 18-point deficit to lead by seven points early in the second half. LSSU fought back and tied it with 10:30 to go, then controlled the final seven minutes of action.

"That game was a series of runs," LSSU coach Steve Hettinga said. "Both teams made adjustments and countered adjustments. We made some timely shots during the last five minutes and hung on at the end. We know they have a great program. After losing the guys from last year they've had another 20-win season."

Hettinga saw a renewed focus in his team during Tuesday's 72-56 quarterfinal victory over Wayne State. He expects it to carry over to the semifinal round, where he believes his team will draw on last year's experience.

"The guys on this team have a lot of confidence in each other, but they also don't want to disappoint each other," said Hettinga of the Lakers' refuse-to-lose attitude. "They have that toughness in that they're playing to win...They're making winning plays and not counting on the other team to make mistakes. They have made some aggressive mistakes, but those are mistakes we can live with."

GVSU is ranked first in the GLIAC in field-goal percentage defense (.395) and rebound margin (+8.8), and is second in scoring defense at 63.1 points per game. LSSU will try to counter that with its NCAA Division II-leading three-point field-goal percentage (.429) and impressive assist/turnover ratio. LSSU is still ranked third nationally in fewest turnovers per game (11.1).

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