Men fall to GVSU after Thursday's 24-point comeback victory

January 28, 2008 —

SVSU knew they had a mountain to climb heading into Saturday's game against Grand Valley State University.

"There's three things in life that once they've gone by, they never come back again," head coach Frankie Smith said. "One of them is time, another is words, and the third one is an opportunity. This was one that went passed us."

Coming off a 24-point come-from-behind victory against Lake Superior State on Thursday, finished by senior guard Mario Mackey's half-court buzzer-beater, the Cardinals hoped to work their comeback magic two games in a row. But by the time the number two nationally ranked Lakers took their 32 point lead in the second half, it was clear they weren't looking back, finishing the Cardinals off 71-49.

"Obviously, they're a great team," Smith said. "But I don't think they're a team who should beat us by 22 points at home. We've been getting behind the eight-ball in the first half, and we're playing catch up. With team as good as Grand Valley, you can't afford to start in a hole like that. They're too good."

The undefeated Lakers (22-0, 10-0 GLIAC) came into the weekend with an average victory margin of 21 points per game. Their 10 first half 3-pointers - including a buzzer-beater from freshman guard Justin Ringler - took them to that plateau and beyond.

"We weren't staying focused on guys who we know are good shooters," Smith said. "They would penetrate and pitch, they would rebound and kick it out. The problem in the first half was none of those threes were contested. We have to be more desperate on defense to start off with."

The Lakers' three-point assault cooled in the second half, and would eventually be outscored in the final period 34-27, but the Cardinals deficit was already to great.

Mackey led all scorers once again with 19 points. After the Lakers started off on a 19-0 run, Mackey finally got the Cards on the board six minutes in

Smith said that while he realizes his team is in some ways at a disadvantage to teams like Grand Valley, there comes a time when that no longer matters.

"Our team has several obstacles. We only have six scholarship players and players get tired. But, there's a point where you have stop making excuses and have to get it done."