Grand Valley State mounted a furious comeback late in its 2016-17 season opener against Quincy on Friday night (Nov. 11) before the Hawks closed out GVSU by a 79-71 final. It was the opening game of the year for both teams, taking place at the GLVC-GLIAC Challenge in St. Louis, Mo.

Quincy (1-0) shot 52.0 percent from the field on Friday, including a 61.9 percent clip in the opening 20 minutes. The Lakers (0-1) shot better than 40.0 percent in both halves and finished at 42.0 percent for the game. While GVSU forced the Hawks into 20 turnovers (and committed just 14 miscues themselves), Quincy owned an edge in rebounds (40-37) despite the Lakers' 14-8 advantage on the offensive glass.

Visits to the charity stripe were in QU's favor, as the Hawks were 20-of-33, while the Lakers went 9-of-17. Quincy shot 7-of-15 from three-point range and GVSU was 4-of-18.

Four players from each team reached double-digits in the scoring column. Senior Trevin Alexander just missed a double-double with team-highs of 14 points and nine rebounds, trailed closely by classmate Luke Ryskamp, who posted 13 points and five boards (all offensive rebounds). 

Starting point guard Myles Miller notched 11 points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals. Sophomore center Justin Greason added 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

The Lakers held a lead for a chunk of the opening half, using a pair of buckets from Greason and a layup from junior transfer Chris Dorsey to open a 26-16 lead with 8:57 remaining in the opening half. GVSU was up 28-18 after a Ryskamp jumper, but Quincy put together a big 23-2 run over the final 7:25 of the first half to take a 41-30 halftime advantage.

In the opening frame, Quincy shot 13-of-21 from the field and made 11-of-18 free throw tries. Grand Valley State was 14-of-35 on field goal tries and just 0-for-2 at the line in the first half.

QU extended its lead to 74-52 with 7:25 to go before the Lakers started to chip away at the deficit. GVSU held the Hawks scoreless for nearly four minutes and pulled within a dozen (75-63) after two Miller free throws at the 2:46 mark. Three consecutive buckets from junior Drake Baar made the score 76-69 with 55 seconds to play. 

Ryskamp tipped in a missed shot and the Lakers were within five points at 76-71, but only 19 seconds remained. Grand Valley State was forced to foul and Quincy made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 14 seconds to clinch the victory.

Dorsey tallied seven points, four rebounds, two assists, and a steal in his first game as a Laker, while Baar added six points, five boards, and two steals off the bench. Senior Juwan Starks posted five points, three rebounds, a pair of steals, and a blocked shot.

GVSU owned a 42-34 advantage in the paint and a 20-17 edge in bench points. Quincy was slightly better in second chance points (14-10), points off turnovers (18-16), and fast break points (8-6).

The Lakers return to action on Saturday night against the host school Missouri-St. Louis with an 8:15 p.m. ET tipoff.