BAY CITY, Mich. - Top-seeded University of Findlay will host the 2010 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Men's Basketball Final Four after the Oilers defeated eighth-seeded Ashland University, 100-90, in tournament quarterfinal action on Tuesday. (Click here for recap).

Click here for the GLIAC Men's Basketball Tournament Page

In other GLIAC Tournament action, No. 2 seed Grand Valley State University posted a 47-44 victory over the No. 7 seed, Wayne State University (Click here for recap).  No. 3 seed Hillsdale College recorded a 78-68 win over sixth-seeded Lake Superior State University (Click here for recap).  And fourth-seeded Saginaw Valley State University fell at home to No. 5 seed Ferris State University, 65-59 (Click here for recap).

Findlay will host Ferris State in the first GLIAC Tournament Semifinal game on Friday, Mar. 5 at 6:00 p.m. in Croy Gymnasium in Findlay, Ohio.  Grand Valley State will face Hillsdale in the second Semifinal game at 8:00 p.m.  The winners of those two games will square off on Saturday, Mar. 6 at 7:00 p.m. in Croy Gymnasium in Findlay, Ohio.

Release courtesy of David Buck, UF Sports Information Director

FINDLAY, Ohio - The University of Findlay men’s basketball team advanced to the semi finals of the 2010 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament with a 100-90 win over Ashland University on Tuesday, March 2 in Croy Gymnasium. The victory gives the Oilers a 22-6 record on the season as they earned the right to host the remainder of the tournament on Houdeshell Court.

Tied 40-40 at the break, the Oilers turned on the gas in the second half and put a season-high 60 points in 20 minutes. Findlay did most of their damage from the free throw line in the deciding period, hitting 30-of-37 attempts during the half.

For the game, the Oilers connected on a season-high 34-of-41 (82.9%) of their shots from the charity stripe and also shot 54.7 percent (29-of-53) from the floor.

Junior guard Nathan Hyde had 26 points, hitting all 12 of his free throw attempts, and added six rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists in the win.

Senior guard Marcus Parker and junior forward Tyler Sparks each added 20 points while junior center Jason Wehri and freshman guard Aaron Robinson contributed 12 and 10 points respectively.

Sparks also added four rebounds and three steals to go along with his new career-high in scoring while Parker dished out four assists during the victory.

The Eagles, who shot 57.8 percent (37-of-64) from the floor, were led by Kale Richardson’s 26 points and seven rebounds.

The Oilers will be back in action again on Friday, March 5 when they host Ferris State University at 6:00 p.m. in Croy Gymnasium.

Release courtesy of Tim Nott, GVSU Associate Athletic Director for Sports Information

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State closed the game on a 13-3 run over the final 8:46 on Tuesday night (Mar. 2) to defeat Wayne State, 47-44, in the GLIAC Quarterfinals in Allendale. The Lakers trailed 41-34 with under nine minutes remaining, but allowed just one field goal and a free throw the rest of the way, as GVSU rallied back for the win. Grand Valley State now advances to the GLIAC Final Four this weekend (Mar. 5-6) in Findlay, Ohio.

The Lakers entered the GLIAC Tournament as the #2 seed and improve to 21-7 on the season, while the seventh-seeded Warriors drop to 14-13 on the year. WSU had defeated Grand Valley State, 70-56, just five days ago in Fieldhouse Arena. However, the Lakers were able to bounce back for a come-from-behind victory just like the 57-48 win GVSU earned against Wayne State on Jan. 23 in Detroit. Grand Valley State's 47 points are the fewest points scored in a victory since the Lakers defeated #1 Michigan Tech by a 42-40 score on Feb. 20, 2003 in Houghton.

On Friday night, Grand Valley State will face #3 Hillsdale, while the other semifinal game features #1 Findlay and #5 Ferris State. Game times have yet to be determined. The Lakers advanced to the GLIAC Championship game last season before falling to Findlay in the title game, 67-56.

Similar to Thursday night's slugfest in which there were 53 fouls and 66 free throws, the game on Tuesday got off to another slow start. The score was just 5-4 at the first media timeout (15:48 remaining) and the Lakers got into double digits at the 8:34 mark on a three-pointer from freshman Tony Peters to make the score, 12-11, in favor of WSU. Neither team led by more than four points in the first half, but GVSU took a 22-18 advantage after a layup and two free throws from junior Justin Ringler and a freebie from sophomore Nick West. An easy layup from junior Toreau Brown, on a great inbounds pass from K'Len Morris, put the Lakers ahead 24-22 at halftime.

In the opening frame, Grand Valley State shot 37.5 percent from the floor, making 5-of-6 free throw attempts, while WSU shot 34.8 percent from the field and was 0-of-5 from three-point range. The Lakers had slim leads in points in the paint (14-10) and bench points (10-7), but Wayne State owned a 9-4 edge in points off turnovers.

WSU looked as if it would pull away in the second half, as every time the Lakers got close, Wayne State would hit a big shot and expand its lead. Grand Valley State used another three-pointer from Peters to cut the WSU advantage to 28-27, but the Warriors would push back out to a 34-28 lead with 13:44 remaining. Wayne State upped the score to 41-34 with 8:46 left on a Bryan Wright three-pointer, but the Warriors would tally just three points the rest of the way.

After Ringler split a pair of freebies, sophomore Alvin Storrs scored on a fastbreak layup, which was followed by a jumper from Nick Carreri. When a fastbreak layup from freshman Breland Hogan banked in, the Lakers had tied the score at 41-41 with 5:29 left. WSU responded with a layup of its own, but Carreri immediately answered with a bucket to tie the game again at 43-43.

Peters came up clutch by sinking the go-ahead jumper with 3:42 remaining to put the Lakers on top, 45-43. Brown's two free throws less than a minute later gave GVSU a four-point advantage that would be enough, as the Lakers held Wayne State to just 33.3 percent shooting in the second half, including 1-of-6 from three-point range. Grand Valley State made 8-of-18 shots in the final 20 minutes, including 6-of-10 free throws that proved to be the difference. WSU was just 3-of-7 from the line, including several misses in the final minutes.

For the game, GVSU held the Warriors to just 34.0 percent shooting and 1-of-11 (9.1 percent) from three-point range. Wayne State made just 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) free throws, while the Lakers shot 40.5 percent from the field and converted 11-of-16 freebies. Grand Valley State owned a 21-7 edge in bench points, though WSU kept the game close by scoring 21 points off 21 Laker turnovers.

Nine different GVSU players scored on Tuesday, including a team-high 12 points from Brown, who shot 4-of-6 from the field and made all four free throw attempts. Peters tied his career-high with eight points, as he made 3-of-4 field goals (including a pair of three-pointers) in 20 minutes. West totaled game highs of six rebounds and three blocks, while scoring five points. His three rejections tied a career-high. Storrs tallied a team-high four steals. Four Lakers recorded at least five rebounds, as GVSU owned a 37-27 edge on the boards.

Release courtesy of Brad Monastiere, HC Sports Information Director

HILLSDALE, Mich. - For the first time in 15 years, the Hillsdale College men's basketball team is advancing in the GLIAC Tournament.

After a low-scoring first half, the Chargers came back to post a 78-68 victory over Lake Superior State University Tuesday night in the first round of the GLIAC Tournament at Jesse Philips Arena.

The Chargers, now 15-12 on the season, will advance to Friday's tournament semifinals, where they will take on Grand Valley State University at 8 p.m. Friday at the University of Findlay. news story image The host Oilers will take on Ferris State in the other semifinal, which tips off at 6 p.m.

The GLIAC championship game will take place Saturday, March 6, also at Findlay's Croy Gymnasium.

A disjointed and jump-shooting oriented first half ended with the Chargers clinging to a 26-25 lead, despite shooting just 32 percent from the floor. The Lakers were the more calm team opening the game, and jumped out to an 8-0 lead before Hillsdale made its first basket. But despite facing a deficit as great as seven, Hillsdale clawed back, the same way it has all season.

In the second half, the Chargers' 52 points was one of their highest scoring havles of the season, and they did with the same kind of balance and timely plays that have helped them win 14 of their past 16 games.

The Lakers held a 44-39 lead with 14:20 left in the game, when Hillsdale went on an 18-8 run to grab the lead and mometum. Keying that run was the spectacular play of sophomore forward Matt Clarke, who played his most active and difference-making game of his career.

He accounted for the last four points of that run, converting two offensive rebounds into scores that pushed Hillsdale into a 57-52 lead with 6:28 left in the game. Clarke also had a blocked shot that brough the home crowd off its feet, and had nine points and five rebounds in 14 big minutes off the bench.

Hometown hero Luke Laser, playing his last game in his hometown of Hillsdale, had another fine all-around game with 19 points, six rebounds and three assists. His seven first-half points helped keep the Chargers afloat during a cold-shooting first half.

Sophomore guard Tyler Gerber (pictured) also played a big part in turning the game around int he second half, nailing back-to-back 3-pointers that gave the team some offensive confidence. He made all eight of his free throws, and finished the ballgame with 14 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Hillsdale last won the GLIAC Tournament in 1995, but hasn't advanced past the first round since then.

Release courtesy of Rob Bentley, FSU Asst. Director of Athletics Communications

University Center, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's basketball team advanced into the semifinals of the 2010 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament with a hard-fought 65-59 triumph over Saginaw Valley State on Tuesday (March 2) evening in the quarterfinal round at SVSU's O'Neill Arena inside the Ryder Center at University Center, Mich.

With the win, the Bulldogs will now head to Ohio to face top-seed and defending NCAA Division II National Champion Findlay on Friday, March 5, at 6 p.m. (EST). The game will be played at UF's Croy Gymnasium in Findlay, Ohio

In Tuesday's quarterfinal, the Cardinals built a 12-point lead with 8:03 to play in the first half before FSU was able to trim the deficit back to only three at the break. Ferris then outscored SVSU 37-28 in the second half to notch the victory before a crowd of 1,141 fans.

The Bulldogs took the lead for good on a layup by junior forward Justin Keenan with 14:12 to play and never trailed the rest of the way. FSU increased its advantage to as many as six points with 4:46 left and then was able to sink six free throws in the final 37 seconds to secure the victory.

Junior guard Darien Gay led the Bulldogs with 14 points while both Keenan and junior guard Matt DeHart added 13 points apiece to lift FSU into the conference semifinals for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

The win also avenged two earlier regular-season setbacks to the Cardinals, who had won the tiebreaker over FSU for the homecourt edge after the two teams tied for fourth place overall in the GLIAC standings.

Ferris limited SVSU to only 31.6% (18-57) shooting for the game and forced 15 Cardinal turnovers in notching the win. Saginaw Valley State made six-of-23 (35.3%) three-point tries, but missed all six of its long range attempts in the final half.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs converted 22-of-60 (36.7%) field goals and were four-of-22 (18.2%) beyond the arc. Both teams sank 17-of-22 (77.3%) free throws and both teams netted 41 total rebounds with 18 apiece on the offensive glass.

The Cardinals owned a 19-12 advantage in second chance scoring. However, Ferris posted a 22-16 edge in points scored inside the paint and a 13-8 margin in points off turnovers. The Bulldogs also received 30 points off their bench compared to only 12 for SVSU.

Avery Stephenson and Greg Foster both paced Saginaw Valley State with 18 points apiece in the game. Stephenson added 11 boards in a double-double effort while Keenan also posted a double-dobule with 11 rebounds for Ferris State.

FSU managed nine steals, six assists and three blocked shots with the Cardinals recording six assists, four steals and two blocks.

Ferris State improved to 16-12 overall with the win while Saginaw Valley State ended its season with an identical 16-12 mark. The Cardinals had recently beat FSU 68-66 in University Center only a week and a half ago (Feb. 18).

Friday's other conference tournament semifinal between second-seeded Grand Valley State and number three seed Hillsdale will begin at 8 p.m. (EST) inside Findlay's Croy Gymnasium with the title game tentatively set for Saturday, March 6, at 7 p.m. (EST).