When Lake Superior State struggled to score during the second half of Saturday's Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament semifinal game against Grand Valley State, sophomore center Lucas Holt gave LSSU the spark it needed.
Holt scored eight of Lake Superior State's 10 unanswered points to give the Lakers (16-12) a 47-44 lead with 8:53 remaining in the game. Two minutes later, junior Cameron Metz made a layup to tie it, 49-49, and LSSU took the lead for good on back-to-back three-pointers by freshman Rashaun Carroll at 5:16 and Tony Harris at 4:18.
LSSU went on to beat Grand Valley State 70-64 to avenge two regular-season losses to GVSU and land in the championship game of the GLIAC Tournament for the second time in school history.
The No. 8-seeded Lakers will play defending tournament champion Findlay at 2 p.m. Sunday at Michigan Tech for the 2013 championship. No. 3 seed Findlay (21-7) beat No. 2 seed Michigan Tech, 54-51 earlier Saturday.
Junior guard Derek Billing was 12-of-12 at the free-throw line and led LSSU with 18 points. Senior forward Derek Kinney followed with 12 points and seven rebounds. Lake State's balanced attack also included nine points by Carroll and sophomore guard Tony Harris, and eight each by post players Metz and Holt.
LSSU shot 45.7 percent from the field, including 6-of-10 from three-point range, and made a season-high 32-of-41 free throws. The Lakers overcame 17 turnovers by dominating the boards, 33-19.
Tyrone Lee led Grand Valley (19-9) with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Ricardo Carbajal came off the bench to score 10 points. GVSU shot 42.6 percent from the field, including 7-of-19 from three-point range, and made 17-of-23 free throws.
LSSU's previous GLIAC Tournament championship game appearance occurred in 1996 when the Lakers beat Oakland for the title.
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