GVSU men edge rival Ferris State on senior day
ALLENDALE - At the end of the game on Saturday, Isaiah Carver-Bagley walked to center court, kneeled down and kissed the hardwood floor on the Grand Valley State logo.
“We put a lot of hard work and dedication in this gym the past few years,” Carver-Bagley said. “For me, I only had two years here, but this means a lot to come out here and get that victory.”
Carver-Bagley is one of four Lakers who were honored on Senior Day. They made the most of it, knocking off Ferris State University 90-84 on Saturday.
“It means a lot,” Carver-Bagley said of Senior Day. “We talked about it before. We said we wanted to go out with a bang and have this be a special day. We didn’t just want to be honored.”
Carver-Bagley and Britain Harris each had 21 points to lead GVSU (10-7 GLIAC, 17-11). Kingsley Okanu had a season-best 18 points and Marius Grazulis had 10 points and 15 rebounds.
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The Lakers stunned just about everyone in the gym when they jumped out to a 15-0 lead to start the game.
“Of course, anytime you get down 15-0, it surprises you,” Ferris State coach Andy Bronkema said. “It doesn’t happen a whole lot. They were doing some good things and attacking early and we were missing some shots.”
Ferris would rally to cut the lead to five points in the final two minutes. But GVSU would hold on.
“It’s really big,” said Okanu, a senior who transferred from Northern Illinois University. “When I came here, they told me what a big rivalry it is between Grand Valley and Ferris. It’s something more than basketball. I just like the way we all understood that as a team. We left it all out there on the floor.”
The four GVSU seniors honored on Saturday were Daniel Kiely of Columbia, Md., Luke Toliver of Paw Paw, Okanu and Carver-Bagley.
“Makes it more special,” Okanu said of winning on senior day. “It means we have something more to play for. You always play for the guy next to you, but it was a nice sendoff for the guys who won’t ever get this experience again.”
Ethan Erickson came off the bench to score a team-high 23 points for Ferris State (22-7). Solomon Oraegbu had 16 and Ben Davidson and Dolapo Olayinka each had 14. Entering the game, Ferris State and Parkside were tied for first place in the GLIAC at 13-4. But with Ferris’s loss, they finish the season in second place.
GVSU now moves on to the GLIAC Tournament. They will play on the road on Wednesday with their opponent to be determined.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: GVSU men edge rival Ferris State on senior day
