The first points of the season for the Spartans came when sophomore guard Gary Harris found sophomore forward Matt Costello for an alley-oop less than a minute into the game.

Trevin Alexander tied the game for Grand Valley after a dunk nearly four minutes in, but MSU went on a 7-0 run over the next two minutes to take a lead they wouldn’t give up.

MSU extended its lead to five minutes in with back-to-back three pointers by junior guard Travis Trice and junior forward Russell Byrd.

Not to be outdone, senior guard Keith Appling hit back-to-back threes with under 10 minutes to play.

The Spartans ended the half going 6-for-13 from beyond the arc.

The leading scorer was a Laker, as Ryan Sabin went 3-4 from three-point range to end the half with 11 points. The leading score for MSU was Appling, with eight points. He also chipped in a team-best four assists.

MSU out-rebounded the Lakers 24-17, with sophomore guard Denzel Valentine being the leading rebounder on either team.

Freshmen Alvin Ellis III and Gavin Shilling both saw the floor, and despite dislocating his finger last week, Ellis scored his first points in green and white.

The notable youngster missing from the first half was redshirt freshman forward Kenny Kaminski after an MSU spokesman said he was “not reaching expectations.”