HOLLAND, MI -- La Roche (8-2, 5-0) lost their second game of the year in Day 1 of the Great Lakes Invitational and Russ Devette HolidayTournament to host Hope College (8-2) - 92-87. La Roche played their style for roughly thirty-five minutes of action. By doing so, they clawed their way back from an early 17-5 deficit five minutes into the game, to an 80-66 lead with eight minutes remaining. In a game filled with runs, tough shots, and a confident Redhawks' team, they fell just short of earning a quality non-conference win.
The host Flying Dutchman started the game strong behind a three from Teddy Ray and inside play from Preston Granger. Two early La Roche turnovers queued a quick timeout from Coach Carmichael.
The La Roche bench helped settle the score as Shawn Dunnings and Darius Lawrence pulled La Roche to within three (16-19).
The game would stay within a five-point advantage for Hope as both teams settled in and made highly contested shots to keep the game close. A Tyler Frederick dunk and Zach Gould three pointer finally evened the score (43-43) to end the first half.
The second half started similar to the end of the first. La Roche's pressure and athleticism on the boards and offensive end gave Hope problems. The entire Redhawks' squad got involved during a 23-5 Redhawks' run midway through the period. The home crowd was stunned as La Roche built up a 70-58 lead. The three-point line was on La Roche's side all night. Gould, Lawrence, and Caden Kryz hit big shots to push the lead.
However, the final four minutes of action belonged to Hope. La Roche scored just a single field goal over the final stretch as shots refused to fall. Hope capitalized as Ray made a tough three from the corner to bring the score to three (87-84). A costly La Roche turnover followed by a difficult pull up by Riley Lewis (28 points, 6-7 from three) relinquished the lead, and Hope earned the five point win.
Individual stats for La Roche included Tyler Frederick with 23 points and 12 rebounds, Zach Gould with 20 points and 5 rebounds and Ryan Norkus with 14 points and 9 rebounds. La Roche ended (12-20) from three, but only managed (3-4) from the foul line, compared to Hope's (9-12) from three and (23-30) from the foul line.
La Roche will continue the Great Lakes Invitational and Russ DeVette Holiday Tournament tomorrow night, December 18, 2018 as they take on another local team in Calvin College at 5:30pm.