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After back-to-back home victories on Sunday and Tuesday, the Grand Valley State men's basketball team looks to finish off 2014 with another win on Saturday afternoon (Dec. 20). The Lakers welcome Purdue North Central to Allendale on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. tip in the team's final non-conference game of the season.
 
GVSU (5-4 overall, 2-2 GLIAC) pushed its home record to 3-0 with consecutive wins over Tiffin and Ohio Dominican earlier this week. The victory against the Dragons on Sunday was a 76-75 thriller in which the Lakers hit all eight free throw tries in the final 76 seconds of the game. Tuesday's win over ODU lacked the late-game excitement, but provided a similar result for Grand Valley State.
 
The Lakers never trailed on Tuesday, 14 different players saw game action and 11 GVSU players scored in the victory. Grand Valley State had five players score eight or more points and knocked down 28-of-38 free throw attempts, while Ohio Dominican went just 7-of-8 at the charity stripe.
 
While 11 players scored in the win, only two Lakers reached double-digits. Senior center Darren Washington notched a game-high 11 points, while junior guard Darren Kapustka recorded 10 points. Both players nabbed five rebounds. Junior Ricardo Carbajal and freshman Myles Miller scored nine points apiece.
 
In forcing 18 Panther turnovers, GVSU scored 21 points. The Lakers also owned an 18-5 edge in second chance points and won despite shooting a season-low 35.8 percent from the field. Grand Valley State's 21-point victory was its largest win of the season.
 
It has been 44 years since Grand Valley State and Purdue North Central met on the court. The teams played a home-and-home series in the 1969-70 season. On Jan. 2, 1970, GVSU topped the Panthers by a 116-68 score, then defeated PNC on Jan. 23, 102-70. They have not played since those two contests.
 
Purdue North Central, an NAIA institution out of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC), is off to a slow start this season. The Panthers take a 3-11 overall record and an 0-5 conference mark into Friday night's league game at Indiana-South Bend. The team will then have a quick turnaround before Saturday's afternoon start inside the Fieldhouse Arena.
 
The Panthers were 1-2 after a 99-77 win over Great Lakes Christian College, but PNC then lost six straight games. Purdue North Central also defeated Emmaus Bible College (107-56) on Dec. 2 and Brescia (85-69) on Dec. 13.
 
Defense has been a struggle for PNC thus far, as the Panthers are giving up 79.0 points per game and allowing their opponents to shoot 50.6 percent from the field. Purdue North Central is shooting 41.2 percent from the floor, but just 27.0 percent from three-point range and 59.7 percent at the free throw line.
 
Three Panthers are averaging double-figures in scoring, led by junior forward Clarence Heath (13.3 ppg.), freshman guard Caleb Brannon (11.1), and freshman forward Cody Nelms (11.0).
 
GVSU will be off until 2015, as the Lakers travel to Wayne State and Findlay to resume GLIAC action on Jan. 2-4.