Lake Superior State (Thursday, 8:00 p.m.): Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes
 
Northwood (Saturday, 6:00 p.m.): Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes
 
The Grand Valley State men's basketball team hosts its first of four home/away weekends this weekend, as the Lakers will face a pair of GLIAC North Division opponents. GVSU will host Lake Superior State on Thursday night (Jan. 22) at 8:00 p.m. before traveling to Northwood on Saturday (Jan. 24) for a 6:00 p.m. start.
 
Winners of six of their last nine games, the Lakers are 9-7 overall and 5-5 in GLIAC play. Playing primarily on Thursdays and Saturdays during the GLIAC portion of the schedule, GVSU will play one home game and one road game in the same week four times throughout the remainder of the season. All of those contests involve LSSU, Northwood, Saginaw Valley State, and Hillsdale.
 
Both games can be heard on a pair of radio stations; WTKG-AM 1230 is the flagship for Laker basketball, while WMUS-FM 107.9 also carries the games, which can also be heard online. Click the link above to access iHeart radio. Thursday's game can also be seen live on XFinity Channel 900.
 
GVSU traveled to the Upper Peninsula last weekend and for the third time in as many tries, the Lakers won the opening game of the weekend before falling in the second contest. In 2015, Grand Valley State is 3-3 after bringing a 6-4 record into the new year.
 
Last weekend up north, the Lakers earned a solid 62-53 victory at Northern Michigan, making 7-of-10 three-pointers, 21-of-28 free throws, and holding the Wildcats to just 35.4 percent shooting. Senior guard Ryan Sabin led GVSU in points (15), rebounds (10), and assists (five). The last time a Laker led the team in all three categories was on Feb. 19, 2011, when Justin Ringler notched 16 points, six boards, and three assists in a 59-52 loss to Wayne State.
 
The win over NMU came on Thursday, but Michigan Tech would prevent the U.P. sweep on Saturday. In Houghton on Saturday, MTU outscored the Lakers 49-34 in the second half to pull away with a 77-65 victory. The Huskies outscored GVSU 30-14 at the free throw line; Michigan Tech was 30-of-33 at the charity stripe.
 
Lake Superior State (13-3 overall, 8-2 GLIAC) rattled off 10 consecutive wins after a season-opening loss, including winning all six games in December. Recently, LSSU has dropped close games at Ashland (70-68 on Jan. 4) and at home against Saginaw Valley State (81-76 on Jan. 15). That was the only home loss for the Lakers this season, who are 9-1 in Sault Ste. Marie.
 
With a 3-1 road record, LSSU has won at Wayne State (69-63), Findlay (70-62), and Lake Erie (79-60), in addition to the loss at Ashland. The Lakers surrender the fewest points in the league (63.3), record the third-most steals per game (8.8), and shoot the third-most three-pointers (22.2).
 
Senior guard Alex Williams leads LSSU with 13.7 points per game and has made the sixth-most triples (33) in the league. He is tied with teammate Akaemji Williams with 33 steals, the second-highest total in the conference. Junior forward Devin Daly averaged 10.5 points and a team-high 5.6 rebounds per game, while senior guard Tony Harris is scoring 10.2 points per game and has recorded 32 steals.
 
Northwood (10-6 overall, 6-4 GLIAC) has went 7-3 in the last 10 games after a 3-3 start to the season. Winning in Midland will not be easy for the Lakers on Saturday; Northwood is 7-0 at home this year, including home victories this month over Tiffin, Ohio Dominican, and Hillsdale. Three of their home wins were close contests, as NU outlasted Walsh (87-83 on Dec. 11), Malone (62-56 on Dec. 13), and Hillsdale (74-69 on Jan. 15).
 
Most recently, the Timberwolves fell at Saginaw Valley State (10-0 GLIAC) in a 98-94 overtime thriller. Northwood takes (59.8) and makes (27.9) the second-most field goals in the league, while scoring the third-most points per game (76.2) of any team.
 
NU averages the second-most assists per game (15.5), primarily due to junior guard Maurice Jones and his league-leading 108 assists. Jones, a transfer from USC, is putting up 14.8 points per game and also leads the GLIAC in turnovers (48) and steals (48). Junior guard Dylan Langkabel is scoring a team-high 15.9 points per game, while senior center Will Bowles pulls down 8.1 rebounds per game and has blocked 26 shots.
 
Next weekend, the Lakers will take on Saginaw Valley State at home (Thurs., Jan. 29) before facing Hillsdale on the road (Sat., Jan. 31).