Walsh (Thursday, 8:00 p.m.): Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes
 
Malone (Saturday, 3:00 p.m.): Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes
 
The Grand Valley State men's basketball team is back in Allendale for the first time in 2015, as the Lakers welcome a pair of Ohio schools to the Fieldhouse Arena this weekend. GVSU will take on GLIAC South Division opponents Walsh and Malone on its home floor, where the Lakers are a perfect 4-0 to start the season.
 
On Thursday night, Grand Valley State takes on Walsh (5-5 overall, 1-5 GLIAC) in an 8:00 p.m. tipoff. The Lakers will then face Malone (3-9 overall, 1-5 GLIAC) in a Saturday afternoon contest at 3:00 p.m. GVSU will only be at home two more times in the month of January and not again until Jan. 22.

Like all games, Thursday's contest against Walsh can be heard on WTKG-AM 1230 and WMUS 107.9 FM. The game can also be seen live on XFinity Channel 900. Fans can also follow the radio and TV broadcasts online by clicking the links at the top of this page.
 
The Lakers will bring a 7-5 overall record into this weekend's contests, including a 3-3 mark in GLIAC action. On Sunday at Findlay, GVSU fell to the host Oilers by a 75-67 score, snapping a four-game winning streak. Grand Valley State had knocked off Wayne State 72-64 last Friday night in Detroit.
 
In the Findlay loss, senior Ryan Sabin and junior Ricardo Carbajal both scored a team-best 16 points, while sophomores Trevin Alexander and Luke Ryskamp added 11 points apiece. For the third straight game and sixth time this season, Alexander led GVSU in rebounds, corralling nine boards.
 
Sabin added his name to the Laker record book on Sunday, as a second-half three-pointer from the senior guard gave him exactly 1,000 career points. He is the 32nd member of the 1,000-point club and the first since Justin Ringler (1,488 points from 2007-10). Entering this weekend, Sabin has 1,008 career points and is averaging 13.8 points per game this season.
 
With that three-pointer, Sabin also moved past Brent Wichlacz (1989-93) into sixth place in GVSU history with 170 three-pointers in his career. Ahead of Sabin on the list is Ed Finch, who knocked down 184 triples from 1987-89 and sits in fifth place in Laker history.
 
Alexander and Carbajal have been terrific on the boards this season. The duo are the only set of teammates to rank in the top-10 in the GLIAC in rebounding. Alexander, with help of his tremendous 25-rebound effort against Ashland on Dec. 4, is second in the league with 8.1 rebounds per game. Carbajal is eighth in the league with 6.3 boards per contest. Those two have helped GVSU rank second in the league in total rebounds per game.
 
Carbajal has put together a strong all-around season so far. He ranks high in the conference in a number of categories, the highest of which is steals, where he is fourth in the GLIAC with 22 thefts. The junior forward is also sixth in offensive rebounds (27), seventh in field goals (67), eighth in rebounding (6.3), and 11th in scoring (14.6).
 
The Lakers had won four straight games before falling to Findlay on Sunday in Ohio. GVSU had defeated Tiffin, Ohio Dominican, Purdue North Central, and Wayne State from Dec. 14 to Jan. 2. Four of the team's next six games after this weekend are on the road.
 
Walsh started out the season with a 4-0 record, but has went just 1-5 since that start and are currently riding a four-game losing streak. The Cavaliers have lost to Northwood, Lake Superior State, Hillsdale, and Saginaw Valley State since a 69-63 home victory over Michigan Tech on Dec. 6.
 
Just 1-2 on the road, WU's lone road victory came on Nov. 29 in an 80-79 win at Wisconsin-Parkside. The Cavaliers fell at Northwood (87-83) and at Lake Superior State (70-55) in their most recent road games on Dec. 11-13.
 
Junior guard Jesse Hardin Jr. leads Walsh with 16.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and is the team leader with 29 three-pointers. Hardin and Sabin are the only two players in the conference this season who were named to the All-GLIAC First Team at the conclusion of last year. Sophomore forward Trey Fletcher is scoring 14.5 points per game thanks to nearly 53 percent shooting, while junior guard Rian Burrell is scoring 12.2 points per game, has made 17 three-pointers, and is shooting 84 percent from the charity stripe.
 
Malone began the year with a 3-2 record, which - like Walsh - included a home victory over preseason favorite Michigan Tech. Since then, the Pioneers have lost seven consecutive games, five of which were decided by double-digits.
 
While it is not a bad team on its home floor, Malone is 0-6 away from Canton, including an 0-5 mark in true road games. In addition to the win over Michigan Tech, the Pioneers have also defeated Silver Lake (Wisc.) and Houghton (N.Y.) this season. All of those wins came from Nov. 22 to Dec. 4.
 
Freshman guard Ben Haraway leads Malone with 13.0 points per game, 29 assists, and 18 steals, while shooting 37.7 percent from the field and making 16 three-pointers. Junior center Brian Stone is scoring 8.9 points per game (second on the team) and shooting 60.5 percent from the field, despite coming off the bench in all 12 games so far. Junior forward Neil Gingerich shoots 57.9 percent and is scoring 8.0 points per game.
 
Next weekend, Grand Valley State heads north to the Upper Peninsula for a 7:30 p.m. contest at Northern Michigan next Thursday (Jan. 15), followed by a 2:00 p.m. start at Michigan Tech next Saturday (Jan. 17).