at Walsh (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.): Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes
 
at Malone (Saturday, 3:00 p.m.): Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes
 
The Grand Valley State men's basketball team heads back on the road this weekend (Jan. 7-9), returning to a familiar state where the Lakers have been quite successful so far this season. GVSU will travel to Canton, Ohio to take on Walsh and Malone in a pair of important road contests this weekend. The Lakers are 3-0 on the road this season, with all three wins coming in Ohio.
 
Grand Valley State will tip off on Thursday night (Jan. 7) at 7:30 p.m. against the Walsh Cavaliers. The Lakers will then play Walsh's crosstown rival - the Malone Pioneers - at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 9).
 
There are links above to follow along with the radio broadcast of both games, as well as links to follow the live stats. Both games will be aired on WTKG-AM 1230 and WMUS 107.9 FM, with fifth year play-by-play announcer DJ Foster calling the action.
 
GVSU sits at 9-3 overall in 2015-16, with a 3-3 league record after splitting a pair of home GLIAC contests last weekend. The Lakers led wire-to-wire in an impressive 74-58 home victory over Wayne State last Saturday, as 10 different Grand Valley State players scored and the team held WSU to just 30.9 percent shooting from the field. It was the third game this season that GVSU never trailed at any point.
 
The Lakers hit the court the very next day, playing a rare set of back-to-back games. Findlay shot an outstanding 60.0 percent from the field in the first half, including a 12-for-21 mark from three-point range to take a 57-36 halftime lead. The GVSU defense buckled down in the second half - holding Findlay to just 4-of-20 shooting and 1-of-8 from beyond the arc - but the Oilers earned the 82-66 road victory.
 
Senior forward Ricardo Carbajal scored on a layup in the second half against Findlay to join the 1,000 Point Club at Grand Valley State. Carbajal's bucket made him the 33rd Laker to reach 1,000 points. The last GVSU player to do so was Carbajal's former teammate Ryan Sabin, who also scored his 1,000th point against Findlay in a game last season.
 
Carbajal joins Sabin as one of eight players to reach the 1,000 point mark during head coach Ric Wesley's 12-year tenure at GVSU. That list also includes Jason Jamerson, Callistus Eziukwu, Justin Ringler, Courtney James, Pete Trammell, and Mike Hall.
 
Senior center Chaz Rollins led the Lakers last weekend with 12.5 points per game, while junior guard Luke Ryskamp posted 12.0 points per game. Both Rollins and Ryskamp averaged a team-best 7.0 rebounds per game. In the win over Wayne State, Rollins notched his third double-double in five games with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Also in that game, senior guard Darren Kapustka handed out nine assists and did not commit a turnover. The last Laker to dish out nine assists was Rob Woodson on Feb. 15, 2014 in a home win over Northwood; Woodson also had nine assists and zero turnovers in that game.
 
Grand Valley State's road trips have all been successful, as the Lakers have defeated Tiffin (83-69) on Dec. 11, Ohio Dominican (85-79) on Dec. 13, and Cedarville (51-48) in their home gyms. This weekend's games will be the last regular season road trip to Ohio for the Lakers.
 
Walsh has won two of the three all-time meetings against the Lakers, though GVSU defeated the Cavaliers 63-56 at home last season. Against Malone, Grand Valley State is 4-1 all-time, having won the first four meetings before falling last season by an 81-61 score in Allendale. This is just the second trip to Canton, Ohio for GVSU to take on Walsh and Malone.
 
Having lost its last two games, Walsh is 5-5 overall and 3-3 in GLIAC play. Those two losses were shootouts; the Cavaliers fell at Hillsdale 94-90 on Saturday before dropping a 94-89 final at Saginaw Valley State the next day. Walsh has lost three consecutive GLIAC games after a 3-0 start in league play, which included victories over Northern Michigan (80-60), Michigan Tech (83-71), and Northwood (87-80). The Cavaliers are 3-2 at home this season.
 
Two-time All-GLIAC First Team guard Jesse Hardin Jr. is posting a team-best 18.3 points per game, which jumps to 21.0 points per game in GLIAC contests. He is a terrific shooter, with percentages of 45.9 percent from the field, 44.4 from three-point range, and 88.6 at the free throw line. Hardin has made 32 trifectas this season and also averages 6.8 rebounds per game. Junior forward Trey Fletcher is scoring 17.2 points per game, while shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and 43.8 percent from beyond the arc.
 
Hardin and Fletcher are two of Walsh's four double-digit scorers, which also includes Zac Carter (15.0 points, 5.0 assists per game) and Chall Montgomery (10.2 points, 8.1 rebounds per game). The Cavaliers average 79.2 points per game.
 
At 3-8 overall, Malone is 0-6 in GLIAC play and has lost seven consecutive games. However, during that losing streak, the Pioneers have a one-point loss (68-67 at Northern Michigan), a two-point defeat (75-73 vs. Lewis), and most recently a pair of three-point losses (72-69 in overtime at Saginaw Valley State, 73-70 at Hillsdale) last weekend. The Pioneers started 2-0, but have not won since a 107-71 win on Nov. 28 against Silver Lake.
 
Senior center Brian Stone is shooting a GLIAC-high 73.1 percent from the field and scoring 16.3 points per game in just 23.5 minutes per contest. Sophomore forward Mitchell Spotleson is averaging 13.1 points per game, shooting 50.0 percent from the field, and has 23 assists against just eight turnovers. Junior guard Christian Graves, a 40.0 percent three-point shooter, is scoring 12.2 points per game. The Pioneers are just 1-4 at home.
 
GVSU returns to Allendale next weekend (Jan. 14-16) to face a pair of North Division foes. The Lakers clash with Northern Michigan next Thursday night (Jan. 14, 8:00 p.m.) before meeting up with Michigan Tech on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 16, 3:00 p.m.) inside the Fieldhouse Arena.