vs. Tiffin (4-6, 1-3 GLIAC)
Saturday, 3:00 p.m.
Radio: ESPN 96.1 FM
Listen | Watch
Live Stats | Game Notes
 
vs. Ashland (6-3, 2-2 GLIAC)
Monday, 7:00 p.m.
Radio: ESPN 96.1 FM
Listen | Watch
Live Stats | Game Notes
 
Grand Valley State returns home after a great road trip last weekend (Dec. 8-10) and the Lakers will close the 2016 portion of its schedule inside the Fieldhouse Arena this weekend. On Saturday afternoon (Dec. 17) at 3:00 p.m., GVSU hosts Tiffin before welcoming in Ashland for a Monday night (Dec. 19) matchup at 7:00 p.m. in Allendale, Mich.
 
With a pair of 20-plus point victories on the road at Hillsdale and Walsh, Grand Valley State will head into the weekend with a 7-4 overall record and a 3-1 record in GLIAC play. The Lakers are in a tie with Saginaw Valley State for second place in the conference behind 4-0 Wayne State. Tiffin comes into Saturday's game with a 4-6 record and a 1-3 mark in league action. Ashland will head into the road trip against Ferris State and the Lakers with a 6-3 tally and a 2-2 GLIAC record.
 
Both of the upcoming games will be aired on ESPN 96.1 FM. Sixth-year play-by-play voice DJ Foster will call all the action this weekend for the Lakers. Fans can watch, listen, or follow along to the games through the links at the top of this page.
 
GVSU started the weekend trip with a 75-49 victory at Hillsdale last Thursday (Dec. 8) in a game the Lakers were on top at halftime by a 40-20 score. Not only did Grand Valley State dominate the rebounding battle (49-30), the Lakers also shot 51.7 percent from the field and held Hillsdale to 29.0 percent shooting. From three-point range, GVSU shot 7-of-14, while the Chargers were 7-of-25.
 
The Lakers carried that momentum into Saturday's (Dec. 10) game at Walsh against a 7-1 Cavaliers team that had only suffered a single three-point loss at Michigan Tech. Walsh was never able to hold a lead against GVSU, as the Lakers were ahead 32-21 at halftime and extended to a 29-point cushion over the final 20 minutes. It was another strong shooting effort for Grand Valley State; the Lakers shot 54.5 percent from the floor, as Walsh connected at just 31.1 percent.
 
In both victories, GVSU had four double-digit scorers, committed just seven turnovers, and held identical 34-9 edges in bench points. The Lakers also dominated in the paint, owning a 36-20 advantage over Hillsdale and a 44-22 mark against Walsh.
 
Reaching double-digits in the Hillsdale win were Luke Ryskamp (game-high 15 points), Drake Baar and Chris Dorsey (11 apiece), and Danzel Wright (10). Against Walsh, Dorsey (team-high 17 points) led the way, along with Baar (14) and Ryskamp and Myles Miller (10 each).
 
That scoring summary has been accurate for how the Lakers have played during the first full month of the year. While Ryskamp and Baar lead GVSU in scoring at 11.9 and 11.5 points per game, respectively, they rank just 32nd and 36th overall in the conference in scoring. The Lakers have spread out the scoring to where nine players are averaging more than five points per game.
 
The 26-point victory at Hillsdale was the Lakers' largest GLIAC road win since Feb. 2, 2008, when Grand Valley State topped Ashland 84-58 in Ohio. Coupled with the 21-point win at Walsh, GVSU's 47-point margin during the road trip is the largest during conference play in head coach Ric Wesley's career.
 
Only once in Wesley's 13 seasons at Grand Valley State have the Lakers won consecutive games on a road trip by a larger margin; and that margin was only a single point. On Dec. 28-30, 2007, the Lakers defeated non-conference opponents Indianapolis (70-51) and Tiffin (90-61) by a combined 48 points, barely topping last weekend's 47-point pair of victories.
 
Dorsey had an outstanding weekend in terms of shooting efficiency, combining to go 13-for-14 from the field in the two wins. He was 5-for-5 against Hillsdale and followed up with an 8-for-9 performance at Walsh, which included 15 first-half points. Also in that Walsh game, Baar was 7-of-8 from the floor during his 14-point outing.
 
Despite shooting above 50 percent from the field in both games, it has been the Laker defense that has been the strength of this year's team. Grand Valley State ranks first among all Division II teams in defensive field goal percentage (34.9) and scoring defense (58.6 ppg.), while also ranking fifth in total rebounds (458) and sixth in total blocks (49). GVSU has allowed more than 70 points in just two games and less than 60 points in all four GLIAC games. Moreover, the Lakers are sharing the basketball to a great extent, ranking 11th in total assists (184).
 
Heading into the weekend, only three GLIAC players have recorded 10 blocks and 10 steals this season, with two of them being Laker seniors. Guard Juwan Starks has 13 steals and 10 blocks this season, while forward Trevin Alexander has 11 steals and 10 blocks. Saginaw Valley State's CJ Turnage is the third player in that exclusive company.
 
Though Tiffin is two games below .500, the Dragons are coming off an enormous victory last Saturday in Ohio. The Dragons took down undefeated and #1-nationally ranked Saginaw Valley State by an 82-76 final score, earning a huge upset victory and their first GLIAC win of the season. Tiffin has one lopsided loss (74-56 at Northwood on Dec. 1), but the team's other losses are by six (in overtime), eight, one, nine, and two points.
 
Prior to the upset over SVSU, the Dragons had lost four of their previous five games, with the lone win being a 74-69 victory over University of Puerto Rico over Thanksgiving weekend. In true road games, Tiffin is 1-3, with the win being an 82-69 win at Metropolitan on Nov. 24.
 
The Dragons have five players averaging 10 or more points per game, led by junior guard Tony Kynard's 14.1 points per game and senior guard Juwan Johnson's 12.1 points per contest. Senior forward Khaleal McCormick (11.5 ppg.), junior guard Alex Brown (11.3), and sophomore guard Austin Adams (10.1) are also scoring in double figures each game. McCormick leads the team with 7.6 rebounds per game, while Brown and Kynard each have a team-best 19 assists.
 
GVSU is 12-1 all-time against Tiffin and the Lakers have won 12 consecutive games over Tiffin in the series since 2007. Last year, Grand Valley State won 83-69 over the Dragons in Ohio.
 
Ashland began the season with a 6-1 record before dropping a pair of games last weekend. While the losses - 75-68 to #1 Saginaw Valley State and 61-56 to undefeated Wayne State - aren't surprising, it was interesting that the Eagles fell on their home floor after finishing 13-3 in home games last year. Those two losses also came after a pair of solid road wins, winning at Lake Superior State (95-87) and at Northwood (64-63) on Dec. 1-3.
 
Despite being 2-2 at home, the Eagles are 4-0 in true road games, also including wins at Indianapolis (70-64) in the season opener and at Shawnee State (73-58) three days later. Ashland is without one of the top players in the GLIAC in forward Wendell Davis, who is out the season with an injury. He is a two-time All-GLIAC First Team honoree for the Eagles, but AU still has capable players to fill his void.
 
Senior guard Adrian Cook is scoring a team-high 13.0 points per game, while sophomore guard Ben Haraway is second on the team with 11.8 points per game. Haraway was the 2014-15 GLIAC Freshman of the Year during his lone season at Malone. Junior forward Marsalis Hamilton leads the Eagles with 7.1 rebounds per game and is also scoring 7.7 points per contest. Hamilton and Haraway are tied for the team-lead with 26 assists each.
 
Grand Valley State holds a slight 17-15 edge over Ashland in the all-time series. The Eagles have won the last three meetings, which included a hard-fought 67-58 victory in the GLIAC Tournament quarterfinals in Ohio last March.
 
After Monday night's game, the Lakers are off until 2017. GVSU returns to action with a 3:00 p.m. game at Lake Erie on Jan. 7 in Painesville, Ohio. GVSU will next play in Allendale on Jan. 19-21 against Wayne State and Saginaw Valley State.