vs. Lake Superior State (Thursday, 8:00 p.m.): Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes
 
at Northwood (Saturday, 6:00 p.m.): Listen | Live Stats | Game Notes
 
The Grand Valley State men's basketball team returns home after a three-game road trip and the Lakers will complete another "split" week with one home game and one road contest. GVSU faces off against Lake Superior State in Allendale on Thursday night (Feb. 11) before traveling to Midland to take on Northwood (Feb. 13) on Saturday evening.
 
This is the third split week this season for Grand Valley State, as the team will have the same setup again next weekend. Thursday night's contest against LSSU is an 8:00 p.m. start, while Saturday's road game versus Northwood is a 6:00 p.m. tipoff.
 
There are links above to follow along to the radio broadcast of both games, as well as links to follow the live stats. As usual, Thursday's home game against Lake Superior State will also have a free video feed. The 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.
 
Grand Valley State went 1-2 during a three-game road stretch last weekend with a pair of close losses sandwiched around an 11-point victory. The Lakers fell in the final minute 74-71 at #25 Ferris State in a terrific battle against their West Michigan rival last Monday night (Feb. 1).
 
The team traveled to the Upper Peninsula for its longest conference road trip of the season. On Thursday (Feb. 4), GVSU used a 43-26 scoring margin in the second half to top Northern Michigan by a 70-59 final. A late 14-0 Laker run helped put the game away for Grand Valley State, which shot 21-of-31 at the free throw line and knocked down seven three-pointers. Seniors Ricardo Carbajal and Aaron Hayes each scored 14 points to pace four GVSU players in double-digits.
 
On Saturday (Feb. 6), Michigan Tech outlasted the Lakers in an offensive battle, 90-86. The Huskies had a strong first half, leading 45-28 at the intermission thanks to 55 percent shooting and an 8-of-15 clip from three-point range. MTU was on top by as many as 23 points in the second half before Grand Valley State rallied to cut the deficit to four points in the final minute. The game featured 27 fouls from each team and a combined 77 free throws; Michigan Tech was 34-for-37 at the line, while the Lakers went 27-of-40.
 
Against the Huskies, Hayes again led the way with a team-best 21 points, while classmate Chaz Rollins supplied 16 points and eight boards. Juniors Trevin Alexander (12 points, nine boards) and Luke Ryskamp (10 points) also scored in double figures.
 
After five games in a 10-day span (including four of those five on the road), the Lakers are glad to be back in Allendale. GVSU plays three of its remaining five games inside the Fieldhouse Arena, where the team is 9-4 this season. Grand Valley State's remaining two home games are the next two Thursdays against Saginaw Valley State on Feb. 18 and Ferris State on Feb. 25. Both of those games are also 8:00 p.m. tipoffs.
 
Hayes has scored in double-digits in 12 contest, including four 20-point scoring efforts. He has done so - in part - thanks to his consistent and frequent foul shooting. Hayes is 100-for-135 at the charity stripe this season; both numbers are the fifth-highest totals of any player in the GLIAC. In three of his past 10 games, Hayes has made at least 10 free throws in a game.
 
Rollins also ranks fifth in the GLIAC in an important statistic: rebounding. The team's starting center, Rollins is posting 8.6 rebounds per game and ranks fourth in the league with 58 offensive boards and fifth with 140 defensive rebounds. He has pulled down at least six rebounds in 11 straight games and has recorded double-digit rebounds in seven games this season.
 
Not surprisingly, the Lakers own a GLIAC-best +6.3 rebounding margin and have outrebounded 19 of their 23 opponents this season. GVSU is 14-5 when it tallies more rebounds than its opponent.
 
At 16-7 overall and 11-6 in GLIAC play, Lake Superior State is going through an inconsistent stretch recently. The "other" Lakers have not won or lost more than two consecutive games since the beginning of the new year; that comes after a terrific 9-1 start to the season. LSSU started February with a wild 112-111 overtime loss at Northwood, followed up by a 92-87 loss to GLIAC leader Saginaw Valley State last Thursday, and an 87-60 rout of Hillsdale on Saturday.
 
When the teams met on Jan. 21 in Sault Ste. Marie, Lake Superior State outlasted GVSU by an 82-74 score in overtime. LSSU owned a 27-8 edge in made free throws in that win. Senior forward Devin Daly notched an all-time GLIAC-high 49 points in the team's loss at Northwood last week and is second in the league in scoring at 21.7 points per game. Daly teams with sophomore guard Akaemji Williams (18.3 points per game) to form the highest-scoring duo in the conference at a combined 40.0 points per game.
 
Northwood is not far behind in the GLIAC standings, as the Timberwolves are 12-11 overall and 8-9 in conference action. The T'Wolves lost four straight games to end January before rebounding to win two of their last three contests, including the high-scoring overtime victory against LSSU. Northwood is 8-5 at home this season, including a 75-60 win over Hillsdale last Thursday. In that victory over the Chargers, Northwood made 15 field goals in the first half, 14 of which were three-pointers.
 
GVSU topped the Timberwolves on Jan. 23 in Allendale by a 66-53 score, thanks to a 40-24 scoring edge in the second half. Hayes led the Lakers with a game-high 20 points in the victory. Not far behind LSSU's Daly is Northwood point guard Maurice Jones. A senior transfer from Division I USC, Jones is third in the GLIAC with 21.4 points per game; Jones poured in 41 points in the 112-111 overtime victory over Lake State last week.
 
Grand Valley State's final split week will be next weekend. The Lakers host Saginaw Valley State on Thursday (Feb. 18) before traveling to Hillsdale on Saturday (Feb. 20) for its final regular season road game.