at Michigan Tech (10-8, 8-3 GLIAC)
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Radio: ESPN 96.1 FM | Listen
Video: Watch (pay per view)
Live Stats | Game Notes
 
at Northern Michigan (6-10, 4-7 GLIAC)
Saturday, 3:00 p.m.
Radio: WTKG-AM 1230 | Listen
Video: Watch (pay per view)
Live Stats | Game Notes
 
Fresh off arguably their best back-to-back wins of the season, Grand Valley State heads back to the Upper Peninsula for a pair of tough road games against North Division rivals. On Thursday night (Jan. 26) in Houghton, the Lakers will battle with Michigan Tech at 7:30 p.m. before taking on Northern Michigan on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 28) in a 3:00 p.m. tipoff.
 
GVSU's home victories last week over Wayne State and Saginaw Valley State keep the Lakers in a three-way tie for second place in the overall GLIAC standings, just one game out of first place. At 12-6 overall, Grand Valley State's 8-3 conference record has the team tied with Findlay and Thursday's opponent Michigan Tech (10-8 overall). Northern Michigan is 6-10 on the year and 4-7 in GLIAC play, but the Wildcats have won three of their last four games.
 
Fans can follow along on the team's road trip, as sixth-year GVSU play-by-play voice DJ Foster will call all of the action. Thursday's game at Michigan Tech can be heard on ESPN 96.1 FM, while Saturday's contest at Northern Michigan will be aired on WTKG-AM 1230. Laker fans can watch, listen, or follow along to the games through the links at the top of this page. Note that the 'Watch' links for both games are pay-per-view only.
 
Grand Valley State has been on a nice roll as of late, winning five of its past six games to stay in the upper half of the conference standings, just one game out of first place. Facing two tough North Division opponents in Allendale last week, the Lakers took care of business and used their Division II-leading defense to carve out two more victories. GVSU heads into this weekend's trip leading the country in defensive field goal percentage (37.6), while ranking 10th in the nation in scoring defense (64.4 points per game allowed).
 
Last Thursday - in a battle of 6-3 GLIAC teams - the Lakers held Wayne State to just 30.8 percent shooting and scored the final eight points of the game in the 63-56 victory. WSU scored on a layup with 2:49 to go and regained a 56-55 lead, but senior Luke Ryskamp buried a huge three-pointer with 44 seconds to go on a Chris Dorsey assist, then Dorsey notched a steal and dove on the floor to call timeout. Junior Myles Miller knocked down a pair of clutch free throws with 17 seconds remaining and Dorsey put down a dunk as time expired to cap the 8-0 run and clinch the win.
 
Ryskamp led all scorers with 21 points, as he was 11-of-12 at the free throw line. Miller - who scored GVSU's first seven points - finished with 13 points and junior Drake Baar added 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting in just 18 minutes. Grand Valley State shot 22-of-29 at the free throw line in the victory.
 
On Saturday, Saginaw Valley State led for less than one second in the first half, taking a 32-30 halftime advantage on three free throws from guard Garrett Hall with 0.5 seconds remaining. GVSU would regain the lead in the second half at 46-45 with 14 minutes to play and pushed the lead out to double-digits six minutes later.
 
Clutch three-pointers from seniors Trevin Alexander and Juwan Starks, plus Starks going 5-of-6 at the charity stripe in the final 17 seconds, helped clinch the 80-71 victory over an SVSU team that started the season 9-0 and ranked #1 in Division II.
 
Alexander played arguably his best game in a Laker uniform, notching a career-high 25 points on 10-for-12 shooting (he made his first seven shots) and added eight rebounds, two blocks, a steal, and an assist. He was 2-for-3 from three-point range. Ryskamp tallied 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting, while sophomore Zach West posted nine points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
 
Starks, Baar, and junior Chris Dorsey chipped in eight points apiece off the Laker bench, as Grand Valley State shot 52.7 percent from the field and held SVSU to only 39.7 percent shooting and just 5-of-20 from beyond the arc. GVSU led the rebounding battle, 42-29.
 
Ryskamp is slowly working his way up the career scoring list at Grand Valley State. Now with 1,164 points in his career, Ryskamp is 26th all-time in GVSU history and is just 60 points away from reaching 20th place, currently held by former Laker Courtney James. Ryskamp leads the team with 13.4 points per game and 31 three-pointers, while Alexander (11.0 points, 7.8 rebounds) and Baar (10.2 points, 60.9 field goal percentage) are also scoring in double-digits.
 
This year is the first time since 2008-09 that Grand Valley State has played at Michigan Tech first before facing Northern Michigan second on the team's annual Upper Peninsula trip. On that trip, the Lakers won both contests over MTU (79-77) and NMU (64-56) en route to a 21-10 campaign and an NCAA Tournament berth.
 
GVSU holds all-time series leads against both of the Upper Peninsula schools on this trip. The Lakers are 42-36 against Michigan Tech in series history, though the Huskies have won seven of the last eight meetings. Prior to that stretch, Grand Valley State had won five of the previous six outings. Last season, each team won on its home floor; the Lakers won 64-53 on Jan. 16 in Allendale before MTU won the rematch in Houghton on Feb. 6, 90-86.
 
Against Northern Michigan, Grand Valley State is 49-31 all-time and the Lakers have won eight straight matchups and 11 of the last 12 contests. GVSU defeated the Wildcats 83-63 at home on Jan. 14 before earning a 70-59 victory in Marquette on Feb. 4.
 
Michigan Tech has won four straight games - all in GLIAC play - to remain in a tie for second place in the conference standings. Those victories came at Wayne State (63-58) and Saginaw Valley State (93-72), followed by home wins last weekend over Northwood (83-72) and Lake Superior State (86-57). The four-game win streak came after a tough stretch where MTU dropped three out of four contests.
 
Even the Huskies' losses are by close final margins, as MTU's defeats are by seven, four, eight, five, four, two, two, and seven points. Surprisingly, they've actually played better on the road (6-3 in true away games) than they have in the SDC Gymnasium in Houghton, where they're only 4-4. Michigan Tech's last two home losses came were close defeats to Kentucky Wesleyan (80-78) and Findlay (72-70) at the end of December.
 
Sophomore Kyle Monroe was the 2015-16 GLIAC Freshman of the Year and named to the All-GLIAC Second Team. One of the top scorers in the league, Monroe is averaging 19.2 points per game (up to 20.7 points in GLIAC contests) and is shooting percentages are well above average from the field (48.4), three-point range (42.5), and at the line (80.8). He also averages a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game.
 
Freshman guard Tommy Lucca is scoring 18.2 points per game, has drained 41 three-pointers, and leads MTU in assists (71), steals (21), and free throws made (77) and attempted (99). Senior Jordan Chartier - named to the All-GLIAC Second Team and the All-Defensive Team in 2014-15 - has knocked down 57 three-pointers (third-most in the league) and is scoring 13.4 points per game, while sophomore guard Bryan Heath is posting 12.9 points per game and shooting 87.3 percent at the line.
 
Northern Michigan has won three of its last four games, including impressive road wins at Saginaw Valley State (82-76) and Wayne State (75-71) two weekends ago. After suffering a 10-point loss to Lake Superior State at home last Thursday, the Wildcats bounced back with a 100-point performance in a 100-79 win over Northwood in Marquette.
 
Just 2-6 at home, NMU's other victory in the Berry Events Center came on Nov. 22 over Minnesota Duluth, 71-65. The Wildcats lost all three games at home in December to Walsh, Findlay, and Hillsdale, but they started the season with a 97-75 win over a Wisconsin-Parkside team that is 15-3 overall and ranked #25 in the country in this week's Division II poll.
 
Sophomore guard Naba Echols leads the team with 16.9 points per game and 68 assists and like Monroe, shoots well from all areas. Echols connects on 46.6 percent from the field, 38.3 percent from beyond the arc, and 88.2 percent at the free throw line. Classmate Isaiah Johnson is second on NMU in scoring (15.1 ppg.), rebounding (6.1 rpg.), and blocks (22).
 
Junior guard Jordan Perez (14.0 ppg., 49.6 percent shooting), freshman Marcus Matelski (11.0 ppg., team-high 33 three-pointers), and freshman forward Will Carius (10.6 ppg., NMU-best 6.3 rebounds per game) fill out the five Wildcats averaging double-digits in scoring.
 
The Lakers return to Allendale for a matchup on Monday night (Jan. 30) with West Michigan rival Ferris State at 8:00 p.m.