at #21 Ferris State (23-4, 17-3 GLIAC)
Thursday, 8:00 p.m.
Radio: ESPN 96.1 FM | Listen
Video: Watch (pay-per-view)
Live Stats | Game Notes
 
Grand Valley State will close the regular season portion of its schedule on Thursday night (Feb. 23) against a rival, as the Lakers will face #21 Ferris State in Big Rapids at 8:00 p.m. The game has a number of GLIAC Tournament implications for both teams, as spots three through eight in the conference standings are still up for grabs heading into Thursday's matchups across the league.
 
Coming off of a solid 3-1 homestand with victories over Lake Superior State and Michigan Tech, GVSU enters Thursday's game in quite a scenario. The Lakers are tied for second place in the GLIAC North Division and third in the overall conference standings with Lake Superior State, Michigan Tech, and Wayne State; all four teams are 12-8 in league play. Ashland (11-8) and Hillsdale (11-9, but idle on Thursday night) are also within a game in the standings, while these six teams will make up spots three through eight in next Tuesday's GLIAC quarterfinals.
 
There are a large number of tiebreaker possibilities and options for the Lakers - even with a win over Ferris State on Thursday, Grand Valley State may still head on the road during the opening round of next week's GLIAC Tournament, depending on other results around the league. Ferris State has clinched the tournament's top seed, while Findlay is locked in as the #2 seed - those are the only certainties heading into the final games of the regular season.
 
Thursday's game will be aired on ESPN 96.1 FM, with sixth-year play-by-play voice DJ Foster calling the action. Fans can watch, listen, or follow along to the games through the links at the top of this page. There is a fee to view the video (provided by Ferris State) for Thursday night's game.
 
All eight spots for the GLIAC Tournament are clinched, but the logjam is nearly unprecedented with six teams all within one game of each other. Realistically, GVSU could finish anywhere from third place to seventh place; the Lakers would hold a tiebreaker over Hillsdale due to GVSU's 75-49 win over the Chargers on Dec. 8, thus Grand Valley State could not finish in the eighth spot.
 
What the tiebreakers also mean is that the Lakers could play any of the other teams they are tied with (Lake Superior State, Michigan Tech, Wayne State) - either home or away - or travel to Findlay for an opening round game. Though still technically possible, it appears unlikely Grand Valley State would face Ashland in the GLIAC Tournament.
 
GVSU arrived at this point after finishing 3-1 on their most recent homestand, which featured victories over Northwood, Lake Superior State, and Michigan Tech over the last two weekends. The Lakers were unable to complete the four-game sweep after falling to Northern Michigan last Saturday, but Grand Valley State still has themselves in a solid situation entering Thursday's regular season finale.
 
Last Thursday (Feb. 16), GVSU used a stellar defensive effort to earn the season split with Michigan Tech, defeating the Huskies by a 74-57 final. Michigan Tech shot just 33.3 percent from the field and was 12-of-34 from three-point range. The Lakers easily won the rebounding battle (44-23) and shot nearly 52 percent from the field, while shooting an efficient 50.0 percent (8-of-16) from beyond the arc.
 
Despite playing just two minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, senior Trevin Alexander still finished with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds in only 19 minutes. Sophomore center Justin Greason added 13 points and seven boards, helping the Lakers own a 26-12 edge in points in the paint. Junior Chris Dorsey totaled 12 points, six rebounds, and three assists, while GVSU led 27-6 in bench points and had seven players score seven or more points.
 
On Saturday (Feb. 18), Northern Michigan used a big second half run to pull away from a 50-50 tie with 13 minutes remaining. The Wildcats pushed out to a 16-point advantage and although GVSU was able to cut the deficit down to four points in the final minute, NMU finished the game with an 82-77 victory. Northern Michigan shot nearly 55 percent from the field and made 13-of-28 triple tries, while committing only five turnovers.
 
The loss overshadowed a career-best effort for Greason, who went 7-of-9 from the field and 10-of-12 at the charity stripe. He notched a career-high 24 points and added eight rebounds in 26 minutes on the floor. Alexander recorded 17 points and nine rebounds on Senior Day, while classmate Juwan Starks provided 11 points, six boards, and four assists. GVSU shot 48 percent from the floor and made 24-of-30 free throw tries, while again dominating on the glass, 36-23.
 
With those nine rebounds against Northern Michigan, Alexander moved into the Grand Valley State top-10 with 671 career rebounds, passing Ron Polus (668 boards from 1981-85). Alexander trails Justin Ringler (734 boards from 2006-11) for ninth place in Laker history. He also ranks second in the GLIAC in rebounds per game (8.3) and defensive rebounds (171) and is fourth in total boards (216), while also placing 15th with 17 blocked shots.
 
Senior guard Luke Ryskamp leads GVSU with 13.6 points per game and ranks 19th all-time in Laker history with 1,288 career points. He is closing in on Ron Polus (1,300 points from 1981-85), Kent Wiersma (1,304 points from 1985-89), and JP Huntington (1,313 points from 1995-99) for spots 18 through 16 on the all-time list. Jason Bauer (1,333 points from 1999-03) is 15th in scoring in GVSU history.
 
On Jan. 30 in Allendale, Ferris State shot 50 percent from the field and made 32-of-41 free throws en route to the 98-73 victory. The Bulldogs led 52-27 at halftime thanks to 7-of-12 shooting from three-point range. Four Lakers reached double-digits, led by junior Drake Baar (17 points, 8-of-12 field goals) and Greason's 16 points and 11 rebounds in just 18 minutes. Ryskamp (13 points) and Alexander (11 points, seven boards) also scored in double figures.
 
The Lakers trail the all-time series against Ferris State by a 56-51 margin. Both of GVSU's last two wins over the Bulldogs in Big Rapids came in overtime; Grand Valley State won 74-73 on Feb. 27, 2014 and by an 82-80 tally on Feb. 26, 2011.
 
At 23-4 overall and 17-3 in GLIAC play, Ferris State had won 15 consecutive games before falling at home to Lake Superior State 83-79 on Feb. 9. The Bulldogs have won three straight games since that setback, topping Northwood, Northern Michigan, and Michigan Tech. Oddly, three of FSU's four losses have come at home; including the Lake Superior State defeat, the Bulldogs have also fell to Findlay (81-77, Dec. 4) and Wisconsin-Parkside (85-75, Nov. 26) on their home court.
 
Sophomore center Zach Hankins leads the Bulldogs with 15.3 points per game, leads the GLIAC with 9.8 rebounds per game, and leads all of Division II with 110 blocked shots. He shoots 65.6 percent from the field, as well. Senior Quentin Ruff is posting 13.9 points per game and has made 70 three-pointers, while shooting 43 percent from the floor. Juniors Peter Firlik (12.0 points per game, 37 steals) and Drew Cushingberry (11.0 points per game, team-high 93 assists) also score in double-digits.
 
The 2017 GLIAC Tournament begins on Tuesday night (Feb. 28), with more information to come after the completion of Thursday night's contests.