vs. Northwood (5-20, 3-13 GLIAC)
Thursday, 8:00 p.m.
Radio: ESPN 96.1 FM | Listen
Video: ESPN3 | Watch
Live Stats | Game Notes
 
vs. Lake Superior State (13-7, 10-6 GLIAC)
Saturday, 3:00 p.m.
Radio: ESPN 96.1 FM | Listen
Video: ESPN3 | Watch
Live Stats | Game Notes
 
An important four-game homestand begins on Thursday night (Feb. 9) in Allendale for Grand Valley State, as the Lakers will face four GLIAC North Division opponents over the next two weekends. GVSU currently sits in a three-way tie for fifth place in the conference standings, with this four game-stretch playing a major role in postseason implications.
 
Grand Valley State hosts Northwood at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday night before taking on Lake Superior State at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Owners of a 13-10 overall record, the Lakers are 7-3 inside the Fieldhouse Arena. At 9-7 in GLIAC play, GVSU is tied with Ashland and Wayne State for fifth place in the league standings; the top four teams at the end of the regular season will host a first round GLIAC Tournament game.
 
Both of this week's games are being aired live on ESPN3, while fans can listen to the radio broadcasts on ESPN 96.1 FM, with sixth-year play-by-play voice DJ Foster calling all of the action. Fans can watch, listen, or follow along to the games through the links at the top of this page.
 
After a stretch of five games in 10 days - four of those being road games - the Lakers return to Allendale for four consecutive home contests, their longest homestand of the season. While GVSU is in fifth place in the GLIAC standings heading into this stretch, three of the four teams ahead of the Lakers (Ferris State, Michigan Tech, Lake Superior State) are on the team's schedule over the remaining three weeks.
 
GVSU is looking to snap a three-game losing skid, as the Lakers fell to Ferris State, Wayne State, and Saginaw Valley State in a six-day span last week. That came on the heels of three wins in four games, including a pair of home victories over Wayne State and Saginaw Valley State on Jan. 19-21 and a split road trip to the Upper Peninsula the following week. Grand Valley State will host those same Upper Peninsula schools (Michigan Tech, Northern Michigan) next weekend.
 
The Lakers have a 66-23 lead in the all-time series over Northwood, including wins in four of the last six meetings. Included in that stretch is GVSU's 93-78 win at Northwood on Jan. 12 in one of the team's best offensive outings in the last 10 seasons. Grand Valley State led 47-30 at halftime over the Timberwolves and shot 64.9 percent from the field in the victory; that is the highest shooting percentage by the Lakers since a 66.7 percent clip in a 79-40 home win over Marygrove on Jan. 17, 2007.
 
For the game, GVSU shot 37-of-57 from the field - 63.3 percent in the first half, 66.7 percent in the final 20 minutes - and 10-of-18 from three-point range. All five Laker starters reached double-digits in the win, combining for 82 points overall.
 
Senior Trevin Alexander posted 21 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, while knocking down 4-of-7 three-pointers. Classmate Luke Ryskamp added 19 points and 3-of-5 trifectas, while junior Myles Miller posted 19 points, seven assists, and four steals. Miller (8-for-8) and sophomore Justin Greason (6-for-6) each were perfect from the field, while Greason rejected a career-high four shots. Senior Juwan Starks tallied 10 points and five boards to get all five starters into double figures.
 
Again, the Lakers made 10 three-pointers and owned a 46-18 edge in the paint. Northwood went 32-of-37 from the free throw line, while GVSU managed a 9-for-16 mark at the charity stripe.
 
Grand Valley State is 69-37 all-time against Lake Superior State and has won six of the last seven meetings in Allendale. Two days after topping Northwood in Midland, the Lakers fell in Sault Ste. Marie to LSSU by a 99-78 final. One of the top offensive teams in the league, Lake Superior State lived up to that billing, hitting 13 three-pointers and shooting an even 50.0 percent from the field. LSSU also went 24-of-30 at the free throw line, while Grand Valley State was just 12-of-18.
 
Despite falling in the game, GVSU actually outshot the home Lakers, as Grand Valley State posted a 51.8 field goal percentage and made 8-of-22 triple tries. The fast pace of Lake Superior State forced GVSU into a season-high 21 turnovers.
 
In the loss, sophomore Zach West notched a career-high 22 points, as he went 8-of-11 from the field and 4-of-6 from three-point range. West added six boards in 32 minutes off the bench. Junior Drake Baar went 6-of-7 from the field and scored 15 points, while fellow junior Chris Dorsey totaled 11 poitns, five assists, and three boards in 21 minutes.
 
A pair of Laker seniors continuing moving up in the GVSU record books. Ryskamp recently passed Courtney James (2002-06) and Ryan Sabin (2011-15) in career scoring in Laker history, as Ryskamp is now 20th all-time with 1,226 points in his four-year career. Averaging a team-high 13.2 points per game, Ryskamp is looking up at Chris Raven (1,268 points from 1975-79), Ron Polus (1,300 from 1981-85), and Kent Wiersma (1,304 from 1985-89) on the all-time scoring list.
 
One of the top rebounders in the league, Alexander has 640 rebounds in his career and needs just 28 rebounds to reach Ron Polus (668 from 1981-85) for 10th place in GVSU career history. The last Laker to reach the top-10 in that category is Justin Ringler, who totaled 734 boards from 2006-11. Alexander leads the GLIAC this season with 148 defensive rebounds and is second in both rebounds per game (8.0) and total rebounds (185).
 
Northwood enters Thursday's game at 5-20 overall and just 3-13 in GLIAC play. The Timberwolves have lost three straight and 10 of 11 contests since the start of 2017; the team's lone win was an impressive 64-63 victory over Saginaw Valley State on Jan. 28 in Midland. Most recently, NU lost at home last week to Michigan Tech (78-61) and Northern Michigan (79-62) last weekend.
 
Away from home, the Timberwolves are 1-12 overall, including a 1-9 record in true road games. Junior Matt Crowl leads the team in scoring (11.9 points), rebounding (6.1), and field goal percentage (.489), while classmate Nick Spitzley has a team-best 57 three-pointers and is putting up 10.6 points per game. Senior forward PJ Weaver is averaging 9.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 39.6 percent from the field.
 
Lake Superior State is 13-7 overall and 10-6 in conference play, sitting third place in the North Division and fourth place in the overall standings. Opposite of Northwood, LSSU has won three games in a row - that came after a three-game losing streak towards the end of January. Those recent victories include 69-67 home win over Northern Michigan and a 98-84 overtime win over Michigan Tech last week in Sault Ste. Marie.
 
LSSU has lost three straight road games and is just 4-5 away from home. Second in the league at 88.0 points per game, Lake Superior State features junior point guard Akaemji Williams, who is averaging 22.0 points, 8.1 assists, 3.0 steals, and 3.6 turnovers per game. He shoots nearly 47 percent from the field and has taken 116 free throw attempts on the year, shooting 78 percent at the stripe. Junior Michael Nicholson is adding 11.8 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds per game, to go with a team-high 33 blocks. Sophomore Blake Marquardt has drained 52 three-pointers on the year and is putting up 10.9 points per game.
 
The GVSU homestand continues next week, as the Lakers welcome Michigan Tech on Thursday night (Feb. 16) and Northern Michigan in the regular season home finale on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 18).