ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Grand Valley State men's basketball team is one of the hottest in the GLIAC and are coming off their biggest win of the season; however, a big test comes to town as the Lakers play host to the No. 5 Ferris State Bulldogs in a rivalry matchup at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena Saturday (Jan. 20) at 8:00 PM.
 
The Lakers have won seven of their last eight games and are coming off an upset win over Lake Superior State, 66-62, at the DeltaPlex in downtown Grand Rapids. The Lakers are 10-8 on the year and 5-5 in the GLIAC while Ferris State enters the game 19-1 overall and 9-1 to lead the GLIAC.
 
The Bulldogs only loss this season came at the hands of Lake Superior State, whom the Lakers just beat on Thursday. The Lakers defense stymied LSSU, who entered the game with the league's best shooting percentage, to just a .343 clip from the floor and a season-low 62 points.  The Laker offense snapped a streak of seven straight games with 80 or more points Thursday, but did enough defensively to get the win anyways.
 
The Lakers are also the league-leader in rebounding, averaging 39.9 boards per contest. Ferris ranks second with 38.2, thanks in large part to preseason GLIAC North Player of the Year Zach Hankins, who averages a GLIAC-best 8.9 rebounds per game.
 
Drew Cushingberry is the leading scorer for the Bulldogs, averaging just over 14 points per contest. Despite not having an individual in the top ten in scoring in the league, Ferris State leads the GLIAC with 84 points per game. One reason behind those numbers is the Bulldogs share the ball extremely well, averaging over 20 assists per game. The Laker defense will be challenged by the fast pace and varied looks that the Bulldogs bring into Allendale.
 
The Lakers trail in the all-time series, 51-57, to the Bulldogs after being swept a year ago. They'll look for a second straight upset win and try to knock off an NABC top-25 team for the first time since February 18, 2016, when the Lakers knocked off No. 12 Saginaw Valley at home. They'll look for more home magic this Saturday as they try to knock off a league leader for the second straight game.