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ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Grand Valley State Lakers resume Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play this Thursday (Jan. 4) when they travel to Midland, Michigan to face the Northwood Timberwolves at 8:00 PM. The Lakers have won three straight games and enter the contest at 6-7 on the year and 1-4 in GLIAC play. Northwood is 3-9 overall and 0-5 in the league.
 
Grand Valley State has had an offensive awakening during their three-game win streak, scoring at least 80 points in all three contests. The team has had at least two players score in double figures in every game this season, but over the last two games they've taken that to the next level. Seven Lakers scored in double digits in the win over Lawrence Tech on Dec. 18 and five different players had at least ten points in the win over Rochester on Dec. 30.
 
Sophomore Ben Lubitz scored a career-high 20 points in the win over Rochester, draining four three-pointers in the 82-73 victory. The Lakers are a perfect 5-0 when scoring at least 80 points in games this season. The Lakers have an opportunity to keep the streak going with the Timberwolves allowing an average of 80.2 points per contest. Another statistic that plays in favor for the Lakers is turnovers: Grand Valley State has turned the ball over ten or less times in each of their last three wins an Northwood forces exactly ten turnovers a game.
 
The Lakers seem to have hit their offensive stride at the right time, with every remaining game on the schedule a GLIAC contest. The scoring is coming along to join an excellent rebounding team that leads the GLIAC in rebound margin. The Lakers average 41.5 boards per contest, a margin of 7.6 more rebounds than their opposition per game.
 
Northwood averages 70.8 points per game and shoots .441 from the field. Offensively, the team is led by sophomore Trey McBride, who averages 10.6 points a game and shoots .494 from the floor. Bruno Solomun will be the key on the glass, averaging a team-high 5.5 rebounds per contest which includes just under two offensive boards per game.
 
The next two months feature a consistent Thursday and Saturday schedule that the Lakers hope will allow the rhythm they've found to continue to solidify and make a run up the conference standings. The long run towards a potential GLIAC Tournament berth resumes Thursday in Midland.