ALLENDALE. Mich. – Fresh off clinching a berth in the GLIAC Tournament, the Lakers final two regular season games will pit them against the top two seeds entering the final weekend of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play. The Lakers travel to current two-seed Lake Superior State on Thursday (Feb. 22) at 7:30 PM before ending the season at GLIAC top seed and nationally third-ranked Ferris State Bulldogs on Saturday (Feb. 24) at 1:00 PM. The Lakers enter the final weekend 14-12 on the year and 9-9 in GLIAC play.
 
The Lakers are currently the seven seed in the GLIAC, sitting a game ahead of Saginaw Valley State and a game behind both Michigan Tech and Ashland. The tight race for the final few spots magnifies the importance of these two tough road tests for the Lakers. GVSU beat Lake Superior State at the DeltaPlex in downtown Grand Rapids, 66-61, earlier this season and fell to the Bulldogs, 87-81, two days later at the GVSU Fieldhouse.
 
The Lakers hope to have star freshman Jake Van Tubbergen back for the final weekend after missing Saturday's contest due to illness. Van Tubbergen has scored in double figures in 11 of his last 12 games and notched his third double-double of the season in the Lakers win over Ashland last Thursday. GVSU won despite missing JVT Saturday, thanks in large part to redshirt-sophomore Hunter Hale, who drilled five threes and scored a season-high 28 points. Hale has been the team's leading scorer since the first week of the season, narrowly leading Van Tubbergen.
 
Lake Superior State is likely an NCAA Tournament team, entering action 20-6 on the season and 14-4 in the GLIAC. They have the impressive distinction as the only team to beat Ferris State this season, doing so on their home floor, 79-74, back in December. Akaemji Williams is the focal point of the Laker offense, with the point guard averaging nearly 19 points a game. Michael Nicholson is also a key figure. The center averages 11.8 points and 7.9 rebounds a contest. Williams has been extremely efficient this year, scoring at a .461 clip, but the Lakers held him to just 6-24 from the field and just 1-8 from three.
 
The Bulldogs have rattled off 15 straight wins since that loss to Lake Superior State, moving up to No. 3 in the nation in the latest NABC coach's poll. Zach Hankins, the GLIAC North preseason player of the year, continues to impress in his junior season, earning GLIAC player of the week honors three times this season. He averages 15.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per game to lead the Bulldogs. Seniors Drew Cushingberry (13.8 PPG) and Noah King (12 PPG) have also been big pieces of the balanced Ferris State attack.
 
The Lakers look to improve their conference seeding and pull off a pair of big upsets this week in the final tune up before the GLIAC Tournament. Getting the win last Saturday and securing their place in the tournament is a big boost, knowing that no matter the results this week the season is not over on Saturday. GVSU will find out their GLIAC Tournament opponent Saturday afternoon so check into GVSULakers.com for all the updates as they become available.