ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Grand Valley State Lakers wrap up the 2018-19 regular season this Thursday (Feb. 28) as they welcome their cross-town foe, the Davenport Panthers, to the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. Prior to the action, the Lakers will honor three senior players;
Justin Greason,
Zach West and
Kindred Williams, and three senior student-assistants participating in their final home game of their careers. The game will be broadcast live with video on ESPN3 and radio on ESPN 96.1 FM and the iHeart app.
Both teams have already locked up spots in the GLIAC Tournament. The Lakers enter the finale at 16-11 overall and 10-9 in conference play and can wind up anywhere from the five- through seven-seed depending on the results of their game and others. The Panthers have already secured the top spot in the conference, entering with a 24-3 overall record and 16-3 GLIAC mark.
GVSU has won four straight games, the longest winning streak of the season. A renewed energy on defense has been the driving force behind the streak, with the Lakers holding each opponent under 65 points. The Lakers are 9-0 this season when keeping their opponent to 65 points or fewer. With a revived buy in by the players on the defensive end, GVSU is playing their best basketball of the year at the perfect time.
The Lakers enter Thursday in a three-way tie for fifth place in the GLIAC with Northern Michigan and Lake Superior State. Based on the tiebreaker point system, introduced this season, GVSU holds the tiebreaker over Lake State but not Northern Michigan. That means the only way GVSU can be the five-seed in the GLIAC Tournament is a win over Davenport and a loss by Northern Michigan, who travels to Michigan Tech on Thursday. If GVSU loses Thursday and Lake Superior State wins in their matchup with Ferris State, that would put the Lakers at the seven-seed and a road game to Ashland in the GLIAC quarterfinals. If both GVSU and LSSU win or lose, GVSU can be no lower than the six-seed.
Davenport is scoring 83.5 points per game while allowing just 70.5 a contest. One-year transfer Dyllon Hudson-Emory leads the team with 18.0 points per game, shooting .545 from the field and averaging 6.0 rebounds as well. Avery Hudson contributes 15.7 points, knocking down 69 three-pointers this year. He's also recorded 136 assists and averages 6.0 rebounds. The Panthers are in the second year of their provisional period in joining Division II, so they are ineligible for the NCAA Tournament. They'll look to end the regular season strong as they enter the GLIAC Tournament, the farthest into the post-season they can play this year.
The Lakers are 3-2 all-time against Davenport with the home team having won each meeting. GVSU fell earlier this season, 80-59, in Caledonia, Michigan, but the Lakers have since found a rhythm on both sides of the floor that should make the rematch a very different story.
