ASHLAND, Ohio – The Grand Valley State Lakers begin post-season play as the 7-seed in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament today (March 5) on the road against the 2-seed Ashland Eagles at 7:30 PM at Kates Gymnasium. The game can be heard live on ESPN 96.1 FM in Grand Rapids and @GVSUBasketball will provide live Twitter updates throughout the game.
The Lakers and Eagles split their regular season meetings, with both road teams earning a win. The Lakers fell at home back on Dec. 6 before stunning the then-No. 7 Eagles by erasing a 14-point halftime deficit to storm back for a road win on Feb. 2.
The Lakers are playing some of their best basketball heading into the post-season, winning four of their final five games down the stretch. Their lone loss came in a three-point decision against top-seeded Davenport in the regular season finale, a game in which the Panthers took 14 more free throws than GVSU.
In a year of ebbs and flows, the Laker defense has been consistently improving. They've allowed more than 80 points in a game just once since January 17 and have held their opponent to 70 points or less in five straight games. It's been a total team effort to get the defense steadied, but the guard play has seen the most significant statistical improvement.
Hunter Hale has 27 steals in his last six games, catapulting him to 64 for the season to lead all GLIAC players.
Isaiah Brock has continued to impose his will on both ends of the floor, with his 51 blocks this season sitting second in the GLIAC. He also has made a name for himself with highlight-reel material in athletic dunks and alley-oops.
Shaquan McArthur has found a rhythm off the bench, raising his scoring average by a full point over the last four games and culminating in a season-best 18-point performance in just 19 minutes against Davenport last Thursday.
Jake Van Tubbergen has also closed his season strong, scoring in double figures in six of his last seven games; he scored nine against Davenport, all in the first half.
Ashland ranks No. 23 in the nation entering Tuesday's quarterfinal and sit fifth in the regional rankings, currently in position for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. They seem to have righted the ship just in time for the playoffs as well. After losing three of their first four games in February, the Eagles have rebounded to win four of their last five.
Four Eagles average double figures this season, led by conference player of the year candidate Drew Noble's 17.4 points per game. A physical presence and solid ball-handler, the junior averages five free throw attempts a game and shoots 82% from the line. Ben Haraway and Rodrick Caldwell will look to light it up from downtown while the energizer bunny Aaron Thompson will look to drive and cut to the basket for easy looks while also pulling down 9.4 rebounds per game. The versatile Derek Koch will likely round out the starting five while shooter Phil Frentsos will look to provide an offensive spark off the bench.
The winner of the game will advance to take on the winner of 3-seed Parkside and 6-seed Lake Superior State on Saturday on the campus of the highest remaining seed after Tuesday's quarterfinal round. The winner of the tournament earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, unless Davenport – who is the number one seed in the league – is the champion, because they are still under their provisional period. That would leave the automatic bid to the other team in the championship game.
The good news for the Lakers is they find themselves on the opposite side of the bracket from the Panthers, meaning two wins in the tournament could punch their ticket to the regional round. That journey begins with a tough test tonight in Ohio.
