ALLENDALE, Mich. – The No. 15 Grand Valley State Lakers play a split home and road weekend with a pair of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) tilts. The Lakers will host the Northwood Timberwolves on Thursday (Jan. 16) for Polar Vortex Night (presented by Meadows Crossing) before traveling to face the Saginaw Valley Cardinals on Saturday (Jan. 18) at 3:00 PM. Both games can be heard on ESPN 96.1 FM and the home Thursday contest will air on ESPN3.
 
The Lakers have rattled off three straight wins, continuing a stretch of stifling defense that dates back to last season. The Lakers have held their opponents to 70 points or fewer in 14 of the last 15 games against GLIAC foes – including the 2019 conference tournament – and are 13-2 in those contests. GVSU earned a pair of road wins at Ashland and Wayne State this past weekend to remain tied for first place in the conference and move up to their highest ranking of the season in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll.
 
"Our guys have done a great job of buying into controlling what they can control, and that's giving maximum effort on the defensive end of the floor," said GVSU head coach Ric Wesley. "We've got some good shooters that just haven't quite found a rhythm as often as we expect, but that will come. We need to stay focused on playing the right way and good things will continue to happen."
 
Jake Van Tubbergen returned to his dominant form over the weekend with two standout performances on the road. His 23-point, 13-rebound show at Wayne State on Saturday made history as JVT crossed over 1,000 points for his career; the 35^th Laker in history to reach the milestone. He will be honored with a commemorative ball prior to Thursday's game. Van Tubbergen is averaging 18.3 points, which ranks fifth in the GLIAC, and a league-best 10.4 rebounds per game, which is ninth in all of Division II.
 
"One-thousand is a lot of points. It's a true testament to how hard Jake's worked during his career," Wesley said. "He's done so much to build his strength and endurance during his first few years. Hopefully he has another thousand points in him."
 
Christian Negron blocked seven shots on Saturday in Detroit, matching a season high. Negron leads the GLIAC, and ranks seventh in the nation, in blocks (40) while also leading in blocks per game (2.7) which is tenth in the country. Negron also averages 7.7 rebounds – which trails only Van Tubbergen in the GLIAC – and is second in the conference with a .627 field goal percentage. With the top two rebounders in the league, it is no wonder the Lakers lead the conference in rebounding margin (+7.7) and rank 18^th in Division II in the stat.
 
There will be a celebration of the anniversary of the polar vortex in the Fieldhouse on Thursday as the Lakers pay homage to the week of cancelled classes last year due to the snow and frigid temperatures. The first 1,000 students will get a special edition t-shirt and there will be ice-cold promotions throughout the night.
 
The Timberwolves are 8-7 so far this season, including a 3-4 mark in GLIAC play. They split last weekend with a loss to No. 8 Ferris State before beating Lake Superior State. Their 74 points on Saturday marked the first time Northwood has surpassed the 70 mark in GLIAC play this season. They average 67.7 points per game this season overall with a .422 shooting percentage that is worst in the GLIAC.
 
The Timberwolves do have a solid, veteran team that has shown the ability to grind wins even when the scoring hasn't been there. Ja'Kavien Lewis, the reigning GLIAC Freshman of the Year, and senior Trey McBride make up a solid starting back court; both average over 11 points and three assists per game. Senior Bruno Solomun has been a force in the paint, averaging 6.6 rebounds a contest and nearly six points a game.
 
"Northwood always gives us a competitive game. They move the ball really well and know how to find their shooters, especially late in possessions," Wesley said. "We'll have to be ready to grind on defense for 40 minutes and keep our focus in order to win."
 
SVSU is 5-2 in GLIAC play and narrowly missed upsetting No. 8 Ferris State last weekend. The loss snapped a five-game conference win streak. Three Cardinals average double figures, led by sophomore breakout player Myles Belyeu who is averaging 20.6 points and seven rebounds a game. He gets to the free throw line an average of six times a contest and shoots 86% from the line.
 
Junior Malik Ellison averages 18.3 points and 3.5 assists and classmate Darnell Hoskins Jr. chips in 10.7 points a game, shooting 48% from the field. This semester marks the return of vaunted transfer Delano Smith, who's averaging over nine points between his two games on the floor. He will continue to return to the form that made him one of the top players on defending GLIAC champions Davenport before his transfer last winter.
 
The Lakers look to stay atop the GLIAC standings and continue their strong start to the conference schedule. A good home environment would go a long way to getting the weekend off to the right start before a crucial showdown in University Center.