ALLENDALE, Mich. – The No. 13 Grand Valley State Lakers open up Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play this weekend with a pair of home games against east-side opponents. The Lakers welcome in the Saginaw Valley Cardinals on Thursday (Dec. 2) at 8 PM and the Wayne State Warriors on Saturday (Dec. 4) at 3 PM at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.
 
The Lakers are off to a fast start with a 5-0 record, including four wins over Division II opponents and two against regional rivals. The Lakers have also won in numerous ways; blowing away Indianapolis from the opening jump, erasing a big first-half deficit at Florida Southern and holding on in a nail-biter over Saint Leo.
 
The one constant has been Jake Van Tubbergen, who has twice been named GLIAC South Player of the Week three weeks into the season and has posted double-doubles in all five games, leading the GLIAC with 11.2 boards per game. Fellow senior Christian Negron leads the GLIAC in blocks and is third in field-goal percentage, narrowly ahead of Van Tubbergen.
 
Couple the stellar post play (which includes great depth with Marius Grazulis and Ethan Alderink) with a diverse and dangerous stable of guards. Shooters Luke Tolliver and Isaac Gassman have both shown the ability to make shots in bunches while Deleon Brown and Trevon Gunter have emerged as a sharp-shooter off the bench as they both return from injuries last season. Jordan Harris gives the Lakers a penetrator and facilitator in his second year running the point while Ja'kavien Lewis brings tenacious defense and hustle while also proving himself a more-than-capable facilitator on the offensive end.
 
"I really like the way our team and the way the pieces are coming together," head coach Ric Wesley said. "This is a veteran group with good leadership and communication and that's a big reason for our good start to the season. We are still working towards our best basketball as some of the new guys come along, but I'm happy with where we are right now and excited about where we can go."
 
The Lakers are looking for a seventh straight win against Saginaw Valley, sweeping both meetings in January of this year in the first athletic events on GVSU's campus after the pandemic. This season's Cardinals are off to a 4-2 start, including a win over Western Michigan, and had a hard-fought exhibition loss to Division I Butler Tuesday (Nov. 30) night that was a two-point game at half time.
 
Like the Lakers, the Cardinals are also led by talented returners in scorers Delano Smith (19.4 PPG) and Darnell Hoskins Jr. (11.3 PPG) alongside sharp-shooter James Toohey, who is 9-16 from beyond the arc. They bolstered their post play this season as well, adding North Dakota State transfer Tyler Witz, who's averaging over 10 points and nearly seven rebounds per game to join with Maurice Barnett to create a dynamic presence on the glass.
 
"Saginaw always grinds and makes things difficult. They're a deep team that moves the ball really well, both in transition and in the half court, and have some veteran scorers that can get to the rim and make shots from the outside. We're going to have to communicate extremely well on the defensive end and bring intensity on both ends of the floor," Wesley said.
 
Wayne State, the defending GLIAC regular season champion, has played just three games entering GLIAC play with longtime head coach David Greer retiring at the start of the season. The Warriors are 1-2 and all three have been decided by fewer than ten points, losing to former GLIAC foe Ashland by nine and a six-point loss to No. 7 Hillsdale with a two-point win over Lewis between.
 
Brailen Neely, who has been one of the most prolific scorers in the GLIAC the past few seasons, is once again leading the way for Wayne State with 17.7 points per game and a .412 three-point percentage. He's joined in the backcourt by the dynamic Darian Owens-White, who has yet to find his stroke this season but history says he will soon, and Avery Lewis and Ray Williams give them an inside presence.
 
"It feels like every time we play Wayne State it comes down to the final possession. It's always a fist fight with them to the very end. I hope our fans can make it out and support like they have so far this year. They make a huge difference and we'll need every ounce of energy in this one," Wesley said.
 
The Lakers are off to a banner start to the 2021-22 season, but the record resets this weekend as conference play begins. Both games can be seen on the Grand Valley Sports Network (https://gvsulakers.com/watch) and heard on 1340 AM The Ticket West Michigan (https://theticketmi.com) while @GVSUBasketball will provide coverage links and live updates on Twitter.