ALLENDALE-- Laker men's basketball is set for their home opener against No. 13 Indianapolis. The game is slated for a 2 p.m. tipoff on Sunday at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.
If fans can't make it out to GVSU Fieldhouse Arena on Sunday, the game will be streamed live on FloSports (with a paid membership) and live stats will be available on gvsulakers.com.
GVSU is back home after a trip to Findlay, Ohio, where it beat the Oilers on Wednesday night, 73-65. The defense put the clamps on Findlay all night, but the second half in particular is where the GVSU was stout on the defensive side of the floor. GVSU allowed just three points in the final 4:35 of play. The three points came on a 3-point bucket with 11 seconds to go.Â
Marius Grazulis scored 15 points for GVSU off the bench, leading the way in the scoring column. Three other Lakers got into double figures. Kingsley Okanu (13),
Luke Toliver (11) and
Trevor Smith (10) all scored 10 or more for GVSU in Findlay.
Indianapolis comes into Allendale with a 2-0 record and ranked 13th in the D2SIDA National Rankings. The Greyhounds' wins have come against Ohio Dominican by a score of 81-39, and Lake Erie, winning that contest 78-65. Indianapolis also played Western Kentucky in an exhibition on Tuesday, losing to the Hilltoppers, 68-50.
SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS
No. 13 Indianapolis is the nation's leader in field goal percentage defense, only allowing opponents to make 31 percent of their shots. The Greyhounds are also only letting opponents shoot 29.5 percent from behind the 3-point line. All-in-all, Indianapolis' defense ranks fifth in the country, giving up just 52 points per game.
Individually, Jesse Bingham leads the team in scoring with 14 points per game, but the Greyhounds' second-leading scorer is a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the floor. Jakobie Robinson is nearly averaging a double-double with 12 points and 9.5 rebounds per game for the Greyhounds. Robinson is also 7-for-14 from 3-point range this season.
A DEFENSIVE SHOW ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT
The Laker defense showed its might on Wednesday night against Findlay, holding a high-scoring Oilers offense to just 65 points. They only allowed Nathan Bruns, the Oilers' top scorer, to score seven points. Coming into the matchup, Bruns was averaging 20 points per game.
GVSU posted its highest rebounding margin of the season on Wednesday, grabbing seven more rebounds than Findlay. It was also the Lakers' best night on the defensive side on the perimeter. Findlay's 27.6 percent clip from beyond the 3-point line was the lowest mark the Lakers have allowed this season.
Jalen Charity also had four steals, the highest mark for a Laker this season.