ALLENDALE--GVSU men's basketball heads to St. Louis to play in the St. Louis Union Station Hotel UMSL Thanksgiving Classic. The Lakers' first game is at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday against the host school, Missouri-St. Louis. The Lakers will then play Maryville at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

Fans can watch live streams of both games online at https://glvcsn.com/umsl and live stats will be available on UMSL's website, umsltritons.com.

GVSU faces a quick turnaround after Sunday's home opener against No. 13 Indianapolis. The Lakers dropped the game, 72-66, but battled back and forth with the Greyhounds. The game saw nine lead changes an seven ties until Indianapolis won. The Lakers' leading scorer on Sunday was Trevor Smith with 14 points.  He went 4-for-9 from the field, including two 3-pointers. Smith also added three assists, one rebound and one steal. Austin James played his best game of the season with 12 points on a perfect 4-for-4 mark from downtown.

UMSL comes into the event 3-0 and boasts the third-best defense in the nation, only allowing opponents score 51.7 points. The Tritons are also No. 7 in the country in field goal percentage defense, letting opponents shoot just 33.5 percent from the floor.

SCOUTING THE TRITONS
UMSL has one of the best defenses in the country based on a couple of statistical metrics. Through three games, the Tritons are No. 3 in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 51.7 points per game. UMSL is also ranked seventh in the nation in field goal percent defense, letting opponents shoot just 33.5 percent from the field.

Individually, the Tritons' scoring efforts come from throughout their roster. Bowen Sandquist is UMSL's leading scorer, averaging 11.7 points per game, but three other Tritons are averaging in double figures. Victor Nwagbaraocha (10.7), Dylan West (10.7) and Isaiah Fuller (10.3) also are averaging double figures in scoring this season.

MANNING THE POINT
Trevor Smith has stepped up for the Lakers from the point guard position. Smith has scored 13 points per game in GVSU's last three contests and led the Lakers in scoring with 14 points on Sunday. He is also the Lakers' leading assist maker with nine assists through four games. Smith has found success from the floor, shooting 54.5 percent from the floor and has found success from distance, making 50 percent of his 3-point attempts this season.

ENERGY FROM THE BENCH
Marius Grazulis is leading the Lakers in scoring this year with 13 points per game coming off the bench. Luke Toliver is also averaging 11.5 points from the bench All-in-all, the Laker bench has put up 55.12 percent (167 points) of GVSU's scoring.