ALLENDALE--The Lakers return home for a matchup Michigan-Dearborn at 7 p.m. on Saturday night inside of the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. GVSU comes back home after a trip to St. Louis for the UMSL Thanksgiving Classic.
Fans can watch the game on FloSports (with a paid membership) or listen on The Ticket (106.1 FM). Live stats will also be available on gvsulakers.com.
The Lakers went 0-2 in St. Louis. They lost to UMSL, 78-66, on Tuesday and dropped a hard-fought game against Maryville, 81-75, on Wednesday.
Marius Grazulis made his first pair of starts the season in St. Louis. The big man from Marquette averaged 13 points over his first two starts this season. Grazulis made a team season high eight field goals against Maryville on Wednesday. Grazulis led GVSU with 16 points against the Saints.
The Lakers have just three nonconference games remaining, but the matchup with Michigan-Dearborn will be GVSU's final tune-up before conference play begins. GVSU takes on Ferris State and Lake Superior State to begin the month of December. GVSU will also have matchups with Quincy, McKendree and Aquinas before the calendar year closes to wrap up the nonconference slate.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
Michigan-Dearborn has struggled this season, winning just one of its 10 games so far. The Wolverines' only victory came against Judson by just one point in double overtime. Since their Nov. 5 victory, the Wolverines have dropped five in a row, losing by an average of 30.6 points in that stretch.
Individually, Elwood Thompson leads the Wolverines with 12.1 points per game. Maurice Anderson is nearly into double figures, averaging 9.8 points per game. The starting five for Michigan-Dearborn has varied throughout the season. No Wolverine has more than seven starts on the season.
STEPPING UP DOWN LOW
Marius Grazulis and Ethan Alderink were tasked with manning the post positions for the Lakers in St. Louis as GVSU was without Kingsley Okanu. Grazulis made the most of his first and second starts of the season. Grazulis averaged 13 points in the two games at the Mark Twain Building. Alderink averaged 10 points and 4.5 rebounds in St. Louis while battling down low. Both Grazulis and Alderink also stepped up on defense, combining for seven blocks.
IN THE NUMBERS
One trend has been a definitive metric for the Lakers success this season: shooting percentage. When the Lakers have shot better from the floor than their opponents, they are 2-0. When GVSU has been outshot by its opponent, it is 0-4. The Lakers have also struggled when they trail at the half. They have an 0-2 record when they go into halftime trailing.
