ALLENDALE--The Grand Valley State men's basketball heads up to Sault Ste. Marie for a battle of Lakers on Saturday. The game between GVSU and Lake Superior State is set for a 3 p.m. tipoff.

The matchup can be streamed live on FloSports (with a paid membership) or can be heard live on radio. Bryan Fongers will have the call on The Ticket (106.1 FM).

GVSU is coming off a loss to Ferris State on Thursday night, 97-68, in Big Rapids. Jalen Charity led the Lakers with 12 points. Charity went 5-for-9 from the field and also collected five rebounds. Chinedu Kingsley Okanu also scored in double figures with 10 points. It was Okanu's first game since Nov. 20 against Indianapolis. Marius Grazulis was on double-double watch, but was short, scoring eight points and grabbing nine rebounds. Britain Harris led the assist category with three assists.

Lake Superior State is fresh off a wire-to-wire win against Davenport on Thursday night. The Lakers beat the Panthers, 81-61, to open GLIAC play. Tyson Edmondson led LSSU in scoring with 19 points. The Lakers also held Davenport to its second-lowest scoring game of the season.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS
Lake Superior State rolls into Saturday's game off a dominant win against Davenport, winning 81-61. The victory snapped a two-game skid for the Lakers. LSSU's lone other victory on the season was a win against Grace Christian. The only common opponent between the Laker squads has been Michigan-Dearborn. LSSU beat the Wolverines, 113-58, in an exhibition.

The Lakers' top scorer is Caden Ebeling, a redshirt-senior post player who is averaging 13.5 points per game. Of his 13.5 points per game, just 1.5 percent has come from 3-point range.

ATTACKING THE GLASS
Coach Mann has emphasized the fundamentals of rebounding and the glass will be key for the Lakers. GVSU has seen more success when it outrebounds its opponents. The Lakers are 3-2 when collecting more rebounds than their opponent, but are 0-3 when the opponent grabs more boards. Lake Superior State is a top-30 team in rebound margin and are grabbing 37.33 rebounds per game. The rebounding category will be key to GVSU's success.

FOLLOW THE NUMBERS
Shooting percentages have correlated with GVSU results so far this season. When the Lakers shoot better from the field, they are 3-0. On the flip side, when the GVSU opponent shoots better from the floor, it is 0-5 on the season. Heading into Saturday's matchup, Lake Superior State is the better shooting team on the stats sheet, making 47 percent of its shots compared to GVSU's 46.1 percent mark from the floor.