ALLENDALE-- The Grand Valley State men's basketball returns home for its first home conference test of the season. The Lakers will take on Davenport at 3 p.m. on Sunday inside of the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. The crosstown matchup can be seen live locally on WXSP and online via FloSports. The game will be aired on radio on The Thunder (107.3 FM) with Bryan Fongers on the call.
GVSU is fresh off a road victory against Quincy. The Lakers beat the Hawks, 63-59, on Tuesday night. Trevon Gunter led GVSU with 15 points, making five of his eight attempts from the field, including a 2-for-3 night from 3-point range, but it was the big men who were a dominant force for GVSU. Chinedu Kingsley Okanu scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Okanu made the final free throw of the night to put the game away for the Lakers. Marius Grazulis added 10 points and eight rebounds.
The Lakers have found strength in their post play this season. The top two Laker scorers are Marius Grazulis and Chinedu Kingsley Okanu, both are scoring in double figures and contributing strong post play.
Davenport started slow, losing its first four games of the season. The Panthers are coming off a win against Grace Lake Christian on Wednesday night. Davenport won their most recent contest, 91-78. Marcedus Leech, Jr. is leading the way for Davenport, averaging 17 points.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Davenport has a 2-6 record this season, but are fresh off a 91-78 victory on Wednesday night against Grace Lake Christian. The Panthers dropped both of their opening GLIAC contests, losing to Lake Superior State and Ferris State. Davenport's best-ranking statistical category national is steals per game. The Panthers are 125th in the country with 7.4 steals per game.
Marcedus Leech Jr. is once again leading the Panthers. He is averaging nearly 17 points per game and 3.88 rebounds per game. Leech Jr. is the last player to put up a double-double against GVSU when he scored 17 points and collected 12 rebounds on Feb. 17, 2022, in a 71-67 Laker victory.
BRINGING IT IN THE POST
The Lakers' top two scorers are Marius Grazulis and Kingsley Okanu. The post duo is combining to average 21.1 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. The duo has also blocked 25 shots this season. Okanu and Grazulis have both neared double-doubles this season. Okanu was one rebound away and Grazulis was two rebounds away from notching the first Lakers double-double of the season against Quincy.
FOLLOW THE NUMBERS
Shooting percentages have correlated with GVSU results so far this season. When the Lakers shoot better from the field, they are 4-1. On the flip side, when the GVSU opponent shoots better from the floor, it is 0-5 on the season. Despite scoring their lowest total of the season against Quincy (63), the Lakers still shot 45.5 percent from the floor, outshooting the Hawks by eight points.
