Men’s Basketball sweeps in the U.P. for first time in 12 years

The Grand Valley State University (12-3) men’s basketball team traveled to the U.P. this past weekend to play Michigan Tech University (11-5) and Northern Michigan University (8-9), bringing home two wins for the Lakers. Progressing to 6-2 in the GLIAC, the team was able to secure both wins on the road for the first time since 2010, making the sweep that much sweeter.

On Jan. 20, GVSU faced off against the Michigan Tech Huskies with exceptional performances from the Laker’s top seniors. Forward Jake Van Tubbergen led the game with 18 points, eight rebounds and two steals, followed by guard Deleon Brown with 14 points and forward Christian Negron with 13. Negron also added six rebounds and a career-high six assists.

Freshman Trevor Gunter also added three three-pointers for the 80-74 win, improving the Laker’s overall record to 11-3.

Jan. 22, the team took on the Northern Michigan Wildcats, starting strong with the first 14 points of the game. Van Tubbergen led scoring once again with a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds, with Negron on his tail scoring 16 points and a league-best 29th block of the season. Brown followed suit with another 13 points, finishing out the weekend with a 79-67 win.

The men’s basketball team is scheduled to play three home games this week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday against Davenport University, University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Purdue University-Northwest.

Women’s Basketball mirrors men’s success, sweeping U.P. teams as well

The Grand Valley State University (15-1) women’s basketball team went on the same road trip as the men’s team, playing the MTU Huskies (11-5) and the NMU Wildcats (8-7) on Jan. 20 and Jan. 22. The Lakers finished the weekend improving to 8-1 in the GLIAC for their 10th win in a row.

Playing before the men’s team on Jan. 20, the women’s team played a close game against the Huskies, ending regulation with a buzzer-beater three-pointer from senior Emily Spitzley to tie the game 60-60. Going into OT, the Lakers started on a 6-0 run, ultimately taking the win from the Huskies 74-70.

Sophomore Ellie Droste led the team with 31 points, followed by Spitzley with 20 points while the team shot 50% from the floor and made a total of 24 points from 17 turnovers.

Jan. 22 after the men’s game, the women took to the courts led by sophomore Rylie Bisballe with 20 points and seven rebounds, along with senior Qay Stanton with 13 points and five assists and sophomore Ellie Droste with nine points. The Lakers brought home the fourth and final win for GVSU from the U.P. with a final score of 61-48.

This week, the Lakers will take on Parkside and Purdue-Northwest on Jan. 27 and Jan. 29 at home.