Four days after shutting down Lake Superior State University, the Grand Valley State men’s basketball team continued their home-winning streak, taking out Northwood 89-38 on Wednesday.

Lead by their rebounding and defense, GVSU (13-2, 8-0) suffocated the Timberwolves all game long. On top of their 20.7 percent shooting percentage, the visitors from Northwood (5-10, 3-4) were out-rebounded by 20.

Dating back to last season, the Lakers have won 11 straight at home.

“It‘s just a comfort level playing here,” senior forward Justin Ringler said of playing at Fieldhouse Arena. “Having the same routine: going to Fresh then coming here to great fans, just makes it easier.”

Ringler, the Mr. Everything for GVSU reached his second career-milestone of the season Wednesday. After finishing the game with 14 points and seven rebounds, Ringler moved past JP Huntington for 15th place all-time on GVSU’s scoring list.

“Justin is just a tremendous player for us,” said head coach Ric Wesley, who recruited Ringler. “He’s gritty, he rebounds, and does whatever it takes on the court.”

The Lakers jumped on Northwood early, scoring the first 10 points of the game. GVSU closed the half emphatically after junior Alvin Storrs stripped Northwood’s Bobby Lewis and passed the ball up-court to teammate Tony Peters for a lay-up with seconds remaining.

Coming out at half, GVSU continued their effort on both sides of the ball, holding the visitors to only four made baskets in the second half. The 32 point differential in the second half was a season-high for the Lakers.

A key to the win was the defense on Northwood’s Lewis. Entering the game averaging 17.9 points, the Mott Community College transfer scored only four points on 2-10 shooting.

“He (Lewis) is one of the top newcomers in the conference,” said Wesley, whose team also held Northwood’s second-leading scorer, Andrew VanDierenDonck, to 2-10 shooting. “We had to make sure we had him surrounded and didn’t give him any extra space to operate.”

Vital to the team’s second-half explosion was the play off the bench of the Nicks, Carreri and Waddell. Combining for 14 points in the second half alone, the duo has given Wesley two solid front-court options on his bench.

“We always hope that our bench plays well and it’s certainly a big part of our attack, but I really like how Nick Carreri is rebounding the ball,” said Wesley. “Carreri is improving, and everyday Nick Waddell is getting more comfortable with what we’re doing.”

The improved play of Carreri has given the Lakers’ bench an extra jolt of energy. After grabbing only five rebounds in two games since New Year’s Eve, junior has averaged a team-high 10 rebounds per game in the last two home games.

“We have so many scorers and that isn’t my role right now,” said Carreri, who tied a season and career-high with 10 rebounds. “I haven‘t been shooting the ball particularly well, so I‘m just trying to do whatever I can to help the team.”

Holding their opponents to only 21.5 percent shooting since the New Year, Wesley hopes his team can continue their strong defense into the weekend’s game against No. 10 Hillsdale.

“We want to keep playing well and I think in our last three games our defense has really improved,” said Wesley. “We‘re doing a better job working together and trusting each other.”

The team’s progress will be put to the test Saturday as they travel to play at Hillsdale, their first game versus a ranked conference opponent.

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