HOUGHTON, Mich. – Atop the GLIAC standings halfway through conference play, the No. 6 nationally-ranked Michigan Tech men's basketball team heads downstate for a Thursday showdown at Davenport before a highly anticipated Saturday clash at No. 23 nationally-ranked Grand Valley State.
Watch The Huskies
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The Games
Michigan Tech will look to complete the series sweep over Davenport on Thursday (7:30 p.m.) after besting the Panthers 77-68 on Jan. 3. The Huskies will look to avenge its lone conference loss of the year, after falling to Grand Valley State 79-75 on Jan. 2. Saturday's game at GVSU is slated for a 3:00 p.m. tipoff.
About the Panthers
Davenport sits in a tie for fourth in the GLIAC with an overall standing of 11-7 and a league ledger of 5-5. The Panthers most recently completed a weekend sweep with road wins at Roosevelt (78-60) and Parkside (68-54).
The Panthers lead the league in blocks per game (4.2) and defensive rebounds per game (29.11), backed by the team's leading shot blockers Imran Deen (24) and Aidan Moon (15).
Curtis Jackson (5.1), Aiden Ritt (6.6) and Dylan Smith (7.1) all average over five rebounds per game for Davenport.
Ken Walker leads the team and the GLIAC with 22.1 points per game, adding 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals. Walker earned GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week after totaling 54 points between two wins last weekend, where he shot 17-30 from the field and 10-18 from three.
Smith joins Walker in double-figure scoring with 10.6 points per game, as Jackson and Ritt are averaging over nine points per outing. Jackson is the team's top facilitator with 93 assists this season for a GLIAC-best 5.5 assists per game.
About the Lakers
Grand Valley State re-enters the top-25 this week, checking in at No. 23 after its third-straight GLIAC weekend sweep for an overall record of 15-3 and the third-best record in the conference at 8-2.
The Lakers are atop the GLIAC in bench points per game (31.67), free throw attempts per game (25.6), rebounds per game (40.22), steals per game (9.9) and turnover margin (5.3).
Mason Docks (3.88) and Trevor Smith Jr. (3.81) rank first and second nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio. The duo also averages over three assists per game, with Docks adding 2.61 steals per game, with Smith Jr. adding 1.5.
Ethan Alderink leads three Lakers scoring over 13 points per game, with a team-high 14.1ppg. Jalen Charity adds 13.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists.
Shamus Thompson leads the team in rebounding with 7.1 boards, including 2.9 on offense per game.
About the Huskies
Halfway through league play, the No. 6 ranked Huskies have the longest active win-streak in the GLIAC, winners of seven-straight for an overall record of 18-2 and a GLIAC-best ledger of 9-1.
The Huskies rank top-20 nationally in field goal percentage defense (38.4), defensive rebounds per game (28.90) and scoring defense (65.0).
Marcus Tomashek continues to lead the team with 22.1 points and 3.2 assists per game as Gabe Smith (9.9) and Ty Fernholz (9.8) are nearing double-figure scoring.
Dawson Nordgaard is averaging 8.7 points on 66.7 percent shooting, adding 3.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists. Nate Abel leads the league in rebounds (169) and defensive rebounds per game (6.4) as part of his 7.5 rebounds per outing as Smith is close behind with 7.2 boards per game.
The duo of Tomashek (3.16) and Fernholz (2.65) rank first and fourth in the league, respectively, in three-pointers per game.
One Last Thing
The Huskies are 6-0 on the road this season and are a perfect 16-0 playing on Thursdays and Saturdays.
