Live Stats | Game Notes

The Grand Valley State men's basketball team opens the 2014-15 season with an exhibition game on Thursday night (Nov. 6), as the Lakers travel to Indiana to face Valparaiso. Tipoff between GVSU and the Crusaders is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET.
 
11th year head coach Ric Wesley and the Grand Valley State program continue their tradition of playing quality Division I opponents in exhibition contests to start the year. The Lakers have played a Division I team during each of Wesley's 11 seasons at GVSU, including the memorable 85-82 double overtime win at Michigan State in 2007-08.
 
In addition to Valparaiso and Michigan State, Grand Valley State has played at Cincinnati, Iowa State, Dayton, Utah, Detroit, and Michigan in the past 10-plus years. The Lakers also scored a 53-49 victory at Detroit during the 2006-07 campaign.
 
GVSU brings back a very experienced team in 2014-15, as the Lakers returning nine letterwinners and six players who started in at least 10 games last year. In 2013-14, Grand Valley State went 19-8 overall and finished 15-7 in league play, falling to Michigan Tech - the Midwest Region runner-up - in the GLIAC quarterfinals in Houghton.
 
Wesley returns eight of his top nine scorers, including leading scorer Ryan Sabin. The senior guard was a Preseason All-GLIAC North Division First Team pick, as he averaged 14.2 points per game and knocked down 69 three-pointers last season. He was on the court for 36.0 minutes per game the second-most of any player in the GLIAC.
 
Junior forward Ricardo Carbajal earned Preseason All-GLIAC North Division Second Team honors after putting up averages of 10.7 points and 4.2 rebounds in just 21.2 minutes per game. Sabin started in all 27 games last year, while Carbajal was in the starting lineup 17 times.
 
Senior center Darren Washington made 18 starts last season, while junior guard Ernijs Ansons (14 starts), sophomore wing Luke Ryskamp (13), and sophomore forward Trevin Alexander (11) all reached double-digits in starts, as well. Senior forward Chaz Rollins - the team's leading rebounder at 5.9 boards per game - cracked the starting lineup eight times.
 
Valparaiso went 18-16 last season, while owning a 9-7 record in the Horizon League. The Crusaders, coached by former star player Bryce Drew, competed in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament during the postseason. In the Horizon League's preseason poll, Valparaiso was picked to finish fourth in the conference standings.
 
The Crusaders return sophomore forward Alec Peters, who was named to the Preseason All-Horizon League First Team. An All-Freshman Team selection last year, he put up averages of 12.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Only one other full-time starter - sophomore Jubril Adekoya (5.8 ppg, 53.7 FG%) - is back for Valpo this season, while senior Vashil Fernandez and his 58 blocked shots (fourth-most in a single season) also return to the lineup.
 
While Valparaiso returns 48.3 percent of its scoring from last season, Grand Valley State brings back 81.6 percent of its scoring from 2013-14. Of the Lakers' 1,985 points scored last year, GVSU returns 1,620 of those points, as graduate Rob Woodson's 13.1 points per game comprised most of the missing total.
 
After the exhibition with the Crusaders, Grand Valley State has one final tune-up (an exhibition contest at Hope at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 11) before opening the regular season. The Lakers travel to Quincy, Ill. for games against Missouri-St. Louis (Nov. 15, noon) and Quincy (Nov. 16, 2:15 p.m.) next weekend.