UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team fell to the #2-ranked University of Findlay Oilers by a score of 76-58 on Saturday afternoon (12/11). With the loss, the Cardinals fall to 3-5 overall and 0-3 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play while the Oilers remain undefeated at 8-0 overall and 2-0 in conference action.
The start of the first half went back and forth, with the score tied at 6-6 at the first media timeout with 14:57 remaining in the first frame. The Oilers would build a six point lead at the 11:03 mark, but a layup by freshman Patrick O'Brien (Flint, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) and a pair of free throws from sophomore Michael Fugate (White Lake, Mich./Lakeland HS) cut Findlay's lead to two points at 16-14 with 9:26 remaining in the half. The Cardinals would take their second lead of the game at the 4:26 mark following a three-pointer by freshman Mike Schaaf (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS), which gave SVSU a 24-23 lead. A pair of freebies by Findlay's Nathan Hyde would give the Oilers a 32-31 advantage with 47 seconds left, but a runner off the glass by Fugate with six seconds remaining would give the Cards a 33-32 lead heading into the locker room.
Fugate led the offensive charge in the first half, scoring 14 points, 10 of which came from the free throw line. O'Brien had 10 points and five rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. Schaaf added seven points.
The Oilers would take a three-point lead early in the second before an emphatic dunk by senior Adam Roberts (Adrian, Mich.) and two free throws by Fugate would give SVSU a 36-35 lead at the 18:24 mark. Findlay would knot the score at 43 points-apiece with 14:15 remaining and would not relinquish the lead, extending their advantage to 20 points before freshman Logan Ellman (Oconto, Wis.) would record his first-career bucket on a layup with 17 seconds left, which cut the lead to 18 points. That score would stick the rest of the way, as Findlay would close-out for the 76-58 victory.
Fugate earned Meijer "Player of the Game" honors after adding 13 second half points to finish with a game-high 27. O'Brien finished with 10 points and a team-high six rebounds while Schaaf ended the contest with seven points.
SVSU will be in action again when it travels to Lake Superior State for a GLIAC match-up on Saturday, December 18th. Tip-off for that contest is set for 1:00 pm. Lake Superior won the first meeting between the two teams on December 2nd, an 85-78 overtime decision that opened both team's conference slate for the 2010-11 season.