UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team fell at home to the Michigan Tech University Huskies by a score of 71-67 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) match-up, but still managed to clinch the eighth spot in the GLIAC Tournament
SVSU jumped out to a 4-0 lead at the 17:40 mark after buckets from senior Keithan Jackson (Grand Rapids, Mich./Godwin Heights HS) and junior Greg Foster (Indianapolis, Ind./TC Howe HS). After a Tech basket, the Cardinals rattled-off 10 consecutive points to grab a 14-2 lead with 11:04 remaining in the half, with the run being capped-off by a triple by junior Sean Romsek (Fowlerville, Mich.). The Huskies would cut into the Cardinal lead a bit, but a three-pointer by senior Dan Genther (Laingsburg, Mich.) at the 3:37 mark extended SVSU's lead back to 10, with the score 25-15. Michigan Tech cut the lead to five with 1:13 left in the half, but a pair of freebies from sophomore Michael Fugate (White Lake, Mich./Lakeland HS) gave SVSU a 29-22 lead heading into the half.
Jackson led offensively in the first half, scoring eight points. Genther had five points in the opening frame while Fugate and Foster each had four, with Fugate adding a game-high six rebounds in the half.
Tech cut the Cardinal lead to just two points at 30-28 at the 16:56 mark in the second, but a three by sophomore Chris Webb (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) and a Jackson free throw extended the advantage back to six points with 16:02 remaining, making the score 34-28. The Huskies climbed back to take a 44-43 lead at the 9:50 mark after a three-pointer from Jordan Reetz. SVSU would regain the lead and would hold a one-point advantage at the 4:59 mark when the score was 52-51. Tech would use a Don Fowler layup to take the lead at 53-52. A Webb layup tied the score at 58-58 with 2:48 remaining. The Huskies would take the lead from there, and despite a Foster three-pointer that drew the Cardinals to within a pair with four seconds left, would close-out with the four point victory, 71-67.
Jackson earned Meijer "Player of the Game" plaudits after finishing the game with a team-high 16 points and eight rebounds. Webb had 15 points for SVSU while Foster added 12 points and five rebounds. Fugate posted a game-high 11 rebounds for the Cardinals.
Despite the loss, the Cardinals locked-up the number eighth seed in the 2011 GLIAC Tournament following a Northwood University loss to Northern Michigan University. It's the second-consecutive postseason berth for the Cardinals, who dropped a first round contest to Ferris State University in the 2010 tournament.
The loss drops the Cardinals to 12-13 overall and 8-10 in GLIAC play while the Huskies improve to 15-10 overall and 10-8 in league play. The Cardinals will be back in action on Saturday (2/26), as they host Northern Michigan University in their regular season finale. During halftime of the contest, the SVSU Athletics Department will be honoring Breast Cancer Survivors throughout the Great Lakes Bay Region. Tip-off for the contest is set for 6:00 pm.