UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team fell in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest at home to the Tiffin University Dragons by a score of 65-52.

The Dragons took a 2-0 lead just seconds into the game after a tip-in and would continue on a 9-0 run to start the game before SVSU scored its first point at the 16:51 mark on a free throw by junior forward Kalen Foreman.

Tiffin extended its lead to 14 points with 4:25 left in the half after a triple from Joe Graessle to make the score 28-14 and carried a 12 point lead into halftime, as the scoreboard read 30-18 heading into the break.

Freshman Wade Gelhaus paced the team offensively in the opening half, scoring five points while adding three rebounds.  Fellow freshman Caleb Davis added four points and three boards for SVSU.

Tiffin out-rebounded the Cards in the first half by a 31-19 mark.  The two teams put-up 22 three point shots, making only four combined.

The 18 first half points marked a season low for Saginaw Valley in 2013-14.

The Dragons led by 14 points with 16:33 left in the game and the score 37-23.  SVSU then notched nine consecutive points to draw within five with 13:32 left and the score 37-32.

Both teams would alternate scores and the Cards got as close as four points down with 3:33 remaining after a made free throw by Gelhaus, making the score 46-42.

Tiffin responded by going on a 9-0 run to push its lead back out to 14 points with just 52 seconds remaining in the game.  The Dragons went 12-of-16 on free throws down the stretch when SV was forced to foul and sealed the 13 point victory at 65-52.

Davis was named the Meijer "Player of the Game" for the Cardinals, as he led the team with 14 points and five rebounds in 27 minutes of action.

Gelhaus posted eight points and eight rebounds for SV while freshman Garrett Hall and sophomore Kellen Smith each added six points, with Hall grabbing five rebounds.

Tiffin finished with a 49-43 advantage in the rebounding category and a 38.5% to 32.7% edge in overall shooting.  

SVSU falls to 4-2 overall and 0-2 in the GLIAC after the defeat while the Dragons improve to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in league play.

Saginaw Valley returns to the court on Monday, December 16th, as it travels to play at Ashland University for a 7:30 pm contest.