UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team lost on its home court to the visiting Wayne State Warriors by a score of 68-61 on Saturday evening (Jan. 18) in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) matchup.
Freshman forward C.J. Turnage got things going for the Cardinals, using an early steal for a break-away dunk and the game's first bucket, followed by a layup 39 seconds later to give the team a 4-0 lead.
SVSU built a five point lead at the 16:09 mark after a Garrett Hall three-pointer, making the score 10-5.
The Warriors then scored seven consecutive points to grab a 12-10 lead with just over 14 minutes left to play in the half. Wayne would push its lead out to nine points twice, the latter being the 30-21 score that carried both sides into halftime.
Wayne State out-shot the Cards in the opening 20 minutes of play, posting a 52.2 shooting percentage (12-23) compared to SVSU's mark of 28.0% (7-25). The Warriors also held a 20-15 edge on the glass in the first half.
Turnage had a game-high nine points before the half and three rebounds. Hall added five first half points.
In the second half, WSU pushed the lead out to 16 points, leading 47-31 with 11:45 left to play. The Warriors led 61-48 with 3:42 left, but an SVSU run where it scored 10 of the next 11 points pulled it within four points at 62-58 with just 1:15 left to play.
The visitors, however, went 6-of-8 down the stretch on free throws and SV scored only three more points and Wayne closed-out for the 68-61 victory.
Saginaw Valley improved upon its shooting in the second half and finished the game with a 41.1 percentage. The Cardinals committed only nine turnovers and forced 15 for their opponents. Wayne held the final rebounding advantage by a 37-29 margin.
Turnage led the way for SVSU, posting team-highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds, his second-straight double-double. He was named the Meijer "Player of the Game" for his efforts.
Sophomore guard Damon Bozeman tied that team-high of 17 points. Hall chipped-in with a dozen points for the Cardinals, who fall to 5-9 overall on the season and 1-9 in the GLIAC.
SVSU is back in action on Thursday, as it hosts GLIAC North opponent Northern Michigan University in an 8:00 pm showdown.