UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team posted a 56-55 home victory over the Northern Michigan University Wildcats in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) tilt on Thursday night (Jan. 23).
The Wildcats opened things up with nine consecutive points and would lead up until there was just 3:32 left to play in the opening frame, when the Cardinals scored eight in a row after trailing 24-16 to force the game's first tie at 24-24.
NMU grabbed the lead right back, but a pair of foul shots from freshman guard Garrett Hall following a technical on Wildcat Head Coach Bill Sall knotted the score at 28 points-apiece at the 2:16 marker of the first half.
Two three pointers from sophomore guard Damon Bozeman wrapped around a triple from Northern's Ethan Blackwell gave SV a 34-33 lead, which is what the scoreboard would show as both squads hit their respective locker rooms for the halftime break.
Bozeman led SVSU in the first half offensively, netting 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Hall also had a pair of triples and added 11 first half points.
Saginaw Valley shot 52.2% (12-13) from the floor in the first half and an even 50.0% (5-10) from three. The 'Cats held the early edge on the glass by a 17-9 mark.
In a second half that featured only 44 total points and 10 lead changes, neither team would lead by more than five points, which is what the Cardinals led by with just 1:19 left to play in the game and the score at 54-49.
The Wildcats' Justin Newell would hit a triple that cut the lead to 54-52 with just over a minute to play.
A missed Bozeman three pointer would give the 'Cats the ball back with 22 seconds showing on the game clock and they would call a timeout to draw up a play for the game's final shot.
Just 10 seconds into the play, however, SVSU freshman forward Wade Gelhaus deflected and stole a Terry Nash pass to get the ball back for the Cards.
Northern would foul Hall after he got the ball from Gelhaus, and the freshman would deliver with a pair of made free throws, giving SV a four point lead at 56-52 with just over six seconds left to play.
Ethan Blackwell hit a three for NMU with just 1.2 seconds on the clock, but when SVSU in-bounded the ball the 'Cats were unable to foul and the seconds expired with the Cardinals on top, 56-55.
Hall finished the game for the Cardinals with a game-high 19 points, adding three rebounds en-route to being named the Meijer "Player of the Game."
Bozeman added 17 points and sophomore guard Sterling Johnson had a team-high seven rebounds and game-high six assists.
Saginaw Valley notches its second GLIAC victory of the season, improving to 2-9 in league play and 6-9 overall. The Wildcats fall to 4-11 overall and 3-8 in the GLIAC after the loss.
The Cardinals are set to host Michigan Tech University on Saturday (Jan. 25) in a GLIAC North Division showdown. Tip-off for the game is set for 3:00 pm.