TIFFIN, Ohio – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team continued the opening weekend of the 2014-15 GLIAC season on the road at Tiffin University on Saturday afternoon (12/6) at the Gillmor Student Center. In a back-and-fourth contest, the Cardinals used a three-pointer at the buzzer by Mitchell Baenziger to defeat the Dragons by a final score of 69-66.
The victory improves SVSU to 2-0 in the GLIAC and 4-2 overall while Tiffin falls to 3-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play this season.
The first half began with both teams showing good offensive play. The Cardinals made its first four field goals, capped by a C.J. Turnage jumper to give SVSU an 11-8 lead at the 16:46 mark.
Tiffin tied the game at 11 following a dunk, but the Cards answered by scoring the next five points to take its largest lead of the first half and go up 16-11 with 13:37 remaining in the first half.
The Dragons took the lead 21-19, but that lead was short-lived as sophomore Garrett Hall knocked down a triple the next possession for SVSU to put the Cardinals up 22-21 with 8:53 left in the opening half. That was the last time SV would have the lead in the first 20 minutes.
TU answered Hall's three-pointer with a 6-0 run, which was stopped by a Wade Gelhaus basket to make the score 27-24 with five and a half minutes left in the half. The Dragons opened up their largest lead of the half at six points (33-27) at the 3:35 marker and held another six point lead (35-29) with 1:47 left in the half.
Hall knocked down his second triple of the first frame to make the score 35-32 with 55 seconds left, but the Dragons would add one more basket in the opening half to take a 37-32 lead into the halftime break.
Saginaw Valley was led by Hall and Turnage who each scored 9 points in the opening frame. Both teams shot better than 45% in the opening half as SV was 11-for-24 (45.8%) and Tiffin was 15-for-31 (48.4%) from the field. The Dragons out-rebounded the Cards 18-12, as Turnage had a team-high three boards.
SVSU cut the Tiffin lead down to one at 41-40 following a Caleb Davis made jump shot at the 18:36 marker. The Cardinals used a steal by junior Kellen Smith and a Turnage put-back layup to take a 42-41 lead with 15:50 remaining in the second half.
SV opened up a double-digit lead following back-to-back triples by junior Damon Bozeman and Hall to make the score 59-49 with 5:21 remaining the second half. Davis added a free throw to give SVSU its largest lead of the game at 60-49 with just over four minutes to play in the contest.
The Dragons kept battling and cut into the Cardinal lead, however. A three-pointer and jumper cut the SVSU lead down to four points at 65-61 with 36 seconds remaining in the game. A Dragon layup put TU within two points and a Cardinal turnover the next possession gave the ball back to Tiffin. The Dragons capitalized and tied the game at 66 with 10 seconds left on the game clock.
Baenziger entered the game and used a feed from Turnage to knock down the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to give SVSU a 69-66 victory over Tiffin.
The Cardinals had a trio of players finish the game in double-figures, with Hall leading the way with 17 points. Davis chipped in with 12 points and a career-high eight rebounds.
Turnage recorded 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and four steals to earn him his second consecutive Meijer "Player of the Game" honors.
SVSU posted a 32-30 edge on the glass and 20-10 advantage on second change points. The Cardinals finished 22-for-50 (44%) from the floor
Saginaw Valley returns home for the 2014-15 GLIAC home opener at O'Neill Arena on the campus of SVSU next Sunday (12/14). The Cardinals take on the Ashland University Eagles on Sunday at 3:00 pm. Last year, the Cards defeated the Eagles 69-55 in Ashland.