NORTH CANTON, Ohio - The SVSU men's basketball team was on the road once more on Sunday (Jan. 4) afternoon as the Cardinals faced a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) South Division opponent in the Walsh University Cavaliers. Tied 29-29 at halftime, the Cards out-scored the Cavs by a 42-34 count in the second half to post a 71-63 victory at Walsh's Alumni Arena.
The victory is the eighth consecutive for Saginaw Valley, which is the longest streak since the 1984-85 squad opened the season with an 8-0 start. It puts the Cards at 9-2 overall for the 2014-15 campaign with an unblemished 6-0 mark in the GLIAC. The Cavaliers fall to 5-5 and 1-4 in league play.
After Walsh jumped out to a quick lead to start the game, SV scored six-straight to make it 6-2 at the 18:11 mark after sophomore C.J. Turnage capped the run off with a free throw after junior Damon Bozeman opened SVSU's scoring with five points.
The Cavaliers would take the lead again and held a 20-14 edge at the 9:09 marker after they answered two Wade Gelhaus free throws with a jumper of their own. That's the largest lead the Cavs held for the contest.
Walsh led by a 29-25 score with 2:22 left to play in the opening half, but the Cardinals worked back and used a Turnage jumper and layup from junior Vincent Adams to knot the score at 29-29 with 33 ticks left on the clock for the opening frame. After a Walsh jumper missed, that's what the scoreboard would read as the teams headed into the halftime break.
In a first half where SVSU shot 46.2% (12-26), Turnage led the way with nine points while Bozeman added seven. Junior Kellen Smith had two points, three rebounds, two assists and three steals in the opening 20 minutes.
Saginaw Valley took a lead but the game would be tied three times, the last coming with 14:31 left to play and the score 40-40.
The Cardinals went on an 11-0 run from that point to claim a 51-40 edge after sophomore Garrett Hall drained a triple with 9:46 showing on the clock. It's the largest lead the Cards would hold in the game.
Walsh worked its way back to within a pair several times and drew to within a single point when SVSU led 60-59 with just 3:13 left to play.
Bozeman and Smith each scored to extend the lead out to 64-59 with 2:35 left to play and the Cardinals led by a 66-63 count with just over a minute showing on the clock.
The Cavs would begin fouling, and Saginaw Valley used solid free throw shooting down the stretch by going 5-of-6 from that point to seal an eight point victory, 71-63.
The Cards finished shooting 52.9% (27-51) for the game while Walsh shot at almost the same clip, hitting on 52.2% (24-46) of its shots. SVSU posted a 27-26 edge on the glass, 26-10 advantage in points off turnovers and led in points in the paint, 38-26.
Turnage was named the Meijer "Player of the Game" after scoring 21 points, adding five rebounds, four assists and a steal.
Bozeman added 20 points, a game-high six rebounds, two blocks and a steal while Hall netted 14 points. Smith added six points, a game-high six rebounds, three steals and game-best eight assists.
Saginaw Valley returns to action on its home floor Thursday (Jan. 8) against the University of Findlay Oilers. Tip-off is set for 8:00 pm at SVSU's O'Neill Arena. The Cardinals fell by a narrow margin of 80-79 last season in an overtime contest in Findlay, Ohio.