UNIVERSITY CENTER - Looking to extend its current 12-game winning streak, the Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team hosted Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division foe Northern Michigan University on Thursday (Jan. 22) evening.
It was '80's Night' in O'Neill Arena and the Cardinals accomplished a feat that hasn't been done since the beginning of that decade, posting a 13th-straight victory to celebrate the occasion after a 65-43 decision over the Wildcats.
SVSU shook-off an early and brief Northern Michigan lead and used 11-straight points to grab a 13-4 advantage at the 14:50 marker. The run was capped-off by three-pointers from sophomore Garrett Hall and junior Mitchell Baenziger.
The Cards stayed hot and pushed the lead out to 20 points after junior Damon Bozeman made good on a pair of foul shots to make the score 38-18.
The Wildcats would narrow the margin from there, closing the half with three points to make the score 38-21 with SV leading at the halftime break.
Saginaw held a 22-8 edge in the paint in the opening 20 minutes of play and scored 14 points off of eight Wildcat turnovers.
Bozeman had nine first half points and six rebounds to lead the way while junior Kellen Smith added five points and four assists.
The second half would feature much of the same dominance from the Cardinals, as the lead got back over 20 with the score 43-21 after a triple by sophomore Garrett Hall.
A layup from sophomore C.J. Turnage gave SVSU its largest lead of the night (29) with the score 61-32 with 7:41 left to play.
Northern cut into that a bit, but would never get within 22 points again and the Cardinals closed-out for a 65-43 victory.
SVSU shot 46.6% (27-58) from the floor compared to the Wildcats' mark of 32.6% (15-46). The Cards finished with a 38-28 edge on the glass and 38-16 advantage in points in the paint.
Turnage was named the Meijer "Player of the Game" for the sixth time in the 2014-15 campaign, finishing with a game-high 16 points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals. He is averaging a team-best 15.4 ppg this season.
Bozeman added 10 points and eight rebounds. Baenziger, Hall and sophomore Caleb Davis all scored eight points, while redshirt freshman Devin Dixon did some work on the glass, pulling down a career-high nine boards. Smith had a game-high eight helpers to to along with five points, two rebounds and two steals.
The 13th-straight victory hasn't been accomplished since the 1979-80 team won 15-straight games before a loss in the NAIA National Tournament. That team, coached by Dr. Robert Pratt, finished with a 24-7 overall record and 11-3 mark in the GLIAC. The 11-0 league record marks the best start in league play in program history.
Saginaw Valley (14-2, 11-0 GLIAC) returns to its home floor on Saturday (Jan. 24) afternoon, as the Cards host Michigan Tech University (11-4, 8-3 GLIAC) in a matchup of two of the top teams in the league. Tip-off is set for 3:00 pm in O'Neill Arena. The Huskies are coming off a 78-67 win at Hillsdale College on Thursday night.
