BIG RAPIDS - Coming down the tough season-ending stretch, the #24 ranked Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team traveled to Ferris State University for a matchup with one of the top teams in the league. In a hard-fought matchup throughout, the Cardinals fell short by a final score of 78-72 to the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs got out to a quick 5-0 lead in the opening half, but back-to-back buckets from junior Damon Bozeman and sophomore Caleb Davis knotted the score at 5-5 at the 17:10 marker.
After a layup from sophomore C.J. Turnage gave SV a 10-7 lead at the 15:58 mark, Ferris took the lead back and built it out to seven points after a 10-0 run to make the score 17-10.
SVSU would respond with a 9-2 run, tying the score at 19-apiece with 8:03 showing on the clock after Bozeman made good on a pair of free throw attempts.
FSU re-gained the lead and held it until junior Vincent Adams connected on a free throw to knot the game at 26-26 with 3:27 to play in the half.
The Bulldogs would out-score the Cardinals by a 10-3 margin the rest of the period, carrying a seven-point lead into the halftime break at 36-29.
Davis had a first-half high of 11 points for SVSU, going 4-of-4 from the floor with a 3-of-3 mark on three-pointers. Turnage added eight points and five rebounds while Bozeman had seven first half points.
After Davis hit his fourth triple of the game for the first bucket of the second half, Bozeman took over offensively for the Cardinals. He scored 12 points as part of a 15-4 SVSU run to open the second frame, giving the visitors a four-point lead at 44-40 at the 15:47 marker.
The Bulldogs worked their way back to tie the ballgame a pair of times and grabbed the lead for good with 11:22 to play after a Matt Stoll layup.
The home team built its advantage out to seven points (61-54) with 7:51 to play, but six straight points on layups from Turnage and junior Kellen Smith, followed by a Bozeman jumper, worked the Cards back to within a single point at 61-60 with 5:58 showing on the clock.
That was as close as SVSU would get the rest of the way, as the Cardinals were eventually forced to foul and solid free throw shooting down the stretch for Ferris allowed them to seal the 78-72 victory.
SVSU shot well from the floor, going 29-of-58 for a 50.0 shooting percentage. The Bulldogs shot 47.7% (31-65) and posted a 19-1 edge in bench points. FSU had a 48-34 advantage in the paint as well.
Bozeman was named the Meijer "Player of the Game" after posting a season-high 27 points, 20 of which came in the final 20 minutes. He added five rebounds and two assists for the Cardinals.
Turnage had a double-double, netting 14 points and 10 rebounds in 35 minutes of action. He added five assists and two blocks as well. Davis added 16 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting, including hitting on all four triple attempts. Smith had six points, four boards and tied a career-high with nine assists in the game.
Saginaw Valley falls to 20-7 overall on the season and 16-5 in the GLIAC while Ferris improves to 19-8 and 15-6 in league play. The Cardinals return to the floor on the road once again on Thursday, February 26th at Hillsdale College. SVSU claimed the earlier matchup this season, winning by a final score of 59-56 over the Chargers at O'Neill Arena.