The Basics

Score: #5 Saginaw Valley 63, #7 Ferris State 61
Records: No. 25 SVSU (25-7) | FSU (24-10)
DeSimone Gymnasium - Somers, Wis. 

SOMERS, Wis. - Seeking the program's first-ever trip to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, the SVSU men's basketball team had a tall task at hand in its opponent and GLIAC foe Ferris State University on Tuesday night at Wisconsin-Parkside.The Cardinals would come up big, however, as SVSU posted a narrow 63-61 victory over the Bulldogs to secure the program's first-ever trip to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.

SV ran out to a 5-0 lead after a Caleb Davis layup and a three-point play from Damon Bozeman at the 18:30 marker of the opening half. The lead would run to 9-1 after a C.J. Turnage jumper and two free throws from Davis with 16:47 showing on the clock.

The Bulldogs would claw their way back into the game, knotting the score at 20-20 at the 6:32 marker after a layup from Jared Stolicker.

The score bounced back and forth from there and the game would be tied at 28-28 heading into the halftime break.

After a brief 29-28 SVSU lead when Garrett Hall hit a layup, Ferris grabbed an eight-point advantge (37-29) with 15:32 to go in the contest.

A Devin Dixon free throw cut the deficit to 39-37 with 12:43 showing on the clock. SVSU then worked its way back to take a lead at 47-45 after a layup from Turnage, two from Hall and another from Bozeman erased a six-point deficit. That score stood with 8:56 to play.

The game was tied at 47 and 48-all after that and the teams traded three-pointers with 3:31 to play after Hall answered a triple from Ferris's Drew Cushingberry to give the Cardinals a 53-51 edge.

A pair of free throws from the Bulldogs's James Chappell tied the score at 53-53 with 2:28 showing.

A 6-2 SVSU run would push the lead to 59-55 after buckets from Tunage, Davis and two freebies from Bozeman.

A Josh Fleming triple got Ferris to within 61-58 with 14 seconds left. Another pair of Bozeman free throws got the lead to five (63-58) with seven seconds left.

Ferris then got a three from Cushingberry with just over two seconds to play. They couldn't get a steal and a downcourt pass to SVSU's Mitchell Baenziger allowed time to expire and seal the Cardinals' trip to the Elite Eight.

Inside the Boxscore

• Bozeman notched a game-high 14 points and seven boards, adding an assist and steal for the Cardinal victory.

• Hall added a dozen points for SVSU. He grabbed six rebounds and had an assist and steal as well. He was named to the All-Tournament Team after the conclusion of play as well.
  

• Turnage had eight points and a game-high eight rebounds. He chipped-in with a pair of assists, a steal and three blocks. He was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after the three victories.
  

• Davis netted eight points and matched Turnage's game-best eight boards. He posted two steals as well.
  

• Ferris shot 38.3% from the floor while Saginaw Valley went for a 35.5% shooting clip.

• The Cardinals out-rebounded the Bulldogs by a 48-36 margin and held a 19-15 edge in bench points.
  

• The teams were even at 32-32 in points in the paint.

Meijer "Player of the Game" 

Bozeman was named the Meijer "Player of the Game," as he posted a game-high 14 points, adding seven boards, an assist and a steal. He was clutch at the line, going 8-of-10 from the charity stripe and hit them down the stretch. Bozeman was 6-of-6 from the charity stripe in the closing moments to help seal the victory.

Postgame Interview

Up Next

Saginaw Valley advances to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, which will take place in Frisco, Texas at Dr. Pepper Arena. The first games begin Wednesday (Mar. 23). The Cardinals enter the next round as the no. 6 seed and will face no. 3 Western Oregon (30-3). Game time will be 9:30 p.m. eastern time for the matchup. 

Click here for Elite Eight Seedings and Bracket

Click here for the complete NCAA Division II National Bracket

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