The Basics

Score: No. 4 Saginaw Valley 82, Lewis 71
Records: SVSU (3-0) | LEWIS (1-2)
James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena - University Center, Mich. 

UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The SVSU men's basketball team opened the home portion of its 2016-17 season with a regional matchup with the Lewis University Flyers on Thursday (Nov. 17) night. In the matchup between 2016 Midwest Regional Tournament opponents, the Cardinals claimed an 82-71 victory over the Flyers at SVSU's James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena.

After an early 3-0 Flyer lead, the Cardinals got the edge for good and pushed it out to 13-5 after a layup from C.J. Turnage and a three-pointer from Garrett Hall. The lead would reach double-dighits after Malik Garner nailed a triple at the 12:01 marker to give the home team a 21-10 advantage. An Austin LeVan triple with 9:12 showing on the first half clock would give SVSU its largest lead of the game of 16 points, putting the Cards up 30-14. Saginaw Valley would maintain the edge, carrying a 10-point lead into halftime after Hall made a running jumper in the lane to make the score 42-32.

Turnage had nine first half points for the Cardinals while Hall added eight. Caleb Davis and Jake Daniels each drilled a pair of three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes for six points-apiece.

The Flyers brought the deficit back down to six points a few times, with the third time coming when SVSU led 59-53 with 8:52 left to play after a pair of Eddie Miles free throws. That is as close as Lewis would get for the remainder of the contest.

SVSU went on a 12-3 run from there to make the score 71-56, with the run being capped-off by a Richhie Roberts triple. The Cardinals remained steady from there and had solid foul shooting down the stretch, sealing an 11-point victory over the visitors by a final count of 82-71.

Inside the Boxscore

• Turnage earned Meijer "Player of the Game" honors after posting his second straight double-double. He registered a game-high 20 points, adding 11 boards and three assists.
• Mike Wells finished with 13 points, hitting on three triples and adding four helpers and a steal.
• Hall posted 12 points with four boards and two assists.
• Daniels finished with nine points, connecting on 3-of-5 attempts from beyond the arc.
• Davis added eight points, six rebounds and four assists while Roberts added seven points.
• Austin LeVan scored his first points in an SVSU uniform, chipping-in with five for the Cards.
• The Cardinals were stellar at the free throw line, going 21-of-23 for a 91.3%.
• Lewis held a 46-20 edge in points in the paint but the Cardinals were able to hit 13 three-pointers against the Flyer zone while limiting them to just two.

From Head Coach Randy Baruth

Up Next...

Saginaw Valley continues play at home on Saturday (Nov. 19) against Ohio Valley. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. at O'Neill Arena. The Fighting Scots (0-2) are coming off a 94-57 loss to Hillsdale College in a game that was played at Walsh University. It will mark the first-ever matchup between the two programs. 

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