Men's Basketball hits big shots down the stretch in securing 72-69 overtime victory over Davenport

Mike Wells Jr. had another standout peformance in his final regular season game Saturday at Tiffin...
Mike Wells Jr. had another standout peformance in his final regular season game Saturday at Tiffin...

UNIVERSITY CENTER -- Looking to bounce back from a Thursday defeat at Wayne State, the SVSU men hosted Davenport University on Saturday (1/13) afternoon in another GLIAC contest. The Cardinals stormed back from being down 11 points in the second half to eventually claim an overtime victory over the Panthers by a 72-69 score. 

Davenport had a solid first half, leading by eight points three times with the third coming at the half when the Panthers led by a 35-27 margin. 

That lead would extend to a game-high of 11 points at the 14:25 point of the second half when the score stood at 44-33. 

The Cardinals would charge back from there, going on a nice run and eventually using 11 straight points from Mike Wells Jr. to take a 54-49 lead with just 7:06 to play in the contest. 

Wells would come up clutch later in the game as well, tying the game at 62-62 with a jumper as 46 seconds remained on the clock. Then, after Davenport led by a 63-62 score with 21 ticks left, Wells hit a step-back three to give the Cardinals a 65-63 edge. 

The Panthers, however, got a runner layup with just under two seconds left to knot the score at 65-65, forcing an overtime session. 

In the overtime period, the visitors held a two-point lead with the score 69-67 and just 46 seconds left. 

The next time down the court, Wells found James Toohey in the corner and he drilled a three-pointer to give SVSU the 70-69 lead with just over 30 seconds remaining. 

After Davenport turned the ball over, Malik Garner was fouled and connected on two huge free throws to give the Cardinals a 72-69 lead.

The Panthers would get off a desperation three try but that would not work and Saginaw Valley escaped with the three-point win. 

Inside the Boxscore

  • Wells had a huge second half for SV, scoring 16 of his game-high 22 points in the final 20 minutes. He was named the Meijer "Player of the Game" for his performance, adding three assists and a rebound. It marks Wells's third 22-point game in the past four contests. 
  • Fred John Jr. had a career-high 14 rebounds in the victory, adding eight points to the cause with three assists.
  • Sebastiano Lamonato added 15 points and five boards in the game. 
  • Garner netted 10 points with five rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. 
  • The teams were even on the glass, each recording 36 rebounds.
  • The Cardinals posted a narrow 28-26 edge in points in the paint and a 10-6 margin in fastbreak points. 

Postgame Interview - James Toohey

 

Up Next...

Saginaw Valley has three straight more games at home, beginning on Thursday (1/18) with a league game versus Ashland University. Tip-off for that game is set for 8:00 p.m. at the James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena. The Eagles are coming off a 78-66 home win over Purdue Northwest. 

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