Strong Second Half Not Enough as Cardinal Men Fall to Top-Ranked Bellarmine

Strong Second Half Not Enough as Cardinal Men Fall to Top-Ranked Bellarmine

UNIVERSITY CENTER -- Hosting the top-ranked team in the country in the Bellarmine University Knights, the Cardinal Men's Basketball team had a tough regional opponent for the 2018-19 season opener. Despite a strong second half effort, Saginaw Valley fell by a 73-62 score to the Knights at O'Neill Arena.

The Knights got off to a hot start in the contest, rushing out to a 13-0 lead and leading 20-6 just under the 15-minute mark. Bellarmine continued on in the opening half and carried a commanding 20-point lead into the half, 46-26.

Saginaw Valley had a solid second half, however, outscoring the Knights 36-27 in the frame. The Cards got the deficit back to single digits with 2:31 left to play after Lachlan Anthony connected on a three-pointer to bring the score to 67-56 in Bellarmine's favor. 

After the Knights pushed the lead back out, the Cards got a layup from Elijah Pughsley to make the score 71-62 with only 24 seconds remaining. BU was able to close it out from there, leaving the game with an 11-point victory, 73-62.

Inside the Boxscore

  • Freshman guard Myles Belyeu finished as the only SVSU player in double figures, scoring 19 points in his first career game. He added three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block while earning Meijer "Player of the Game" plaudits.
  • James Toohey added nine points while Anthony had seven with six boards.
  • CJ Wilson also had seven points in his first game as a Cardinals.
  • Sebastiano Lamonato led on the boards with a game-best nine rebounds.
  • Pughsley had eight points, three assists and two board in his first game at SV.
  • Bellarmine shot 48.8% from the floor while SVSU was 39.3%.
  • Both teams had 30 boards and BU had a slim 30-26 edge in the paint.

Up Next...

The team closes-out action for the 2018 GLIAC / GLVC Challenge on Saturday when the Cardinals host the University of Indianapolis Greyhounds. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at O'Neill Arena. The Hounds defeated Northwood by a score of 71-59 Friday afternoon at SVSU.

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