UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team lost a tight battle at Grand Valley State University on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (9-8, 4-3 GLIAC) were in the contest for the full 40 minutes but couldn't pull past the Lakers (9-8, 3-4 GLIAC) before the end of regulation.
Freddie McIntosh led the way for SVSU with 17 points, five rebounds, and three steals. Tre Garrett and Maurice Barnett tallied 11 points. Garrett added six rebounds to his stat line while Barnett contributed five boards. Kevonne Taylor finished with six points and a team-high eight rebounds on the afternoon. Chansey Willis Jr. finished with nine points and was the team's top playmaker with five assists.
Grand Valley State hopped out to a quick 5-0 lead before Willis Jr. hit a three-pointer to spark a 10-0 run for Saginaw Valley State that switched the advantage the other way, 12-6, with 13:32 left on the clock. The Cardinals kept the lead, expanding it to nine points with a 5-0 run with just under four minutes left before halftime. The Lakers cut the deficit to a single point before McIntosh made both of his free throws at the end of the half to put the score at 32-29 at the break.
Garrett made a jumper that began a 7-0 run in the third that gave the game its first double-digit margin of 39-29 in the opening three minutes of the half. GVSU cut the SVSU lead in half with a 5-0 run but the lead would move back to nine at the 11:23 mark of the second half. Six-straight points by GVSU trimmed the score to three points, 45-42, with just under 10 minutes left to play. McIntosh scored a bucket and Tyrik Singh increased the lead to six points before a 7-0 run by the Lakers flipped the needle to the home side with a 49-48 scoreboard at 6:15. The teams traded leads until back-to-back threes from GVSU built a five-point lead with under four minutes remaining. The Cardinals continued to battle but ran out of time still trailing by three.
UP NEXT
The SVSU men's basketball team returns to the comforts of home to host Ferris State this Thursday, January 19. The game with the Bulldogs will begin at 8:00 p.m.