UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team outlasted Lake Superior State for a 79-73 victory on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (10-9, 5-5 GLIAC) had four players score double-digit points to defeat the Lakers (7-10, 7-3 GLIAC).
Tyrik Singh led the way for SVSU with a career-high 18 points. The senior forward added seven rebounds to his totals to help propel the Cardinals to the win. Freddie McIntosh tallied 13 points on 5-12 shooting for the day. Chansey Willis Jr. added 12 points and five assists to the effort. Tre Garrett also accumulated 12 points along with nine rebounds and four assists. Maurice Barnett and Ben Tew contributed nine points to the cause as well.
Sn=ingh and Willis Jr. hit three-point jumpers to get the Cardinals going and take a 6-2 lead in the opening three minutes of play. The Lakers tied things back up with a free throw and shot from beyond the arc. McIntosh sparked a 5-0 run to capture a 13-8 lead that Willis extended to eight points at the 12:06 mark. Garrett pushed the margin to 19-10 with a free throw with 8:45 left before the half. LSSU went on a 5-0 run to trim the deficit to four points with just over eight minutes left in the period. Lake Superior State made five free throws and a three-point jumper that flipped the lead to 22-21 in favor of the visitors with 6:28 on the clock. The lead changed ten more times in the next four-plus minutes before SVSU used a two-for-one to get the last shot of the first and hold a 34-32 advantage at the break.
The Lakers tied the score with a layup in the opening two minutes of the second half. The teams traded baskets for the next four possessions. Tew hit a shot from deep to start a 5-0 run to build a 52-45 advantage. Singh ignited a 6-0 run with a layup that moved the margin to 11 with 10:06 remaining in regulation. Singh drilled a three at 8:43 to give the Cardinals their largest lead of the game of 64-51. Lake Superior State responded with a 6-0 run to cut the score to seven, but Garrett made a layup to start a 5-0 run to bring the advantage back to 12 points with just under five to play. A 6-0 run by the visitors in the closing 90 seconds had the score sitting at 75-73, but SVSU hit four-of-six free throws down the stretch to clinch the victory.
UP NEXT
The SVSU men's basketball team begins a five-game road trip next Saturday, January 28 at Wayne State. The game with the Warriors is set to tip off at 3 p.m.
