MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team suffered a 71-56 defeat at Northern Michigan on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (6-3, 1-1 GLIAC) had their six-game winning streak snapped by the Wildcats (7-5, 2-0 GLIAC) and start the conference season off with a 1-1 record.

Tre Garrett and Toodles Seal led four SVSU players with double-digit points, as the pair each scored 14. Garrett was one rebound from a double-double, while Seal was two rebounds short. Maurice Barnett scored 12 points off the bench while Freddie McIntosh added 10 points to the cause on the afternoon.

Kevonne Taylor returned for the Cardinals and he finished four rebounds and two blocks in his 20 minutes of play. Ethan Hill scored a bucket and added three rebounds and two steals to his stat line.

Northern Michigan hit back-to-back shots from distance to hop out to a quick 6-0 lead in the opening four minutes of play. Garrett added a three of his own to put SVSU on the board and cut the deficit in half. The Wildcats continued to hold a slim lead until a three-point jumper sparked an 8-0 run that increased the home team's advantage to 17-7 with 11:24 on the clock in the opening half. Seal made a three to cut the lead to single digits with just under nine minutes. Seal followed that up with a jumper to cut things to six and ignite a 9-0 run that had the Cardinals within a basket of knotting it up (21-19). NMU extended the lead to eight, but SVSU continued to battle back, trimming the lead to 35-31 as the teams entered the locker room for the break.

McIntosh hit a jumper that started a 6-0 run with Seal and Garrett adding baskets to tie the game at 37 in the opening three minutes of the second stanza. Two free throws and a 5-0 run by the Wildcats recaptured the lead, 44-37, and it would not be surrendered for the remainder of the contest.

Despite the final score, the Cardinals did win the battle for the boards with 37 rebounds versus 36 for NMU. SVSU also took wins in points off turnovers (14-13), second-chance points (14-13), points in the paint (36-32), and bench points (16-6).

The SVSU men's basketball team will look to regroup before taking a trip to Indianapolis on Friday, December 15 for an exhibition contest against NCAA Division I Butler. The game at Hinkle Fieldhouse is set for a 7:00 p.m., tip. The Cardinals will return to regular-season play on Tuesday, December 19 when Hillsdale comes to O'Neill Arena for a 1:00 p.m. non-conference clash.