UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team finished 2023 with a 91-75 win over McMaster College (Canada) on Friday afternoon. The Cardinals (8-3) complete the calendar year with back-to-back victories at home with the victory.

Tre Garrett led the way for SVSU as he tied a season-high 27 points while setting a season-best five in steals. Freddie McIntosh added 22 points and four assists to his stat line. Curtis Jackson had a phenomenal game by tying his career-best of 11 assists with some stellar passing. Kevonne Taylor matched his career-high in blocks as well with seven, as the team set a season-best mark of 13 blocks.

The Cardinals scored 10 of the game's first 13 points and continued to hold the lead throughout regulation. The Marauders used a 5-0 run to trim the lead to 12-10 with just south of 14 minutes remaining in the opening half. McMaster fought to keep the score within a possession through the game's second media timeout.

McIntosh provided the first double-digit gap with a three-point jumper at the 8:22 mark that doubled the visitor's total, 24-12. A three from Ethan Hill at 5:48 had the Cardinals leading by 15 points (the largest lead up to that point in the contest). McMaster was able to get as close as six points and would enter the locker room trailing 44-37 at the break. McIntosh and Garrett combined for 26 of SVSU's points in the opening 20-minute period.

Taylor busted the game open in the second half as he started and ended a 16-0 run that spanned over six minutes of the final stanza. The run also completed the largest lead for the Cardinals in the game of 21 points and the Marauders would fail to bring it much closer by the final buzzer.

Saginaw Valley State forced 19 turnovers and scored 23 points off takeaways. The Cardinals edged McMaster in fast break points 19-10, but gave up the rebound battle to the visitors, 48-44. SVSU finished the game shooting 48.7 percent from the floor. The Cardinals are 7-0 this season when shooting over 46% as a team.

The SVSU men's basketball team will ring in the new year with the first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) home game of the season as Parkside comes to town on Thursday, January 4. The game between the Cardinals and Rangers is set to tip off at 8:00 p.m.