UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team ended its four-game homestand with a 72-65 win over Purdue Northwest on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (9-4, 2-2 GLIAC) bounced back after a tough loss to Parkside on Thursday to even their Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record to 2-2. SVSU also finished 3-1 during the home stretch.
Kevonne Taylor had an impressive performance with 14 points, seven rebounds, and seven blocks. He tied his career-high in blocks for the third time this season and his 14 points were just three shy of his career-high in that category. Freddie McIntosh and Toodles Seal both finished with a team-high 17 points. Seal also contributed six boards. Tre Garrett was the fourth Cardinal with double-digit points as he finished with 11. He also had six rebounds and a game-high six assists.
Both teams were evenly matched in the game as PNW won the rebound battle 41-35 and the fast-break points 15-6. SVSU took the points from turnovers crown (13-12) and bench points (10-7). The teams tied in points in the paint and second-chance points with 30 and six in those situations respectively.
The Pride hit the game's first shot from three, but the Cardinals responded with an 8-0 run that was started by Ethan Hill when he hit a shot from deep off an assist from Garrett on the next possession. PNW regained the lead with a 7-0 run a few minutes later to take a 12-10 lead. Seal switched the advantage back toward the home team with a three-point jumper on the next trip into the offensive side of the court. The game had nine lead changes and three ties, however, Saginaw Valley State led for 34 minutes and 21 seconds of play.
McIntosh swung the momentum back to the Cardinals when he hit three free throws that grabbed the 24-23 lead at the 4:21 mark of the first half. Garrett followed that with a three-point jumper off a turnover that ignited a 10-0 run and put the score at 34-25 in favor of SVSU with just over two minutes left before the half. Alijah Harrison drained a shot from beyond the arc in the final seconds of the half to give SVSU its first double-digit lead, 39-29, of the game.
Seal scored 12 of his 17 points in the first 20 minutes of regulation. Taylor was a menace in the paint defensively, as he recorded four of his seven blocks in the first half.
Taylor was fouled and hit both of his free throws in the first minute of the second half giving the Cardinals their largest lead of the game of 12. The Pride would cut that deficit in half with a 6-0 run, but SVSU would work the lead back to that point five more times before the final buzzer. Each time, Purdue Northwest would whittle the lead down to single digits, but never got closer than five points from catching the Cardinals.
Saginaw Valley finished the contest shooting 41.3% from the floor, 34.8% from three-point range, and 92.3% from the free-throw line. The Pride made just nine of their 15 free throws and six total shots from distance.
The Cardinal men's hoops team hits the road for three GLIAC contests starting in Grand Rapids, Michigan with games against Grand Valley State and Davenport. The game against the Lakers is scheduled for Thursday, January 11 at 8:00 p.m., before SVSU meets the Panthers on Saturday, January 13 at 3:00 p.m.