UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University’s men’s basketball team hosted Northwood University today (Jan. 17). In a hard fought battle, the Cardinals came out with the win, 70-63.

At the end of the first half, the Cardinals held a two point advantage over the Timberwolves, 37-35. Senior guard Dante Williams (Romulus Mich./East Tenn. State Univ.) lead Saginaw Valley in points with a total of 17 and had three assists. Senior forward Avery Stephenson (Romulus Mich./Nebraska-Kearney Univ.) also contributed 16 points and pulled down five rebounds. As a team, the Cardinals shot 75% from the free-throw line by sinking six of eight.

In the second half of play, Stephenson netted 14 of his career high 30 points. He also swiped five balls and pulled down seven rebounds on the game. Williams also notched 10 points, giving him a total of 27 points overall. The Cardinals kept their strong free-throw shooting percentage up in the second half by going 16-20 from the line.

With the win, Saginaw Valley moves to 3-11 overall and 3-7 in the GLIAC, while Northwood falls to 9-6 overall and 5-5 in the GLIAC. The Cardinals will return to action when they travel to Houghton, Mich. on Jan. 22 to play Michigan Tech.