SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley men's basketball team defeated Lake Superior State today (Dec. 12), 80-77 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) match-up.

The Cardinals trailed the Lakers until senior Avery Stephenson (Romulus, Mich.) connected on two free throws with eighteen seconds left in the half to give Saginaw Valley the one point advantage heading into the locker room.  Stephenson led the Cardinals with 14 points and three rebounds, while Keithan Jackson (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Godwin Heights HS) scored five points and pulled down four rebounds.  Jackson ended the afternoon with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Saginaw Valley came out of the locker room strong as Stephenson advanced the Cardinal lead to 15 off a dunk on an assist from freshman Chris Webb (Saginaw, Mich. / Arthur Hill HS) with 2:36 remaining in the game.  Sophomore Greg Foster (Indianapolis, Ind. / T.C. Howe HS) scored 13 of his 15 total points in the second half, while Stephenson added 20 for Saginaw Valley.

The Cardinals were led by Stephenson, who ended the afternoon with a career-high 34 points, while Foster posted his first double-double of the season, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.  Senior Adam Gries (Freemont, Ohio / Ross HS) added 10 points and four rebounds for Saginaw Valley.

With the win, the Cardinals improve to 5-2 overall on the season and 2-1 in the GLIAC while Lake Superior State falls to 3-4 overall on the season and 2-1 in the GLIAC.  Saginaw Valley returns to action on Saturday (Dec 19), when it hosts Ashland University.  Tip off is set 3:00pm.