UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team defeated the visiting Ashland University Eagles, 79-74 today (Dec. 19) at the Ryder Center on the campus of SVSU.  The victory puts the Cardinals' overall record at 6-2 on the season with a 3-1 record in the GLIAC.  The Eagles are now 3-5 overall and 1-4 in conference play following the loss.

Ashland led by a point going into the locker room, at 36-35.  The game featured 10 ties and 11 lead changes, and included 50 total personal fouls, 25 being called on each team.  SVSU would out-score the Eagles in the second half by a 44-38 count, finishing the game with the final 79-74 advantage.

Junior Forward Keithan Jackson (Grand Rapids, Mich./Godwin Heights HS) led the charge for the Cardinals, scoring a game-high 24 points and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds.  It was the sixth double-double for Keithan out of eight total games this season.  Senior guard Avery Stephenson (Romulus, Mich.) rebounded from a slow start to finish with 19 points and nine rebounds, going 11-of-11 from the free throw line, including many key charity shots down the stretch.  Freshman guard Chris Webb (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) had 11 points for SVSU.  Junior Dan Genther (Lainsburg, Mich.) provided some good minutes for SVSU off the bench, adding seven points four rebounds in the victory.

The Cardinals will travel to Indianapolis for a non-conference match-up with the Greyhounds on Tuesday, Dec. 22.  Tip-off time is set for 7:30 pm.