SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team was defeated by Lake Superior State University today (Dec. 17), 68-63. The Cardinals fall to 4-6 overall and 1-3 in the GLIAC, while the Lakers improve to 6-5 overall and 1-3 in the conference.

SVSU was led by Michael Fugate (White Lake, Mich./Lakeland HS) who earned Meijer "Player of the Game" honors with 21 points on the afternoon.  Fugate was 9-of-12 from the foul line and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.

The Cardinals fell behind 22-14 at the 8:40 mark of the first half before Rob Clark (Saginaw, Mich.) finished off an 8-0 run with a layup to tie the game with just over five minutes remaining in the half.

SVSU would enter the intermission trailing 28-27 thanks to a jump shot by Eli Redman (Bath, Mich.) with six seconds to go.

The Cardinals would take their only lead of the contest early in the second half on a pair of Chris Webb (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) free throws to give SVSU the 29-28 edge. Lake Superior would answer with a 14-4 run to take a 44-33 lead with 10:35 to go.

Mike Schaaf (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) knocked down a three-pointer with 1:10 left in the game to bring the Cardinals within three, 61-58.  However, Lake Superior hit their free throws down the stretch to put the Cardinals away by the final score of 68-63.

Greg Foster (Indianapolis, Ind./T.C. Howe HS) recorded his second consecutive double-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Webb dropped in 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting and 4-for-4 from the line. Jay Thames (Port Huron, Mich./Northern HS) also recorded seven points and eight rebounds.

The Cardinals will return to action after the holiday break when they host rival Grand Valley State on Jan. 5 at 8:00 PM.