UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team picked up its fourth straight win of the season after defeating Central State University 72-69. With the win, the Cardinals improve to 8-7 overall on the season, while Central State falls to 11-6.

After a quick 30-second timeout by head coach, Frankie Smith, Saginaw Valley responded with a 10-0 run after allowing an early basket to the Marauders.  The run was capped off by a Michael Fugate (White Lake, Mich./Lakeland HS) jumper with 15:24 left in the half.

The Cardinals would extend their lead to 19-8 midway through the first on a Greg Foster (Indianapolis, Ind./T.C. Howe HS) layup.  Foster earned Meijer "Player of the Game" honors, finishing the game with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting for the game along with eight assists and six rebounds.

Foster would find a trailing Eli Redman (Bath, Mich.) with a no-look pass for a fast break dunk to give the SVSU a 23-17 lead. Redman finished the contest with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting and nine rebounds.

The Cardinals would take a 27-22 lead into the half after Central State hit a 3-pointer as time expired.

Brett Beland (Menominee, Mich./Menominee HS) would put the Cardinals up 45-39 on back-to-back 3-pointers with 10:06 left in the second half.

Central State would hang close and tie the game at 46 before SVSU extended its lead to 60-52 on the back-end of a Fugate free throw trip with 4:02 to play. Fugate recorded 11 points on the evening including 6-of-8 from the charity stripe.

Central State fought back in the final minute of play, but solid free throw shooting allowed the Cardinals to close out the Marauders for the 72-69 win.

Chris Webb (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) also dropped in 12 points including 7-of-10 from the free throw line in the victory.

SVSU will resume their conference schedule as they travel to Ashland on Thursday for a 7:30 PM tip.