PAINESVILLE, Ohio. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball defeated Lake Erie College today (Jan. 21), 68-51. The win improves the Cardinals to 9-8 overall on the season and 5-5 in the conference, while the Storm drop to 7-9 overall on the season and 2-7 in the GLIAC.

Saginaw Valley took its largest lead of the first half when Meijer "Player of the Game" Greg Foster (Indianapolis, Ind./T.C. Howe HS) knocked down a free throw giving the Cardinals a 19-4 advantage at the 10:59 mark of the contest. Foster finished with 16 points and nine rebounds in the contest.

The Storm began to battle back going on a four point run at the end of the first half allowing Saginaw Valley to take a 29-19 lead into the locker room.

Foster led the way for the Cardinals in the first half scoring 11 of his 16 total points, while junior Brett Beland (Menominee, Mich.) added five points for Saginaw Valley.

Lake Erie continued their run scoring eight straight points in the second half before senior Eli Redman (Bath, Mich.) made a layup at the 16:35 mark, putting the Cardinals up 31-27 over the Storm.

The Storm continued to chip away at the Cardinal lead until junior Chris Webb (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) increased Saginaw Valley's four point lead to 10 when he made two jump shots and a pair of free throws, giving the Cardinals a 42-32 advantage at the 12:48 mark of the second half. Webb scored 13 of his 15 game points in the second half of play for Saginaw Valley.

Beland connected on four free throws in the final three minutes of play allowing the Cardinals to go on to a 69-51 victory over the Storm. Beland ended the contest with 16 points including nine-for-nine from the charity stripe.

Saginaw Valley shot 46 percent from the field on 23-of-50 shooting, while Lake Erie managed just 31.7 percent.

The Cardinals will return to action on Thursday (Jan. 26) when they welcome Tiffin University to James E. O'Neill, Jr. Arena for an 8:00 PM start.