UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team fell to Northwood University tonight (Feb. 8) in a thrilling triple overtime contest, 106-99. The Cardinals drop to 10-12 on the season and 6-9 in the GLIAC, while the Timberwolves improve to 14-7 overall and 9-5 in the conference.
Northwood had the lead early on in the game until Greg Foster (Indianapolis, Ind./T.C. Howe HS) connected from beyond the three-point arc at the 13:09 mark to give SVSU their first lead of the contest, 16-13.
After the Timberwolves took back the lead, Michael Fugate (White Lake, Mich./Lakeland HS) slashed to the hoop for a layup giving the Cardinals a slim 22-21 edge with 8:05 to go in the first half.
Northwood would answer with a 13-1 run to take a 34-23 advantage with 2:51 remaining in the half.
Meijer "Player of the Game" Chris Webb (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) would knock down a long jumper from the perimeter to cut the deficit to 38-28 heading into the intermission.
The Cardinals found their rhythm coming out of the break as Brett Beland (Menominee, Mich.) capitalized on a three-point bucket to trim the Northwood lead to 44-40 at the 15:03 mark of the second half.
Saginaw Valley's momentum peaked when Jay Thames (Port Huron, Mich./Northern HS) stepped outside and hit a three-pointer to give the Cardinals a 50-49 lead with 11:05 to go in regulation.
The back and forth momentum swings continued as Northwood went on a 13-5 run over the next seven minutes.
Eli Redman (Bath, Mich.) knocked down a pair of free throws to bring the Cardinals within five, 62-57, with just four minutes to play in the contest.
SVSU whittled the Northwood lead to 65-63 as Fugate tipped in his own missed shot with two minutes to go in regulation.
On the following Cardinal possession, Fugate would make two free throws to tie up the contest at 65 with 1:30 left.
After Northwood took a five point lead, Mike Schaaf (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) connected from three-point territory to cut the deficit to 70-68 with 41 seconds remaining.
SVSU made a defensive stop on the next series and Redman got to the foul line, knocking down both free throws to knot up the contest at 70. The Timberwolves were unable to capitalize on their final possession in regulation and forced the game into overtime.
Saginaw Valley took a 74-72 lead as Fugate grabbed the offensive rebound and put it off glass for two with 3:24 left in the first overtime session.
The Timberwolves took a slight advantage before Redman converted on an and-one opportunity with one minute to go and the 79-78 SVSU lead.
Redman would give Saginaw Valley the lead once again as he backed down a Northwood defender, missed a lay-in and put it back for two and the 81-79 edge.
Northwood would make a basket to force a second overtime period as the Cardinal running jumper went astray as time expired.
Redman continued his strong shooting as he connected from three-point range and Greg Foster made a layup to give SVSU a 86-83 lead.
After the Timberwolves tied it up, Redman connected on two more free throws to take the 88-86 lead with two minutes to go in double OT. However, Northwood knocked down a three-pointer to take the 89-88 edge.
The Cardinals took a 91-89 lead as Michael Fugate made an agressive move to the paint and layed it in plus the foul shot opportunity, which was successful.
Northwood would once again tie up the contest and force a third overtime period with the score tied, 91-91.
The Timberwolves took advantage in the third extra frame taking a 98-93 lead with one minute to play. Redman cut the lead to 98-95 with a shot off glass from the post with 47.8 seconds remaining.
The Cardinals were unable to gain momentum down the stretch as Northwood came away with the 106-99 victory.
Chris Webb recorded his second highest single-game total with 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the floor. Webb surpassed the 900-point mark in his career as a Cardinal. Redman recorded 27 points and 12 rebounds in posting his second career double-double. Redman was 9-for-16 shooting from the field and 7-for-7 from the foul line.
Eli has set a new SVSU record for consecutive free throws made with 33 in a row. The previous record was held by Rod Creech with 29 straight in the 1988-89 season.
Greg Foster tallied 19 points and six rebounds, while Michael Fugate posted 16 points and six rebounds on 4-of-7 shooting including 8-for-9 from the charity stripe.
Saginaw Valley fired 45 percent from the field on 33-of-73 shooting, including 25-for-31 from the free throw line. SVSU committed just six turnovers in 55 minutes of action tonight and remains amongst the nation's leaders in fewest turnovers.
The Cardinals erased a 13-point Northwood lead in the back-and-forth contest, which featured 14 lead changes as well as 14 ties.
Saginaw Valley will return to action next Wednesday for a rematch with the Timberwolves. Tip is scheduled for 8:00 pm.