UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team coasted to victory today (Jan. 30) against Lake Erie College by a final score of 82-62 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest. The win lifts the Cardinals to 8-9 overall and 6-8 in GLIAC play while the Storm fall to 6-12 and 3-11 in conference play.

SVSU got off to a quick 8-2 lead after a Chris Webb (Saginaw, Mich. / Arthur Hill HS) layup and back-to-back triples by Brett Beland (Menominee, Mich. / Menominee HS) with 16:53 left in the first half. Webb would finish the game with 12 points for the Cardinals.

Saginaw Valley pushed their lead to 26-7 with 12:08 to play in the opening half after five consecutive points by Meijer "Player of the Game" Damon Bozeman (Detroit, Mich. / Madison Heights HS).

The Cardinals continued their dominance the rest of the first half and went into the locker room leading 50-20. The 30-point margin was SVSU's largest lead of the half.

Damon Bozeman came off the bench to net 20 points in the first half, giving the Cardinals a 26-point advantage (31-5) in bench points. Saginaw Valley's 50 points, 63 percent field goal shooting (19-for-30) and 70 percent (7-for-10) three-point shooting were all season-highs for a half.

SVSU fans were also treated to a couple of two-handed throw downs in the first half by Chris Webb and Jay Thames (Port Huron, Mich. / Port Huron Northern HS), who converted an and-one on his slam.

The second half played out much the same as the first half with the Cardinals maintaining control of the game and getting contributions from the bench.

The Storm came within 17 points (72-55) with 4:24 remaining in the contest, however, the game was never in jeopardy and the Cardinals went on to win 82-62.

SVSU's Damon Bozeman ended the night with a career-high 35 points, which is the most points scored in a game by a Cardinal player this year. Mike Schaaf (Saginaw, Mich. / Arthur Hill HS) also had a strong performance for SVSU scoring 10 points and grabbing a team-high eight rebounds.

For the game, Saginaw Valley shot 61 percent from the floor, including going 11-17 (64 percent) from three-point range. The Cardinals also outscored their opponent 59-19 in bench points. Every player on SVSU's roster saw game action. 

The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team will return to the hardwood Saturday (Feb. 2) for a home conetst against Northwood at 5:00 PM.