SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 73-68 contest to Lake Superior State University tonight (Feb. 7) in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action. 

SVSU (8-11, 6-10 GLIAC) would take a 16-12 lead after Damon Bozeman (Detroit, Mich./Madison Heights HS) converted both free throws with 15:11 left in the first half.  Meijer "Player of the Game" Brett Beland (Menominee, Mich.) pushed the Cardinals advantage to 22-16 with his third triple of the first half.  Beland posted 17 points in the first half as he and the Cardinals hit on 8-of-14 shots from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes.

Saginaw Valley entered the locker room leading Lake Superior State (12-8, 9-7 GLIAC) by a score of 41-36.  For the first half the Cardinals connected on 14-of-32 (44 percent) shot attempts, while the Lakers hit on 15-of-27 (57 percent) from the floor, but turned the ball over 12 times leading to 12 SVSU points.

Senior guard Chris Webb (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill HS) got the Cardinals started right off the bat as he opened up the second half scoring with a jumper. Senior Jay Thames (Port Huron, Mich./North HS) connected on just his second three-pointer of the season to give SVSU a 54-48 advantage with just over 15 minutes left in the game.

Lake Superior State answered with a 15-2 run to take a 63-56 lead with just under ten minutes to play.  SVSU responded with 12-0 run of their own to take a 68-63 lead on a Beland triple with 4:10 to play. However, the Cardinals were unable to hold on for the victory as LSSU closed out the game with an 10-0 run for the 73-68 victory.

SVSU finished the game 24-of-54 (44 percent) from the floor, while Lake Superior shot 27-of-44 (61 percent) from the floor.  After connecting on eight three point baskets in the first half, Saginaw Valley would only manage two in the final half.

Webb and Beland paced the Cardinals with 22 points each, while Bozeman was the only other SVSU player in double figures with 11 points. Beland's season-high 22 points included a career-high six three-pointers.

Kellen Smith (Covington, Ky. / Scott HS) pulled down a game-high nine rebounds to go along with six points and four assists.

Saginaw Valley will return to action on Saturday when they host No. 19 Wayne State (Mich.) at 5:00 PM at James E. O'Neill Arena.  SVSU will also be offering a free football clinic for kids in grades K-8 as part of their award winning Community Youth Day program before the games starting a 3:30 PM.