UNIVERSITY CETNER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team won a tough home contest today (Feb. 14) against Northern Michigan 57-51.

SVSU (10-11, 8-10 GLIAC) got off to a 5-3 start after two minutes of play after Jay Thames (Port Huron, Mich. / Port Huron Northern HS) connected on a 15-foot jumper and recorded a block on the other end. NMU (5-17, 4-14 GLIAC) responded by pounding the ball in the paint to take a 20-14 lead after 10 minutes of play.

The Cardinals pulled within two points (24-22) after Meijer 'Player of the Game' Chris Webb (Saginaw, Mich. / Arthur Hill HS) drained a three-pointer with 5:16 to play in the first half.

SVSU reclaimed the lead 30-29 on a Brett Beland (Menominee, Mich. / Menominee HS) trey just before the halftime buzzer.

Webb led all scorers in the first half with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field. Beland chipped in with eight points for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals opened the second half with a pair of free throws by Beland and a layup by Thames to take a 34-29 lead one minute into the half.

However, the next ten minutes saw back-and-forth action as the game was tied up six times with neither team getting ahead by more than three points.

With just under six minutes to play, a Damon Bozeman (Detroit, Mich. / Madison Heights HS) three-pointer gave Saginaw Valley their biggest lead of the game 51-44.

The SVSU lead was trimmed to two (53-51) before a Beland pull-up jumper put the Cardinals up 55-51 with 1:42 remaining in the game.

Three consecutive defensive stops by SVSU and a pair of free throws by Rob Clark (Saginaw, Mich. / Saginaw HS) brought home a 57-51 Valentine's Day victory for the Cardinals. 

Webb had a game-high 14 points to go with five rebounds. Beland and Bozeman helped carry the Cardinal offense with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Clark also pulled down a team-high seven boards, including two key defensive rebounds down the stretch. 

SVSU picked up the victory by shooting 53 percent from the field in the second half, while holding the Wildcats to just 29 percent. The Cardinals bench also stepped up in the second half, outscoring their opponents 24-2 for the game.

Saginaw Valley's next tip-off will be a home matchup Saturday (Feb. 16) at 1:00 PM against Michigan Tech.