BIG RAPIDS, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team took down Ferris State University today (Feb. 23) up in Big Rapids by a 75-67 margin after overcoming a large first half deficit.
SVSU (12-12, 10-11 GLIAC) struggled for much of the first half falling behind by as many as 11 with six minutes to play before halftime.
From there, the Cardinals stepped up the pressure defensively and started to find their rhythm on offense as they went on an 16-3 run over the next five minutes.
Saginaw Valley took their first lead of the contest when Sterling Johnson (Detroit, Mich. / De La Salle) found Chris Webb (Saginaw, Mich. / Arthur Hill) open beyond the arc for the go-ahead triple and the 27-25 advantage with 1:17 on the clock.
Ferris State (14-11, 13-8 GLIAC) would battle back in the final minute to gain a 29-27 edge as the two squads entered the halftime break.
The second half featured a fast-paced, back-and-forth battle as the Cardinals were able to gain the 44-41 edge over the Bulldogs after Rob Clark (Saginaw, Mich.) converted an and-1 opportunity with 12 minutes to play.
Saginaw Valley extended their lead to nine thanks to a Brett Beland (Menominee, Mich.) triple with six minutes remaining in the contest.
Senior Chris Webb increased the advantage to 56-45 at the 4:40 mark of the second half with a pair of free throws as the Cardinals took their biggest lead of the game.
With just over one minute to go, Rob Clark found a streaking Chris Webb for the slam giving Saginaw Valley another 11-point lead over Ferris, 66-55.
The Cardinals would eventually come away with the much-needed 75-67 victory after a very scrappy final 90 seconds of action.
Head coach Randy Baruth got a total team effort today from his Cardinals as they committed just two second half turnovers (nine total) and outrebounded the bulldogs by a 36-31 margin in the contest. SVSU also went 27-for-33 (81.8 percent) from the free throw line compared to just 15 attempts for the Bulldogs.
Points off turnovers were the difference in this one as SVSU dominated the category, 21-4.
Meijer 'Player of the Game' Rob Clark finished with 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting including five rebounds and a career-high four assists. Chris Webb led the SVSU offense with a game-high 21 points, while Brett Beland recorded 18 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
Kellen Smith also recorded a career-high in rebounds with 12, while dropping in nine points. Damon Bozeman (Detroit, Mich. / Madison Heights) chipped in with 14 points of his own after going 8-for-12 from the foul line.
The Cardinals will return to action on the road one week from today (Mar. 2) for the regular season finale against Northwood at 4:00 p.m..