The Basics

Score: No. 15 Saginaw Valley 80, Michigan Tech 72
Records: SVSU (21-4, 17-2 GLIAC) | MTU (9-14, 8-11 GLIAC)
Location: James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena - University Center, Mich.

UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. -  The 15th-ranked SVSU men's basketball team hosted Michigan Tech University in a GLIAC North Division matchup on Saturday afternoon. Trailing 43-39 at the half, SVSu outscored the Huskies by a 41-29 count in the final 20 minutes and secured an 80-72 home victory.

The ninth straight win for Saginaw Valley also clinched the GLIAC North Division championship, as Ferris State lost to Lake Superior State on Saturday.  

Caleb Davis opened the game's scoring with a three-point shot 10 seconds into the first half. Damon Bozeman added two layups, followed by a shot from C.J. Turnage, bringing the Cardinals an early lead of six (9-3) at the 17:40 minute marker. Davis hit another three to extend the lead to eight points with 16:48 showing on the clock. 

The Huskies cut the lead down to a pair (15-13) after a free throw from Dillon Gordon with 14:05 left but Garrett Hall made back-to-back jump shots to take the Cards back up to a seven point advantage of 22-15 by the 11:55 mark. 

Tech would add three straight triples, wrapped around two Wade Gelhaus free throws, to bring the deficit back down to two points (26-24) with 9:30 to play in the opening half. 

The Huskies grabbed their first lead of the game at 29-28 with 8:12 left in the half following a three-pointer from Luke Heller. The Huskies held the advantage for the rest of the half and extended the lead to a period-high of six (35-29) at the 6:28 minute mark when Kyle Stankowski struck from beyond the arc.  Tech drove their lead back to six three more times before the period ended.

Hall cut the Michigan Tech lead to four before halftime with two free throws, sending the teams into the locker room with the score showing 43-39 in Tech's favor.

Saginaw Valley came within one point of the Huskies in the second half after Turnage converted a three-point play at the 13:46 minute mark (52-51) and then again after a pair of free throws from Gelhaus at  the 13:19 point (54-53). Mike Wells tied it up at 56-56 with 11:03 left in the game after a breakaway drive to the hoop.

Bozeman then struck from downtown to give the home team its first lead of the second half at 59-58 with 8:05 remaining. 

After the lead changed hands a couple of times, consecutive tip-ins from Turnage, Gelhaus and Bozeman erased a 68-67 Tech lead and gave SVSU a 73-68 edge with 2:42 left on the clock. The lead would quickly grow to double-digits at 10 when Hall made good on a three-point play of his own to push the score to 80-70.

Despite a pair of late free throws from Tech's Jeff Gregory, Saginaw Valley got the ball back in-bounds and ran the clock out, sealing the 80-72 win.

Inside the Boxscore 

• Turnage and Bozeman led the Cardinals offensively with a game-high 18 points each. Bozeman chipped-in with seven boards and four steals while Turnage added five assists and four rebounds to go along with a block.
• Davis registered a double-double, posting a career-high 10 boards to go along with his 11 points for his first-ever double-double. He was a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor, including hitting on all three triple attempts. 
• Hall reached double figures in scoring as well, adding 12 points with five boards.
• Gelhaus netted seven points, six rebounds, one assist and a steal.
• Kellen Smith posted six points, three assists, two steals and one rebound.
• Tech shot 100% (13-of-13) in free throws and 50% (9-of-18) in three pointers while SV was 75% (18-of-24) from the charity stripe and 33.3% (4-of-12) in three-pointers.
• Saginaw Valley out-rebounded the Huskies 37-27 and scored 19 second chance points compared to the Huskies' six.
• SVSU held a slim 23-21 edge in bench scoring.
• Kyle Monroe led the Huskies with 18 points, shooting 6-of-15 from the floor and going 6-of-6 in free throws.

Meijer "Player of the Game"

Bozeman earned Meijer "Player of the Game" plaudits after his game-high 18 points, seven rebounds and four steals.  

From senior guard Damon Bozeman...

Up Next for SVSU

The Cardinals travel to Allendale, Michigan for an 8:00 p.m. matchup with conference rival Grand Valley State University. GVSU is 16-8 overall and 10-8 in the GLIAC and are playing at Northwood Saturday evening. SVSU has clinched the North Division and is two games clear of Ashland University in the overall league standings.

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