The Basics
Score: No. 4 Saginaw Valley 81, St. Joseph's 80
Records: SVSU (2-0) | STJ (1-1)
Riepma Arena- Midland, Mich.
MIDLAND, Mich. - The No. 4 SVSU men's basketball team finished up play at the 2016 GLIAC / GLVC Challenge hosted by Northwood University with an 81-80 victory over the Saint Joseph's College Pumas on Saturday (Nov. 12) afternoon in Midland. The Cardinals held a 40-39 edge at the halftime break and used some timely free throw shooting down the stretch to claim the victory.
The Cardinals opened up a 9-4 lead at the 17:46 mark when Caleb Davis hit for a three-point play and Wade Gelhaus made good on a layup as well.
The Pumas grabbed the lead at 12-11 when they hit on a three-pointer with 14:29 to play in the opening half.
After the lead traded back and forth a couple of times, a Devin Dixon layup with 7:25 showing on the clock knotted the score at 20-20.
The game remained close from there in the opening frame and a pair of Garrett Hall free throws gave SVSU a 40-37 edge with seven seconds left in he opening half.
A late layup from St. Joe's with just three seconds left cut the deficit to 40-39, which is where it stayed heading into the halftime break.
Mike Wells led the way offensively in the first half, going for nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. C.J. Turnage added six points and six rebounds while Davis had five points and five boards.
After the Pumas took a brief lead at 41-40 to open the second half, SVSU went on a 15-3 run to take a 55-43 lead after a Gelhaus three-point play and a Turnage made layup with 15:20 remaining.
St. Joe's would slowly draw closer from there, eventually forcing a 70-70 tie after a pair of free throws.
Garrett Hall made a freebie to make the score 74-73 with 1:54 left and Wells would add a huge triple with 1:09 showing to push the lead out to 77-73.
The Pumas responded with a three to cut the lead to 77-66 but another pair of Wells free throws pushed the lead back out to 79-76 with just seven seconds left.
They would add another two makes from the charity stripe with three seconds left and a foul before an SVSU inbound pass would put Malik Garner at the line with three seconds left.
He drained both, making the score 81-78 in the Cardinals' favor.
The Pumas got off a last second deep three, but it would rattle-off the rim and be tipped-in for a two-point play and make the final score 81-80 with SVSU claiming the victory.
Inside the Boxscore
- Hall finished with a team-high 21 points for SVSU, adding four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. He was steady from the foul line, going 9-of-10.
- Wells finished with 17 points for SV, adding three assists and a pair of steals. He was named the Meijer Player of the Game for his career-high in points.
- Turnage posted 13 points with 12 boards, going for the double-double. He added five assists and four blocks in a great all-around effort.
- Garner went for double-figures as well, connecting for 11 points with two assists and a steal.
- Gelhaus added seven points and seven boards for the Cards.
- The game featured nine ties and five lead changes.
From Mike Wells and Garrett Hall
Up Next...
The Cardinals open the home portion of the 2016-17 season with a matchup against Lewis University on Thursday (Nov. 17). Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. inside SVSU's James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena.
@SVSU_MBB | #svsumbb