The Basics
Score: No. 7 Saginaw Valley 81, Central State 63
Records: SVSU (11-1, 4-1 GLIAC) | CSU (5-5, 2-1 SIAC)
O'Neill Arena - University Center, Mich.
UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The No. 7-ranked Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team concluded the 2016 portion of its schedule with a matchup agianst the Central State Marauders on Monday. Saginaw Valley never trailed in the contest and every player logged at least 10 minutes of action in the team's 11th win of the season.
Saginaw Valley scored the first points of the game with a pair of free throws from Mike Wells and a layup from Garrett Hall. The Marauders cut the SVSU lead to 1 with their first points of the game from a three-point play. SVSU would then rely on the long ball to score its next points, all of them coming from the tandem of Wells and Hall. The Cardinals held a 13-9 lead on Central State heading into the first media timeout of the first half.
C.J. Turnage scored his only points of the game on a jumper following the media stoppage. Devin Dixon followed up the Turnage basket with a layup that pushed the score to 17-11 at the 12:55 mark of the half. Saginaw Valley would allow a layup on the next possession to Central State before putting together a 13-2 run, extending its advantage to 30-15 with 8:05 left to play.
Central State scored the next four points out of the timeout. Jon Marosi came in off the bench to provide a timely basket, giving SVSU the 34-21 lead. The Cardinals remained active on the defensive end, forcing CSU to shoot 37.8% in the first half and kept the lead in double-digits into the final media stoppage of the half.
Marosi scored on the next possession as well for SVSU, who held the 36-24 lead at the 3:51 mark. The Marauders cut their deficit to as low as eight points with 1:56 remaining until a made basket by Caleb Davis and five straight points from Hall made the score 45-30 at the halftime break.
SVSU started out the second half scoring with a Wade Gelhaus layup and made free throws by Wells. Both teams played the next 1:44 without a made basket until Hall drew contract in the paint and stepped to the line for some free throws. Hall continued his excellent shooting from the line into today's contest, making the pair of shots and held the SVSU lead at 51-38 with 15:53 left to play.
The Cardinal lead stayed in double-digits thanks to a three-pointer from Richie Roberts at 13:54 mark of the second half. The lead fell to nine points until Jake Daniels converted on one of his two long balls to push the advantage to 12. Wells continued the strings of threes on the next possession that made the score 61-48. He would also score on the next possession for SVSU. A layup from Gelhaus gave the Cardinals a 17-point lead at the under-10 media timeout.
SVSU took its first 20-point lead of the contest with a corner three from Marosi. The Cardinals' lead went as high as 22 points after a made jump shot from Austin LeVan at the 4:01 mark of the second half. He would make a three from the top of the arc with 2:11 remaining that brought the Cardinal advantage to 77-61.
Saginaw Valley scored the final points of the game and received 22 points from the bench in the second half to grab its 11th win of the season by a 81-63 final score.
Inside the Boxscore
- Garrett Hall paced the Cardinal offense with 17 points, one rebound and one steal. He was selected as the Meijer "Player of the Game".
- Hall also shot 3-of-4 from behind the three-point line. The senior guard now has made 177 three-point field goals in his career at SVSU, which ranks third all-time in school history. He need eight more threes to hold the school record.
- Mike Wells chipped-in with 14 points and three rebounds. He went a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the contest.
- The Cardinals saw 11 different players score in the contest. All 11 players logged 10 minutes or more of play time in the victory over the Marauders.
- Saginaw Valley ousthot Central State 49.2% to 36.5%. The Marauders were unable to hit a three in today's game while SVSU knocked down 10 shots from beyond the arc.
- Jon Marosi led the bench in scoring with nine points, three assists and a block.
- Richie Roberts had eight points with five rebounds and four assists.
From Junior Guard Mike Wells
Up Next...
Saginaw Valley State men's basketball will return to action with a road trip to face-off with the top seeds in the GLIAC South Division. The Cardinals start the trip on Thursday (Jan. 5) at Findlay and finish with a matchup against Walsh on Saturday (Jan. 7). Tip-off from Findlay is set for 7:30 pm.
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