UNIVERSITY CENTER -- The Cardinal Men's Basketball team hosted another top regional team on Saturday night, playing the University of Indianapolis Greyhounds at the James E. O'Neill Jr. Arena. In what was a back-and-forth contest that featured 12 ties, Saginaw Valley came up just short by an 85-82 margin in the second game of the season.
Indy built a quick lead to begin the contest but SVSU responded to grab the edge and hold a four point lead when Lachlan Anthony hit a triple at the 14:21 mark of the first half.
The Greyhounds broke a tie midway through the first half and went on an 8-0 run to take their largest lead of the game of six points (24-18) with 9:47 left in the first.
SVSU regained the lead themselves and then went on to lead by their largest margin of five points when CJ Wilson drained a three-pointer to make the count 32-27 with 5:27 showing.
A Myles Belyeu layup with 42 ticks left broke the fifth tie of the half, sending the Cardinals to a 38-26 lead at the break.
The visitors knotted the game early in the second half and would build their lead back out to their best of six points (53-47) with 14:28 to play.
Four straight points from Belyeu later with 7:45 to play tied the game for the ninth time, making the score 64-64 after he hit a pair of free throws and a layup.
From there the score would bounce around still and a solid layup by Liam Evans with 2:55 remaining tied the contest for the 12th and final time at 73-73.
Indy took the lead from there and would continue to lead despite SVSU not going away. The Cardinals trimmed the deficit to a pair twice, with the final time coming at 84-82 after Wilson made a layup with six seconds left.
A single free throw from Indy with five seconds left allowed SVSU to heave a last-second three, but that missed its mark and the Hounds snuck out with an 85-82 victory in the regional tilt.
Inside the Boxscore
- The Cardinal bench had a 41-2 margin over Indy's bench, as the Hounds relied heavily on minutes from their starting lineup.
- Indy had a narrow 38-36 edge in points in the paint and had just five turnovers in the game. SVSU had 10 turnovers.
- Belyeu topped his opening night performance, going for a team-high 22 points. He added five rebounds and two assists while playing the entire game. He was named the Meijer "Player of the Game."
- Evans and Wilson had heavy production off the bench, each going for 14 points. Wilson added a team-high six rebounds, three assists and a steal while Evans had four boards, three helpers and a steal.
- James Toohey reached double figures as well, scoring 11 points with four rebounds and three dimes.
- Saginaw Valley shot 50.8% from the floor while Indy was 43.8%.
Postgame Interview
Up Next...
Saginaw Valley remains at home for a Tuesday (Nov. 13) game against Alma College. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. at O'Neill Arena. Full details to follow are available at www.svsucardinals.com.
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