MIDLAND, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team closed out a hard-fought win on the road to secure a season sweep over rival Northwood University Tuesday in Midland, Mich.

The Cardinals and Timberwolves battled back and forth throughout the midweek Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest. Delano Smith came through with a game-winning jumper with 43 seconds to go and the SVSU defense held in the closing moments for a 72-70 win.

"We have been playing really good basketball, but unfortunately, with how the schedule has fallen, we haven't had a home game in nearly a month," SVSU Head Coach Randy Baruth said. "I am happy for the guys that we got to finish a game on the road. The team has been fighting hard and they earned it tonight."

The victory pushes SVSU to 3-9 overall and 3-9 in the GLIAC.

SVSU, which has not played a game at home since its first meeting with Northwood on Jan. 26, trailed by one point at the half. Neither team was able to build a lead of more than four points after the break. Northwood led by three points after a pair of free throws with 1:39 left in the game.

Freddie McIntosh, who got the start for the Cardinals and had a career-best night scoring, made a layup to cut the deficit to one before the eventual game-winner from Smith. Northwood had a chance to tie it but missed two free throws and a layup in the closing seconds.

McIntosh scored a career-high 23 points in the win, shooting 9-of-14 from the field, including three 3-pointers.

"Up to tonight's game, Freddie had been playing really well," Baruth said. "He got the start, and everyone got to see what he can do. Our guys love Freddie and he is a spark for our team when he is on the floor."

Smith finished with 23 points, including three 3-pointers, and added a team-high six rebounds, while Myles Belyeu added 11 points.

The Cardinals shot 26-of-58 from the field, 10-of-21 from deep, and 10 of-16 from deep. SVSU finished with nine assists, six steals, and eight turnovers.

SVSU begins a weekend series at Wayne State University at 6 pm Friday in Detroit.